So much for patent law, he thinks dryly, mouth twitching incrementally. Nirai jokes! But James is probably not in the mood.
"Mostly I know," he allows, quietly, not looking back at Holden, which is not the same thing as being certain, but. He's willing to more or less proceed on the assumption. "I could howl and demand and get my way, and it probably wouldn't damage our partnership. You'd just pity me a little more. But maybe I need to persuade you for me. So I feel less like a trapped rabid animal."
And more like a person who can make decisions about his own mind and future, rational decisions instead of reactionary ones.
"I know you want to protect me. I know it's going to be bad. But it's already bad. Just knowing. And I can't ever deal with it, if it stays - just - a hole. If I can't force it to the field."
no subject
"Mostly I know," he allows, quietly, not looking back at Holden, which is not the same thing as being certain, but. He's willing to more or less proceed on the assumption. "I could howl and demand and get my way, and it probably wouldn't damage our partnership. You'd just pity me a little more. But maybe I need to persuade you for me. So I feel less like a trapped rabid animal."
And more like a person who can make decisions about his own mind and future, rational decisions instead of reactionary ones.
"I know you want to protect me. I know it's going to be bad. But it's already bad. Just knowing. And I can't ever deal with it, if it stays - just - a hole. If I can't force it to the field."