He is clearly stimulated. When you sit in front of a huge audience, and the audience is darkly lit, your eyes will tend to dilate. Who knows, could be on something, but I doubt it, he isn't showing any other signs with his speech, or anything else, so it is most likely just a combination of lighting, and the fact that being the center of attention, which he isn't that used to yet, tends to get your stimulated, especially when you are the focus of so many people who adore you, can't help but get those positive neurotransmitters flowing... Same reason teenage girls lock themselves in the school bathroom, and gossip, that process has been proven to release insane amounts of dopamine, and so young girls through conversation will have their eyes dilate big time. Anytime people are stimulated intellectually, combined with socially, tends to release neurotransmitters which dilate the eyes. So good catch, but don't think you can assume it means anything. It used to be that anyone who puts drugs in their books likely had experience with them, is not so anymore. Pierce seems like a master at taking scientific ideas he has read, and put them into really great contexts in his books, so some people might assume that means he is on something, it doesn't Look at any case where someone is clearly intellectually stimulated in conversation, and it will cause eye dilation.

The Jackal, however, was not.

@@Basketballerphx lol, agreed