"Please!" Goré raised a hand. "We're here to exchange information, not to squabble!"
"I'm sorry," said Francine. "It's just that I feel so hopeless today."
"Well, what have we learned today?" asked Goré.
"Nothing new with us," said Zakheim.
Goré cleared his throat. "That goes double for me." He looked at Ohashi.
The Japanese shrugged. "We achieved no reaction from the Galactic, Kobai."
"Anthropomorphic nonsense," muttered Zakheim.
"You mean naming him Kobai?" asked Ohashi. "Not at all, Zak. That's the most frequent sound he makes, and the name helps with identification. We don't have to keep referring to him as 'The Galactic' or 'that creature in the spaceship'."
Goré turned to Francine. "It was like talking to a green statue," she said.
"What of the lecture period?" asked Goré.