"I won't deny the usefulness of acquiring an applicable skill," he says, successfully loosening and freeing a mechanism he recognizes as the lighter Asadi demonstrated upon their first day of meeting. He smiles faintly. "I worked two jobs until I could earn a scholarship."

He debates the potential advantages to claiming a premature victory and decides there are no clear advantages and reclaims the bottle with the smooth catch of a wrist and throws back another swallow.