He was proud that he seldom allowed her to see that she annoyed him. "B'zhu, fam tey zafeep," he said. "Good evening, woman of the Amphibians."
Mockingly she said, "Have you been watching the Six Flying Stars, Jean-Jacques?"
"Vi. I do so every time they come over."
"Why do you eat your heart out because you cannot fly up to them and then voyage among the stars on one of them?"
He refused to give her the satisfaction of knowing his real reason. He did not want her to realize how little he thought of Mankind and its chances for surviving—as humanity—upon the face of this planet, L'Bawpfey.
"I look at them because they remind me that Man was once captain of his soul."
"Then you admit that the Land-walker is weak?"
"I think he is on the way to becoming non-human, which is to say that he is weak, yes. But what I say about Landman goes for Seaman, too. You Changelings are becoming more Amphibian every day and less Human. Through the Skins the Amphibs are gradually changing you completely. Soon you will be completely sea-people."
She laughed scornfully, exposing perfect white teeth as she did so.
"The Sea will win out against the Land. It launches itself against the shore and shakes it with the crash of its body. It eats away the rock and the dirt and absorbs it into its own self. It can't be worn away nor caught and held in a net. It is elusive and all-powerful and never-tiring."