Dhivael found it interesting that perfect pitch related to the control of a siren’s abilities to manipulate with her or his voice. It did make a strange kind of sense. After all, a singer needed to have an understanding of pitch in order to sing well. If sirens couldn’t sing well, their abilities may have an unintended effect or no effect at all.
The Rihan was curious about this Star Trek of which Kay spoke. “I have never heard of it. What is it? Do the emotionless characters ever understand emotions as they are explained?” It seemed unlikely that if the characters of whom Kay spoke could not understand emotion that Dhivael would find any help at all from viewing it.
She still didn’t understand how a grown man reading a comic book meant for young girls was silly. It had been her understanding that silliness was akin to something being humorous. Instead, the situation was ironic. Logically, that would mean that ironic things were silly which made them funny. At least that was a step in the right direction toward understanding.
“What was it you had the other person do when you used your abilities to manipulate them?” Dhivael really had no social graces because she didn’t understand that when someone changed the subject after an admission while their face was red with shame or guilt or whatever other negative emotions could cause the physical reaction that the person probably did not wish to discuss the topic. She knew only that she was curious, and she wished to know. “What did you feel while you accomplished it?” Of course, if Kay told her she didn’t want to talk about it, the extraterrestrial would not push. She was not cruel after all, and she respected the silence that others wished to keep on specific topics.
Dhivael didn’t understand her “logic” on the rape issue. If one had no choice but to be willing, they were still willing. “What are your moral standards regarding your abilities?” By that, she simply wondered what lines Kay refused to cross and which ones were still okay to cross.
“The emotional connections we share are not the same as you perceive them. My people don’t become as emotionally attached as your people seem to become. We have the genetic attachments that link us, of course, and we may become closer with some than others. Family is not unimportant. We simply understand that our duties are more important to our individual growth.”
Dhivael listened thoughtfully as Kay explained what was intended by her touch. Comfort. Kay had expected the Rihan to need emotional support and comfort from someone. Most felt bad when they thought of home and the family they missed. Feelings like this didn’t plague her, though, so the touch had been unnecessary. However, she thought she would try it in the future. Perhaps the simple motion would help her understand. Perhaps mimicking the actions of Earthlings could give her insight into the mechanics of their minds.
The alien thought she would take Kay’s words and try them. Perhaps she simply wasn’t accustomed to thinking of food as anything but a need to maintain the body’s functions. She did not care as much about the textures and tastes of individual foods. Her dark eyes moved over the half eaten apple on her tray, and she lifted it to her lips again. She was more careful so the juices wouldn’t splatter when she bit into it with her strong, white teeth. The texture was strange. It almost had a grainy quality to it, but the skin was smooth. She felt no emotional response to it. Perhaps it would take time to accumulate the proper appeal?