A tiny furrow forms on Ned's brow when Ginsberg mentions the war and his own scruples. It's not the kind of thing he can really offer advice for, or knows what to say to - what DOES one say? He never has to deal with situations like that. Pie is simple. Pie is, as far as he's concerned, never morally questionable. Ned is glad of that, and the certainty that comes with it.

Ned gives a little laugh at the 'time machines and spaceships' part of his answer, because who wouldn't want to write an ad for those? He likes Ginsberg's sense of imagination, thinks it sounds not incompatible with his own.

Which is why, even though he thinks of it as a calculated risk, Ned says, "I can't think of any more questions off the top of my head, so... I guess it's your turn."