"Come on over," the master said from the doorway. "Come on over." He made a beckoning motion.
Cadnan picked his way across the room over wakeful Alberts.
When he had reached the master, the master said: "Sit down." He looked strange, Cadnan realized, though he could not tell exactly how.
Cadnan sat and the master, closing the door, sat with his back against it. There was a second of silence, which the master broke abruptly.
"My name's Dodd," he said.
"I am called Cadnan," Cadnan said. He couldn't resist bringing out his latest bit of knowledge for display. "I am a slave."
"Sure," Dodd said dully. "I know. The rest of them say I shouldn't, but I think about you a lot. About all of you."
Cadnan, not knowing if this were good or bad, said nothing at all, but waited. Dodd sighed, shook his head and closed his eyes. After a second he went on.
"They tell me, let the slaves have their own life," he said. "But I don't see it that way. Do you see it that way? After all, you're people, aren't you? Just like us."