We've been told part of it is because the world outside of the enclosure isn't safe. And from what little we've been allowed to see outside, that much appears to be true. [That is, there is truth in how dangerous the outside world is -- the iffy part is whether or not they're truly safe here. It's hard to believe that to be the case following the invasion this past summer.]

[But the third-party still isn't really a topic Ion is comfortable talking about, so Luke will just have to hear about them from elsewhere.]

Unfortunately, the larger truth seems to be that we're here for them to test their experiments, using a technology they call shifts. They're not always bad, but... they are something of an unpleasant fact of life here.

[Awkward would be a better word to describe them. So much awkward.]