=I am sorry about that spasm back on the bus, Fred. It was just that I was trying to learn how your body-worked in case I had to do any repairs. I was handicapped by the handedness barrier.=
"I guessed as much-later."
=This world is an interesting place, Fred. We have been here only a day and I can already predict, with high reliability, that we are going to have some unusual experiences.=
"What sort of satisfaction do you get out of all this, Speicus?"
=I am a recording and analyzing device. The best comparison, I suppose, is that I am a combination of the tourist and his camera. At those moments when they function together, I imagine that their sensations are akin to my own.=
"I suppose it feels good to know yourself so thoroughly. I doubt that I ever will."
He lights a cigarette. He gestures.
"Well, was it worth the trip?" he asks.
=You already know the answer to that.=
"Yes, I guess that I do."
The people who climbed up and decorated all those rocks and cave walls had the right idea, he decides. Yes, they did.
Why he decides this I am not certain. I know him well of course. But I doubt that I will ever know him thoroughly either. I am a recording ...