"Hello, Thomas, hello, Oner," spoke the boy. "Glad to see that you guys came to visit me." [i]And, well, glad to see that you guys are friends with each other.[/i] From what Ascot had observed, Oner was less eccentric than Reno, and thus less grating on Thomas' nerves. That was a good thing.

When Amelia went inside the room, Ascot knew what to do; he got out an orange, peeled it, and gave a piece to the little girl.

"Try it," he spoke, "it tastes good. Anyway, Amelia, do you know how to speak?"