( He has told a few people since coming to Fragment what he intends to do, but Barrett is the first to tell him to stop. The feeling of his palm over his feels as sharp as the splinters in his skin, needling into the tender flesh of his constricted heart.

He looks to Barrett, his gaze sharp - wounded, like an injured animal. )

... What else is there? ( He inhales sharp, the breath like razors in his throat. ) Is this life worth living? A life I can't live without my hand held, a life at a tenth as much vibrance as everyone else? This is the one worthwhile thing I can do - the only thing I want.

( As much as this is about getting back at the professor - it's maybe, also, about himself. )

It's better spent on this than anything else.