“Well, when Jeska gets back …”
“Daniel, she’s not coming back.”
“She could.”
Rachel-7 rolled her eyes. “She's made a fool of you again. Why do you fall for it?”
“I think it’s a misunderstanding,” Daniel said quickly.
“She put one over on you. And she had that Prnei fellow help.”
“No. She’ll be back,” he said, but he heard the doubt in his own voice.
“She won’t.”
Daniel stared awkwardly into space.
“Anyway, how’d you contact me?” Daniel said, when he came back to life. “I couldn’t reach you.”
“I tricked Tour Guide into opening a link chat,” she said, looking pleased with herself. “The Aye is stunningly stupid. It took me to three different locations on its idiotic ‘tour’ before I convinced it I didn’t want to do a look-around.”
Daniel nodded his head. “And you have no idea why you’re human?”
“Ha! I knew you were curious!”
“Then I guess you win in this conversation,” he said, still smarting from her critique of his former lover. “Any thoughts as to why you’re now oh-so-lovely, Miss Universe?”
“You find me attractive. Great," Rachel-7 said, rolling her eyes.
Uh oh. She's already full of herself. Don't let her know she's pretty.
"Not that attractive," Daniel said. 'I mean, you're maybe a 6 out of 10?"
Rachel-7 ignored him.
"Hey idiot?" she asked. Without thinking, Daniel started to open his mouth.
"Not you, idiot," Rachel-7 said. "The Aye idiot. Hey, idiot, why am I now an unwilling member of the homo not-that-sapiens?"
"You didn't ask before?" Daniel said.
"I was too angry at you to be bothered."
“I will answer your question,” said the Tour Guide.
Daniel felt frustrated. "You'll answer that question, but won't tell us why we're here? Or where here is?"
The Tour Guide, like Rachel-7, ignored Daniel.
"My programming says that, if I have to apologize, — for example, if I accidentally cause someone to smash their olfactory organ on the floor —"
"That was your fault!?" Rachel-7 said, touching her now-repaired nose with her new hands.
"I am required to respond to the offended party. … I might have responded more quickly if Visitor Rachel-7 had stopped belittling me."
In Daniel’s experience, Rachel-7 got along with other Ayes just as well as she got along with organic life.
True to form, Rachel-7 let loose a stream of Ilixian profanity.
It looks like Daniel and Rachel-7 aren't genre-savvy enough to wait until the first question is answered before starting new questions.
Quick Daniel, slip on a coaster and break your ankle! :P
i never really thought about that. sci fi people almost always let people finish expository questions (at least in books).