Fern sighs heavily (or at least, makes a noise akin to that), and leans back against the wall, looking upwards at the ceiling.

"He wouldn't have gotten in this situation to begin with. He wouldn't have even died," he replies flatly. "He's handled a lot worse than a stupid book. That thing would've been nothing to him. He would've taken care of it, made sure Varian didn't get hurt, wouldn't have fought with him. He'd probably be hanging out with him right now."