[There is an unhappy tick in the stiff clench of his jaw. It seems obvious. Why hadn't he reached for the stupidest explanation? That rotting corpse was only squatting on the airwaves, absolutely motionless, but he'd been stuck staring at it like he was catching Eric Dickerson obliterating OJ's rush record for the first time.

And he knew all about squirmy things getting into your head. It's fortunate he didn't start assuming in the other direction. Too much time had been spent making circles back to the pods now that he was stuck up here, now that a new crew was waking up.]

And how long did you spend gazing lovestruck up here before you worked that out?

[Said not as a combative retort, but something quite tired. Not unlike the exasperation he'd shown at realizing John's gift for speaking machine-y.]

Or did the TV tell you about it? Nice shirt by the way, that's a real cheek pincher. Did the Natha open a gift shop or what?