Skipper, I've decided I'm not going to stay.
Why?
Him and me. It would never work. I just can't stand to be near the man. To see myself so warped, so bitter, so weasely. The man's a maggot.
So where're you going to go?
Just out there. I can't go back. But there's a billion other realities to explore. A billion other Arnold Rimmers to meet. Maybe somewhere there's one who's more of a pain in the butt than him. But I doubt it.
Well, good luck, man. And, look, don't be too hard on Rimmer. You got the break, he didn't. He's just bitter.
D'you know what that break was? At the age of seven, one of us was kept back a year, the other one wasn't. (Gestures to knot on his arm stitches) Put your finger on that, would you, Skipper? (Tugs sharply on thread and breaks it)
And that's the only difference? Rimmer went down a year, and you stayed up?
Ace (delivering the surprise): No. I was the one who went down a year. By his terms, he got the break. But being kept down a year made me. The humiliation...being the tallest boy in the class by a clear foot. It changed me, made me buckle down, made me fight back. And I've been fighting back ever since.
While he spent the rest of his life making excuses.
Maybe he's right. Maybe I did get the lucky break.
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