[Out of everything just uttered to Stephen, it’s the implication that he’s obligated to thank him for nearly bursting his ear drums that sticks; more than multiveral-ness or the idea of frequency cancelling.]

And what should I be thanking you for?

[For saving him from a death-nightmare, probably. But that’s beyond the point for him, not having quashed the indignity of it all just yet.]

Other than expediting any future hearing loss? The point is to keep a person awake, not to startle them into consciousness with a heart attack.