There was almost a sense of jealousy as Arthur eyed the chip. His own totem is nowhere to be found and while Arthur had never expected himself to end up like Mal, he was finding himself looking for it desperately like a lost crutch. Maybe that was why he'd found himself in the casino to begin with.

"I'm not trying to scare you, but you know that's exactly what you'd say if you were a forgery of Eames trying to lull me into a false sense of security, don't you?"

His voice was calm and even, mostly because that was just how Arthur was, but in part because Arthur wasn't sure what was really better. Did he want this to be real? Was that actually better than the prospect of fighting off an extraction team?