[ The laughter subsides, but the bitter irony does not. The answering smile is positively laced with it. ]

You're right. People who stand above humanity and want to decide what's right for them without walking beside them are the worst; there's nothing funny about that at all. [ He tries to ignore the cold-burning anger in his gut, and though the tone is pleasant enough, he really wants to shout it to the metal rafters of this (literally) god-forsaken moon base. ]

Down here on the ground, we're going to do our best to create that future you were just talking about, because it doesn't exist otherwise.