That gets more of the reaction that Mariko is expecting, as Togusa's eyebrows raise and his whole body stiffens in the physical embodiment of the words 'excuse me?' But he listens. He keeps his gaze on her, eyes sliding up and down to take her in as if seeing her in a new light, before his hand can't fucking help it and goes back to the book.

"Somehow? That's not a surprise. I keep picturing somebody like Malik, if Holden Caufield is a role model to him."

A long, slow, drink, maybe he needs to make his physical state match the way his mental state just got slightly unbalanced there. And then she hits him with the next one.

"Wha?" The glass gets put down with a thunk, and Togusa's face has shifted to total confusion for a second. "Ah- it's a, philosophical thing. The intersection of the net and the idea of identity."

Something that he has been rolling over and over in his head, but in regards to what Retrospec is doing to them, not in regards to the memories, themselves. "The basic concept is that something can exist that can't be truly observed or quantified. Whether some intrinsic part of the self, or just a piece of identity. Some piece left over that makes someone you that isn't there if you just add up all the data about a person that you can pick up from an outside perspective. It still stands alone, even if you can't prove it."

"It's the thing that makes me worry Retrospec's whole plan is doomed to failure."