He frowns. "And that's the other part. They said they would try to send someone to get a closer view on the ground.... But I'd have to make a deal with them. It sounds like they want me to agree to stay in contact with them, as a way to get the train to be more willing to talk to them."

Another frown.

"And it doesn't sound like they're asking for a lot, but it also kind of feels like its too good to be true? There has to be something else to it."

They had kidnapped him the last time they met. And they'd been super creepy the time before that. But also... if he wanted to figure out what was happening in his world, did he really have another choice?