Jim was silent for a moment. He had pondered this too, until his head hurt and a sort of vague panic he wasn't too familiar with anymore welled up within him.

"There are some things," he said slowly, breaking the silence, "I just have to agree with myself to believe despite not knowing for certain. I've never understood ancient religions. But maybe I'm not too far off when I profess my faith in certain things. The basic decency of human nature--or rather, or our ability to overcome our baser instincts. The value of compassion. And... that there's no such thing as fate. Without those three things, I can't operate in this world. So maybe, for me, it doesn't matter if they're true or not. It's how I have to order my world, or at least how I view it. Or I can't function."