- At dinner, Jill and Ben see a newscast where Secretary-General Douglas introduces Mike to the world. Only it isn't Mike; it's a fake. Despite it being the future, fake Mike has a case of the golly-gee-willikers. In other words, he speaks like he's from the 1950s.
- Quick interruption for a brain snack: Ben's question, "What is Hecuba to you, or you to Hecuba?" (6.48) is a misquote. The original comes from Hamlet and reads "What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, / That he should weep for her?" (II.2.518-519). Whether or not this is intentional is open to debate. Shmoopers?
- Ben hatches a plan. He wants to get the real Smith out of the hospital and take him to Jubal Harshaw, a man "so rugged and individualist that he would fight the whole Federation with just a pocket knife" (6.70).
- Ben hopes Jubal will protect Smith, but he hasn't, you know, asked him yet. This seems mildly rude, we think.