[Ion laughs softly, but his eyes wander to the floor. He can't stop himself from being troubled over this--it's only natural. But somehow, it's like talking about the seemingly inevitable end to his own life is only encouraging him to act increasingly unaffected.]

I'm not sure--you can understand why I said I don't know what to make of it. They must have known there's no way that I can contribute to a plot like this in any other fashion.