She certainly seems to, or she's a talented actress.

[He's a lawyer, which essentially makes him a professional skeptic, so maybe it's not surprising that his "open mind" is open in a way that includes the worst case scenario in all of this.]

I suppose there is that. Not brainwashing us is a very low bar, but if that's our bright side, that's our bright side.

[He divests his spear of his fish as well and casually casts it at another, spearing it and retrieving, glancing to it.]

I wonder though. If our communicators have ceased working, if that means Astoria genuinely can't hear us... for once.