"All ready, dear?" Abby said pleasantly.
She got up and put a consoling arm about the young girl. Together they went into the dining room, where Gretchen had silently placed the appropriate food a few minutes before.
They ate in silence, with only the sounds of eating and an occasional whir from the robot-maid as she appeared and disappeared with dishes. Linda was moody, thoughtful.
"How was the field trip, dear?" Abby wondered.
"All right," Linda answered. "The Venusian amoeba is very much like our own, the man said. It even reproduces itself by division."
"Isn't that nice," Abby said, just a bit hesitantly, uncertain that reproduction by any means should be discussed. However, if they taught it in school—
"I feel sorry for it," Linda said.
Abby stared at her.
"Having no one to love," Linda went on, a faraway look on her face, "no one to love it. If it has any feelings, it must be very lonely."