Gerhard Surov listened very intently to what this Dr. Lucas Amato had to say. The good doctor was, maybe, a little bit younger than him, and that piqued Surov's interest. For such a young man, the boy was extremely intelligent. Gerhard leaned in out of unconscious interest, his eyes intensely observing every twitch of the Doctor's own. If he were to be perfectly honest with himself, Gerhard would have to admit of being just a tad jealous of the young man. Lucas clearly had an education far superior to anyone Gerhard knew.<br/><br/>Gerhard's mind flashed back to his earliest memories. He did not remember much from that time, as he had still been a child. Gerhard had been exiled with his father while he was still a toddler. This Dr. Amato, however, was only a recent exile, it would seem. An old longing rose up inside Gerhard, until he muttered softly underneath his breath, "Is this how advanced the city is? Is this how advanced I could have been?"<br/><br/>Gerhard suddenly became aware that he was clenching both his fists. His entire body was rigid and tense. His jaw was set hard, muscles clenching, and he had almost been on the verge of rising up from his seat. He shook his head and fell back into the chair, relaxed his muscles, and chuckled softly.<br/><br/>"Theadora," he said, "The young scientist is obviously an exile from the city." Gerhard turned to the good doctor, "So what did you do to get kicked out, poindexter? I bet you had a first class education up there in those skyscrapers, eh? That's where you're getting your tech, isn't it?"<br/><br/>Gerhard rose abruptly from his chair and turned his back to the young man, as if lost in thought. He held the fingernail of his thumb clamped between his teeth. "But I don't see what exactly this plan of yours is, either. The girl is right, you know. I doubt a few souped up meat puppets are gonna be able to take back the city." Gerhard turned back around and slammed his palms onto the table. He leaned forward and spoke, almost growling, "I understand, Doctor Amato. We are your humble test subjects. I would be much pleased to know, however..."<br/><br/>Gerhard looked straight into Amato Lucas's eyes,<br/><br/>"If we are your cannon fodder. I have a daughter back home. I promised her a great deal by going on this trip. I would prefer to see it succeed, and failing that, to see her face at least one more time before I take the deep sleep."<br/><br/>Gerhard did not stay to hear Lucas's Reply. He said simply, "I need to stretch my legs." and went quietly outside the cafeteria to find someplace he could think.