Salem watched as the display began running through even more information pertaining to Mar. He'd seen this device give up data dozens of times, but he still hadn't gotten used to it. People were always so much more complex than he made them out to be.
Salem watched with interest as the images of Mar floated by, but what really grabbed his attention was the greater presence that seemed to surround what he'd come to think of as the "human" set of thought patterns. He assumed it was the Highest that Mar represented... or at least a portion of it. As with the physiological readout, there was no way of telling how large its power was, or where it would end. The aura seemed to be dominated by... hatred? And bitterness, it seemed, or something similar. There was what he took to be either apprehension or amusement there as well, directed at the Mar he knew... Salem guessed it to be amusement, simply based on how powerful a being this seemed to be. He narrowed his eyes and ****ed his head.
Rather than helping him understand that Highest, this seemed to bring up even more questions. It seemed to be beyond anything he'd ever experienced... beyond anything he could comprehend. Not sure what I expected with a powerful immortal, he thought. Among other things, though, this seemed to be blurring the line of how he thought of Mar... neither display had really made it clear whether Mar was part of the greater being, or his own entity.
Engrossed as Salem was in the images being displayed before Mar and himself, he still remembered to turn and click his device at the newcomer that loudly entered the bar, and again at Derrel when he noticed him.
Salem smiled at Mar. "I've got that information in my ship's computer. I might go through it later. From the look of things, though, I don't know how much I can learn about the 'Highest self' from it."
When the newcomer called out that he was willing to pay for assistance, Salem looked over in interest. After a moment, he shrugged and turned back to Mar. Money wasn't something he was in dire need of at the moment. Besides, the guy had specifically asked for 'Andalite or Yeerk' help.
"Pretty impressive little machine, eh?" he asked Mar, holding up the device. "I haven't been able to figure out how it works. If you spend some time with that information, I'm betting you could get quite a bit of detail out." He pointed to the projector that was sitting on the table. "You can keep that, if you like."