[ Qubit meets Carlisle's eyes as he talks, his brow drawing gradually tighter. He can feel the bite of the old sadness, the tension of it trying to seep back into his chest. Exactly. Now you're getting it. ]

I hope so.

[ He rests his hands on the table, fingers loosely interlaced, observing a dark knot in the wood without interest. It's a moment before he elaborates, his voice subdued. ]

I'm not proud of it, but there was a time when I was... profoundly disillusioned with the human race. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was wickedness. Hatred, cruelty, shortsightedness and greed... A species doomed by its own hubris, competing to see who could destroy the world most efficiently. And as far as I was concerned... [ a halfhearted shrug ] if humankind was so eager to go extinct, who was I to stop them.

[ He pauses, then adds a quick clarification. ] This was, ah, many years ago, of course.