1 quoted line
BEASTS: a case might be made that many of the characters do not want to be
Reynard can be seen as doing his duty as he sees it.
1 quoted line
ENGINE SUMMER: Rush-as-we-know-him does not do his duty, rather, he is like
Rush is offered a choice at the end of his narrative (which suddenly reminds me of the offer to Silk). He knows what he is getting into. Apropos of the end, could his name mean Book (papyrus that speaks)?
1 quoted line
As for the sfnal rational, the stuff was brought back by an interstellar probe. Like you said before, mana from heaven.
This always stuck in my a craw a little, but many substances are absorbed very well by the lungs, including finely powdered glucose. Using nebulizers, people inhale 1-2 ml of fluid over 4-5 minutes, so I guess you could inhale as much as 50 calories an hour ;)