"It's all we can do, in the end." Edgeworth smiled - and not a smirk this time. "And that's a shame, really. There's so much in my own time that can be explained by the past - we had an oil crisis of our own that began in 2007. I was just a child then, though I heard plenty of the news about it, since my stepfather was heavily invested in oil companies. I think he was one of the few people who was happy when the crisis started, because it was money in his pocket."

The smile faded as quickly as it had come on, and the voice in the back of his head made a loud, disapproving noise - of course it would - and with it, shot a bit of pain through his head. He stopped, closing his eyes, taking a minute to regain his composure before continuing.

"History seems to have moved in the opposite direction, then. Solar energy was only just starting to really take off when I was brought here, as were hybrid cars and the like. We were starting to explore space again after a series of accidents. It's hard to believe that we actually colonize it all in the future, as progress seemed so slow."

Edgeworth looked Allelujah in the eye before speaking again. "If one person is saved, it's worth it, and I'm sure that's happened."

It was a line he'd repeated to himself so many times during his training, and in those early trials - if one less criminal was on the street, if one more notch was in his perfect record - then it was a good thing. It was hard to shake the point of view.