She tilts her head back and stares at the ceiling, lights rippling as though seen through water. "Tempting...I once did the math on the theoretical results of just taking Fle right out of the picture. Coring out the heart of the Ninth Empire. But there's seventeen billion people on Fle, and the projected death toll was in the fifty T's, so I decided to go back and work on the math some more." She broods for an instant. "That's the problem with working out all your solutions down to the last fraction: someone can sneak up on you while you sit there, trying to decide which choice to make. When there is no good choice, only bad, worse and worst." In her case, the Ohm had snuck up on her, apparently.

She looks consideringly at him for a moment. "I've often thought that it must be nice to have blunt teeth. Teeth for chewing and grinding, not just for slicing. Being able to sneeze without worrying that you're going to slice your lip off."