There is no good way to broach this topic with Seth, as far as Tonia knows. During the quiet moments on this journey, she contemplates the best way to bring it up, her mouth sometimes opening to discuss - before she clamps it shut, or otherwise changes topic. But the desire to say something remains and, well.
At some point, she'll be too frustrated to find a better way to word things. Like right now.
"—Do you want me to turn your M.I.N.D. off?" Tonia sits on a large piece of rubble, elevating her to a height where her feet don't touch the ground. "Like, I'm not talking about killing you or that Construct thing where you go into hibernation for routine system maintenance or whatever that is. I mean like, actually turn you off, for a little bit."
As a childish sort of distraction, she starts to restlessly swing her legs. "Like, normally I wouldn't be able to do that, but with the virus technically infecting your frame, I could probably bypass your programming and force a temporary shutdown if I wanted to. Maybe. I think. A-Anyway, the point is - if you want to literally turn your head off for a little bit like, super-completely, I can probably do that!"
A pause, as she glances off to the side. Her voice is a much more quiet mutter when she speaks again, "...It might help with the nightmares... if you want..."
⠀⠀⠀⠀Unusual questions posed in unusual circumstances has long become expected of interacting with Tonia. Be it about his sword or about what they're doing next - she has a knack for asking questions straight out of nowhere with no relevance to anything.
⠀⠀⠀⠀So it is that her question - one that could be construed as something very hostile - is given ample pause while he pulls apart a deceased construct. His sword rests comfortably at his side as careful and diligent efforts to precisely deconstruct the mostly in-tact but decidedly deceased construct are carried out.
⠀⠀⠀⠀The question is greeted with a calm silence, her companion continuing the work at hand for a few moments as she speaks, proposes her idea. Solitude for a bit, perhaps. To be devoid of self - to be truly turned off for a bit before being reactivated. Something that could, in theory, be nice.
"That will not be needed."
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀A simple response.
"For me, it would be little more than a blink between deactivation and reactivation. It might resolve some underlying issues within my M.I.N.D.'s structure from continuous runtime, but the issues I face are... Beyond just hardware or software issues."
⠀⠀⠀⠀Pop. The panel comes off, and he carefully starts pulling some components out. Good to keep replacements and spares on hands - as well as things that might be useful for upgrading himself. Babylonia keeps making better and better constructs after all.
"I... Appreciate the thoughts. The concern. But... This is not something that can be so easily amended. In time, perhaps, there will be solace. An answer at the end of that long dark. But it will not come from the lie of silence."
⠀⠀⠀⠀He pauses again, turning his gaze on Tonia.
"The cure for nightmares is resolution. It is something I hope to find in our travels."