"Yeah," he confirmed, staring out at the city all around them like it might suddenly turn on them. Maybe it was all a hallucination, maybe it'd all go up in smoke at any moment.

It was nice that the unease was put off to being displaced, though; that, weirdly, made it easier on him. "Adam Parrish," he replied carefully, his words slightly clipped to remove as much of his Southern accent as possible. "What're you a professor of?"