"I think they keep them alive for their wool so people can make clothes," Vasquez says, with a faint hint of warning that Faraday better not try and kill one of them to eat for a meal when they could stay warm for a season. "There's fish in the river, and enough wild venison to keep us with protein."

"And eggs," he adds. "Besides, if we can find enough liquor, who cares?" He should be joking, but he's not. Plenty of meals can be pushed aside for a good drink.