"Life's never pointless," Una said. "Even if you don't believe in an afterlife, there's still life after ... I mean, anything you do, it affects the people you share your life with, and then affects those who come after. All of it together, as you say." Well, that was much less concise than she would have liked.

"Perhaps it's got something to do with the kind of people here," she said thoughtfully. "The not-going-mad, I mean. Well, more mad, in some cases. Even the most ordinary-seeming people here seem to have something about them. Unusual strength of will all around, perhaps."