"It's a belt."
"You doll. It's beautiful."
"No it's not—merely wonderful."
"I know. Save it for me, till later. It will go swoosh if acid touches it."
"It positively will not react. I took care of that. There are some metals that are just about inert. It wasn't easy to cover it but I did."
"You made it for me. You shouldn't have."
Jordan puzzled himself with it. He hadn't much to do with it. At the most he'd made a protective covering for it. Nona was solely responsible for the way it functioned. And there was no doubt whom she intended it for; that was why he hadn't hesitated taking it. And yet, why hadn't she turned it over to Anti? It was working perfectly the first time he saw it.
The logical answer was that it wasn't in operating condition, that she couldn't make it work and had laid it aside for further inspiration. But this led to nonsensical conclusions involving the repair robot. He refused to accept the conclusions. "Let's say I didn't make it entirely. I added to what was existing." He swung the belt out to her.
"Are you sure it will fit? I'm quite big."
"Originally it wouldn't. I had to make it longer."