Mike nods to show he's paying attention because he spends the next few moments in pensive silence. When he speaks again, it sounds much more offhand than it really is. "I wonder if an intimate familiarity with death is a requirement of being brought here."

But then he's moving on. Mike follows Hawke over to the console. He disappears into the kitchen for a moment and returns with a second chair, helping himself without much thought about it. Then he takes the main chair, gesturing for Hawke to take the other.