"Hello," said Docchi.
Nona smiled at him, though it was Anti that she came to.
"No, not too close, child. Don't touch the surgery robe unless you want your pretty face to peel off like a plastiwrapper."
Nona stopped; she said nothing.
Anti shook her head hopelessly. "I wish you would learn to read lips or at least recognize written words. It's so difficult to communicate with you."
"She knows facial expressions and actions, I think," said Docchi. "She's good at emotions. Words are a foreign concept to her."
"What other concepts does anyone think with?" asked Anti dubiously.
"Maybe mathematical relationships," answered Docchi. "Though she doesn't. They've tested her for that." He frowned. "I don't know what concepts she does think with. I wish I did."
"Save some of that worry and apply it to our present situation," said Anti. "The object of your concern doesn't seem to be interested in it."
That was true. Nona had wandered back and was staring at the gravital indicator again. What she saw to hold her attention was a puzzle.