The wry sarcasm in Shep's drawl seems to earn a faint smile of amusement. Somehow he manages to make it seem sympathetic rather than mocking.
"Would you have agreed to speak with me were the answers so easily unknotted?" If nothing else, Elidibus probably has the man's type pegged when it comes to therapy sharing. That is to say what's brewing underneath the surface is an iceberg metaphor waiting to dwarf the one thought to sink the Titanic.
If everything just stopped? Was that part of the question? Elidibus reflects on this, as well as the rest of Sheppard's answer. If it is all to be taken at face value then with the man's notions of rest focusing solely on what comes at duty's end, it would seem Sheppard may be moving beyond simply feeling like he can't rest (whether goaded by compulsion or not).
And is tipping dangerously near the edge of losing even the concept of it.
Elidibus next begins with a nod.
"I would be surprised if there were few of us who do not wish to return to their homes. Whether to be with the ones we cherish and the familiar routines of that life or 'retirement' as you put it. That point which we lay down the burden of duty or passed it to another and spend the time left to us in peaceful reflection."
Expecting him to offer hollow comfort, like 'at least Rodney's here'? Well he won't. He knows better. And besides, this is not about making Shep feel good about his predicament at the expense of another. It is about unearthing fears and weaknesses so they can be realized and buffered against what is out there waiting to exploit those cracks.
Mostly. Elidibus has a few ulterior motives here and there.
"Rather than dwell on the end of the path you have chosen for your journey, I'd like to address matters of the present with another question. If there were means and time to bring some sense of your home's 'normalcy' to this star and your current life, on what would you first focus these efforts?"
There is a moment's pause before he decides to add.
"For the moment, if you'll indulge me, I would like to hear of more personal choices than ones which would directly benefit another over your own needs and desires."
no subject
"Would you have agreed to speak with me were the answers so easily unknotted?" If nothing else, Elidibus probably has the man's type pegged when it comes to therapy sharing. That is to say what's brewing underneath the surface is an iceberg metaphor waiting to dwarf the one thought to sink the Titanic.
If everything just stopped? Was that part of the question? Elidibus reflects on this, as well as the rest of Sheppard's answer. If it is all to be taken at face value then with the man's notions of rest focusing solely on what comes at duty's end, it would seem Sheppard may be moving beyond simply feeling like he can't rest (whether goaded by compulsion or not).
And is tipping dangerously near the edge of losing even the concept of it.
Elidibus next begins with a nod.
"I would be surprised if there were few of us who do not wish to return to their homes. Whether to be with the ones we cherish and the familiar routines of that life or 'retirement' as you put it. That point which we lay down the burden of duty or passed it to another and spend the time left to us in peaceful reflection."
Expecting him to offer hollow comfort, like 'at least Rodney's here'? Well he won't. He knows better. And besides, this is not about making Shep feel good about his predicament at the expense of another. It is about unearthing fears and weaknesses so they can be realized and buffered against what is out there waiting to exploit those cracks.
Mostly. Elidibus has a few ulterior motives here and there.
"Rather than dwell on the end of the path you have chosen for your journey, I'd like to address matters of the present with another question. If there were means and time to bring some sense of your home's 'normalcy' to this star and your current life, on what would you first focus these efforts?"
There is a moment's pause before he decides to add.
"For the moment, if you'll indulge me, I would like to hear of more personal choices than ones which would directly benefit another over your own needs and desires."