"But you just said—"
"He did it after he died," the craggy man explained.
"Huh?" Zen said. "Pardon me, but I did not seem to hear you clearly. I thought you said he did this after he died."
"That's what I said. That's what he did." The craggy man's voice was calm.
"I—uh—" Zen hastily changed his mind about the words he was going to use. Secretly he was wondering if West was hopelessly insane. How could a dead man build anything? "You understand that I am not too familiar with what actually happened. Sorry and all that but I simply haven't had to learn."
"I understand," West said. "You don't need to apologize. You will learn here."
"Good," Zen said. He doubted if he felt better because his explanation had been accepted. West's last words had an ominous ring to them.
"Your lack of familiarity with Jonner's history is very obvious," West continued.
"But if he was dead—"
"He didn't die," West patiently explained. "He was buried. A handsome monument was erected over his grave. But he wasn't in the grave."