Man from U.N.C.L.E. Section VII

My opinion (for whatever the deflated economy makes it worth [chuckle]) is that Illya suddenly came to grips in that moment with how dangerous the invention truly was. Up until that point he was more than likely skeptical of the claims of the inventor and just doing what U.N.C.L.E. assigned him to do in retrieving the machine without believing it much of a threat. But in that instant the reality of what the machine could do hit him and he didn't want any further demonstration of its power as the possibilities were simply too chilling.