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In this soup kitchen sits a nun in partial habit, sipping water and frowning at a desk. It is very irregular for adults who aren't volunteering to be at the soup kitchen. It is very irregular for expensive electronics to be in the soup kitchen. The volunteers do seem to know her; they call her "Carlotta".
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"...What, literally?" says Sindri.
"Well," she says, "we didn't talk very much, but I didn't notice him having any except enough that we could have sort of a conversation. So like, he didn't interrupt me or talk about totally different things when I said stuff? But besides that."
"...," says Sindri.
"Did you try telling him how people are supposed to look and not look at other people?" she wonders. "That might work. I mean, he's here, he can't be stupid."
"I'm not really upset about it, I'm just confused."
"Well, I have no idea why he's looking at you in particular," says Bella.
"I guess I can go ask."
He crosses the aisle.
"Hi," he says. "I'm Sindri. Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm not looking at you," says Oat.
"Well, why are you not looking at me like that?"
"...You make sense," says Oat.
Sindri blinks at him.
He crosses the aisle.
"Hi," he says. "I'm Sindri. Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm not looking at you," says Oat.
"Well, why are you not looking at me like that?"
"...You make sense," says Oat.
Sindri blinks at him.
"What do you mean he makes sense?" says Bella.
"I mean... I keep having guesses about what he's thinking, even when I'm not trying to find out, and the guesses keep making sense to me."
"...Is that an unusual thing about me?"
"Yes! No one ever makes any sense unless they explain themselves directly and often not even then!"
"...Is that an unusual thing about me?"
"Yes! No one ever makes any sense unless they explain themselves directly and often not even then!"
"Do you make guesses about other people that don't make sense, or not make guesses about them at all?"
"I make guesses about them on purpose, but not by accident. Sometimes the guesses are right, but they aren't so... comprehensible."
"This is very strange," says Sindri.
"Yes! It is!" says Oat.
"This is very strange," says Sindri.
"Yes! It is!" says Oat.
"Maybe your mutant power is kicking in and doesn't work on everybody. One like that definitely wouldn't work on me anyway, I'm an antitelepath."
"I don't think so," says Oat. "Why would it only work on him?"
"...Well, I'm a mutant too..." says Sindri.
"...Well, I'm a mutant too..." says Sindri.
"Maybe it only works on mutants. Hey who else in this launch is a mutant?"
Nobody else in this launch is a mutant.
Nobody else in this launch is a mutant.
"I don't think it's that, though," says Oat.
"Why not?" says Sindri.
"It being a mutant power would explain why I understand you but not why you're understandable."
"...I'm not sure I follow."
"If I was a telepath I would know what you were thinking but that wouldn't make the things you were thinking seem obvious and natural."
"Why not?" says Sindri.
"It being a mutant power would explain why I understand you but not why you're understandable."
"...I'm not sure I follow."
"If I was a telepath I would know what you were thinking but that wouldn't make the things you were thinking seem obvious and natural."
"It might if you were the right sort of telepath."
"That's - that's a wrong sort of telepath for there to be," says Oat.
"Well, I know that."
"Do you? What do you mean exactly?"
"I mean that it's kind of awful there are telepaths who can know things about people without asking and the more they know the worse it is and I'm glad they can't do it to me. What did you mean?"
"There are lots of ways people can do undesirable things to other people, and there is a solution to all of them in principle, which is for people not to do those things," says Oat. "If just being this sort of telepath changed the entire way I think so that telepathic guesses were always more understandable than ordinary guesses, there would be no solution to that at all."
"...Do you not like understanding people?"
"I haven't done enough of it to know if I like it or not. But if it's a mutant power just making me feel like you're more understandable than anyone else, without you actually being more understandable, then that's horrible."
"...Do you not like understanding people?"
"I haven't done enough of it to know if I like it or not. But if it's a mutant power just making me feel like you're more understandable than anyone else, without you actually being more understandable, then that's horrible."
"Well, then you should tell Sindri your guesses and see if you're right."
"What would that prove?"
"Whether you were understanding him right or just thinking you did."
"...That would be interesting to know but it's not what's bothering me."
"It's kind of hard to tell what's bothering you, then."
"I know. I'm trying to explain and it's not working."
"It's kind of hard to tell what's bothering you, then."
"I know. I'm trying to explain and it's not working."