The orderly entered. Darquelnoy told him, “Two restno,” and he left again.
“I can’t imagine them making a spaceship,” said Ebor thoughtfully. “I would have thought they’d have blown themselves up long before reaching that stage.”
“I would have thought so, too,” said Darquelnoy. “But there it is. At the moment, they’ve divided themselves into two camps—generally speaking, that is—and the two sides are trying like mad to outdo each other in everything. As a part of it, they’re shooting all sorts of rubbish into space and crowing every time a piece of the other side’s rubbish malfunctions.”
“They could go on that way indefinitely,” said Ebor.
“I know,” said Darquelnoy gloomily. “And here we sit.”
Ebor nodded, studying his friend. “You don’t suppose this is all a waste of time, do you?” he asked, after a minute.
Darquelnoy shook a tentacle in negation. “Not at all, not at all. They’ll get around to it, sooner or later. They’re still boasting themselves into the proper frame of mind, that’s all.”
Ebor rippled in sympathetic amusement. “I imagine you sometimes wish you could give them a little prodding in the right direction,” he said.
Darquelnoy fluttered his tentacles in horror, crying, “Don’t even think of such a thing!”
“I know, I know,” said Ebor hastily. “The laws—”