He can't ignore Delta. Not all the way - the craving to connect with the other AI is still there, even after the Meta. It's that tamped-down old hunger to see if and where their frayed ends match, to feel like more, like what North feels for his twin even now but echoed in a different key. It tugs him out of that frenzied loop and he studies the information that Delta's flagged, shining green among the muddle, and turns his attention to that - and from there, to Delta.

He wanted me. North's life wouldn't have needed saving if Theta hadn't been there. It's a reality he had never expected, and he's still shaken by it, that and the Meta and his sheer insignificance in the face of Cortana. He wanted us. He was gonna kill York too.