Irvine tensed at the grab, but he didn't fight it. He could understand Zell was upset. He had every right to be. But so, did Irvine feel, did he himself. So he wasn't exactly less than recalcitrant when Zell let go.

"How many worlds are we supposed to worry about Zell? There could be a billion of them!"

They couldn't save them all. Was it wrong that Irvine wanted to save their own? Maybe so. But he also didn't want to end his life out here years, decades even, fighting this unknown force and never truly knowing if he made a difference.