Now that I've been on this side, your computers certainly don't look like the sort of things that could hold whole systems.

[Ram remembers seeing his first one after being told what they were and trying to mentally fit ENCOM inside. It was a very strange experience.

At Alan's wistful look, Ram smiles softly.]

As someone who was written to examine the "what if"'s of the future, I can guarantee that spending time on them in relation to the past will not change anything. [The smile turns wry, if a little sad.] Not that I haven't done so myself.

[The rating being on a scale of twenty seems a little arbitrary, but it's hardly the focus of conversation right now.]