Bariyan sat up suddenly, staring again at Martin like something new and unknown. He sighed and looked away.

"Sorry," he said.

The apology was vague, even to himself. He didn't know what he was apologizing for. He was thoroughly distracted, distant, thinking of something else; even when he tried to concentrate on Martin, he couldn't. He was unsettled. Uneasy. Perhaps enough to make him sick, if he'd been alive enough to feel nausea.

He looked back, holding his hand out for the tablet.

"Can I see that now?" Bariyan asked. "It won't be more than a minute. I think."