"You're using time-ordinal verbs with more confidence, I note," McKie said.
"I get the hang of them, yes?"
"I hope so."
"I date the verb as a nodal position," the Caleban said.
"I don't believe I want that explained," McKie said.
"Very well; I comply."
"I'd like to try again to understand how the floggings are timed," McKie said.
"When shapes reach proper proportion," the Caleban said.
"You already said that. What shapes?"
"Already?" the Caleban asked. "That signifies earlier?"
"Earlier," McKie said. "That's right. You said that about shapes before."
"Earlier and before and already," the Caleban said. "Yes; times of different conjunction, by linear alteration of intersecting connectives."
Time, for the Caleban, is a position on a line, McKie reminded himself, recalling Tuluk's attempt at explanation. I must look for the subtly refined differences; they're all this creature sees.
"What shapes?" McKie repeated.
"Shapes defined by duration lines," the Caleban said. "I see many duration lines. You, oddly, carry visual sensation of one line only. Very strange. Other teachers explain this to self, but understanding fails . . . extreme constriction. Self admires molecular acceleration, but . . . maintenance exchange confuses."
Confuses! McKie thought.
"What molecular acceleration?" he asked.
"Teachers define molecule as smallest physical unit of element or compound. True?"
"That's right."
"This carries difficulty in understanding unless ascribed by self to perceptive difference between our species. Say, instead, molecule perhaps equals smallest physical unit visible to species. True?"
What's the difference? McKie thought. It's all gibberish. How had they gotten off onto molecules and acceleration from the proper proportion of undefined shapes?
"Why acceleration?" he insisted.
"Acceleration always occurs along convergence lines we use while speaking one to another."
Oh, damn! McKie thought. He lifted a water jug, drank, choked on a swallow. He bent forward, gasping. When he could manage it, he said, "The heat in here! Molecular speedup!"
"Do these concepts not interchange?" the Caleban asked.
"Never mind that!" McKie blurted, still spitting water. "When you speak to me . . . is that what accelerates the molecules?"
"Self assumes this true condition."
Carefully McKie put down the water jug, capped it. He began laughing.
"Not understand these terms," the Caleban objected.
McKie shook his head. The Caleban's words still came at him with that non-speech quality, but he detected definite querulous notes . . . overtones. Accents? He gave it up. There was something, though.
"Not understand!" the Caleban insisted.
This made McKie laugh all the harder. "Oh, my," he gasped, when he could catch his breath. "The ancient wheeze was right all along, and nobody knew it. Oh, my. Talk is just hot air!"
Again laughter convulsed him.
Presently he lay back, inhaled deeply. In a moment he sat up, took another swallow of water, capped the jug.
"Teach," the Caleban commanded. "Explain these unusual terms."
"Terms? Oh . . . certainly. Laughter. It's our common response to non-fatal surprise. No other significant communicative content."
"Laughter," the Caleban said. "Other nodal encounters with term noted."
"Other nodal . . ." McKie broke off. "You've heard the word before, you mean?"
"Before. Yes. I . . . self . . . I attempt understanding of term, laughter. We explore meaning now?"
"Let's not," McKie objected.
"Negative reply?" the Caleban asked.
"That's correct - negative. I'm much more curious about what you said about . . . maintenance exchange. That was what you said, wasn't it? Maintenance exchange confuses?"
"I attempt define position for you odd one-tracks," the Caleban said.
"One-tracks, that's how you think of us, eh?" McKie asked. He felt suddenly small and inadequate.
"Relationship of connectives one to many, many to one," the Caleban said. "Maintenance exchange."
"How in the hell did we get into this dead-end conversation?" McKie asked.
"You seek positional referents for placement of floggings, that begins conversation," the Caleban said.
"Placement . . . yeah."
"You understand S'eye effect?" the Caleban asked.