She looked at him tranquilly. “We don’t eat living things. The thought is horrible to us.”
“I have nothing to say against that, theoretically. But do you really sustain your bodies on water?”
“Supposing you could find nothing else to live on, Maskull—would you eat other men?”
“I would not.”
“Neither will we eat plants and animals, which are our fellow creatures. So nothing is left to us but water, and as one can really live on anything, water does very well.”
Maskull picked up one of the fruits and handled it curiously. As he did so another of his newly acquired sense organs came into action. He found that the fleshy knobs beneath his ears were in some novel fashion acquainting him with the inward properties of the fruit. He could not only see, feel, and smell it, but could detect its intrinsic nature. This nature was hard, persistent and melancholy.
Joiwind answered the questions he had not asked.
“Those organs are called ‘poigns.’ Their use is to enable us to understand and sympathise with all living creatures.”
“What advantage do you derive from that, Joiwind?”
“The advantage of not being cruel and selfish, dear Maskull.”