"What do you use it for?" she asks. "The Greek, I mean. Religious purposes?" Now that the conversation is fully on languages, she seems far more relaxed, listening to her friend's answer curiously. "That's so many," she says, impressed. "I only speak Caprican and Leonese. It's like French, I've been told. Caspar knows way more than me, but it's easy for him to pick up additional languages."

"My brain is wired for it," Caspar says with a modest shrug. "I know Caprican and Leonese, Libran, some Tauron, and Binary. And I suppose Common, too. Harrowheart gave me a lesson a little earlier."