“I can see the advantages,” he concedes, sipping the remnants of his ale as he listens. “But there are many to being remembered, too. Strangers are less likely to come to your aid when you’re in real trouble. To guard your back in a crowd. To tell you what you truly need to know.”

He nods to the luckless fellow with his new dance partner. “Sometimes one friend is all you need, to get on with.”