Epilogue
Rimmer took a deep breath as he stared around Starbug. It wasn't necessary, as he didn't need to breath, but it made him feel better as he tried to convince himself that he was really there. The mood-stabilising lithium carbonate had been detected by his light-bee, and its effect converted into a program to repair the perception software corrupted by the venom, but Rimmer still felt a lingering fear that this was another hallucination and he would find himself back in the neon-lit alley.
He looked around at the others, all wearing similar expressions as they dealt with how close they had come to succumbing to their own personal demons. At least now Rimmer could look at Lister without feeling the hot shame that had still twisted inside, even when Holly's voice had brought them back to themselves. He could hear Kryten expounding a personal theory, and winced at how false his own sounded. Rimmer had shared the same upbringing as his three brothers, and they were all richer, more successful and more important than he was. Billy Doyle's situation was hardly worse than his own life in that respect. He hazarded a quick glance round, but it seemed none of the others had seen anything unusual in Kryten's surmising.
As his gaze turned back to Kryten, Rimmer completely failed to see the calculating look on Lister's face, which gave way to a slow smile.