It is fortunate that she's not here alone -- solo wilderness survival, even with Bear, is nothing Root has ever had on her bucket list -- and she listens carefully as Randvi continues, building out a fuller picture of not just the situation but Randvi's character as she talks. It's not everyone who would take the survivors of a death god worshipping murderous cult under her wing, and shepherd them to their preferred prayer spot. She's clearly no fan of said death god, but she still sees those teenagers as human, as worthwhile.

It's the kind of thing the Machine -- the kind of thing Harold -- would do. It warms her to Randvi even though she has no intention of volunteering for prayer chaperone duty herself. Root knows who she is, and she admires the rare shining people out there who prove her disillusionment wrong.

"I don't know if I equate death with fear," she says out loud, pondering. "There's a lot of things I fear worse than death." Spoken like someone who had just died for something. Spent time on death's threshold is a cute way to put it.

"... You're a very generous person to look after those kids."

Root doesn't mean that lightly, and she doesn't believe in coming across something rare like true altruism and not commenting on it.