> You think his existential worries are less important than being liked by his coworkers?? Yes, actually. This is overwhelmingly true for most people. At the e

> You think his existential worries are less important than being liked by his coworkers?? Yes, actually. This is overwhelmingly true for most people. At the end of the day, we all fear being alone. I imagine that fear is, at least in part, what drives these kinds of long-term "existential worries," the fear of a universe without other people in it, but now Ilya is facing the much more immediate threat of social ostracism with significantly higher certainty and decidedly within his own lifetime. Emotionally, that must take precedence.