"Fire out of sticks, huh," he says absently. He's figured out that, after death in an Arena, people get reset back to how they were when they were pulled here, so any physical changes probably wouldn't make a difference. Flexibility or muscle mass or anything. Sudden weight gain? But he never really considered intellectual changes.

Which is probably very telling about Brock Samson's priorities.

"I guess it can go the other way too. Knock you down some if they don't think you're pulling your weight. So to speak."

Not that he really cares about his ranking, but... no, who is he kidding, he cares a lot. If there is one thing Brock is good at, it's being ridiculously deadly, and it would be insulting if he lost bragging rights... even in the eyes of a totalitarian 1984 knock-off...