Now that the shattered tablet was back in his hand, Julian Sterling did not display even the slightest hint of grief or annoyance. He handled the expensive piece of technology with a cold, almost surgical indifference. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the device onto the hard surface of the desk. It landed with a sharp, dry "clack" that echoed through the tense silence of the lecture hall, sounding like a bone snapping. Kian Foster, who was standing immediately beside Julian, watched the movement with a sharp eye. He noticed that after that careless impact, the already damaged casing showed further signs of structural failure; the screen began to bulge slightly from the frame, and the metal edges were visibly more deformed than they had been moments ago.
