"Concepts, ideas?"

"Words not ideas, aliens Amentans make ideas words, magic not know ideas words, magic need Amentans ideas talk."

"...so you're reading minds?"

"NO!"

Cadra jumps. "Shhh!"

Oops.

"Magic know ideas, magic talk Amentan talk. Not read minds."

"I'm afraid I don't quite get the distinction but it's probably just a vocabulary problem..."

Nod.

There's a knock. "Is everything all right in there, Senator?" calls a voice.

"Everything's fine!" he calls.

"Read minds bad," she says, quietly but firmly. "--Think you talk, you touch trash, I talk you red."

"...would reading minds make you unclean somehow, that doesn't - seem to make sense -"

"Not unclean. Not all bad unclean."

"But you mentioned reds and that's the problem with them."

"...You not want I talk you red. I not want you talk I reading minds."

"- you don't want to discuss reading minds, all right."

"...No. Reading minds bad. Unclean bad. Different bad. Still bad."

"Don't want to be accused of it? Associated with it?" suggests Cadra.

Nod.

"All right."

"Magic aliens think I reading minds, I death."

"- so it's a crime, I see."

Nod. "Magic translation--close enough reading minds, don't when not-magic translation. Yellows don't know alien languages, Odette Illia don't know Amentan languages, need magic translation."

"The polymath -" begins Cadra.

"This is the biggest thing to happen in history," the senator tells her, "if it gets out the capital will be a kicked anthill, do not make me regret hiring you, Insho, I know where your brother works too -"

"Yes Senator."

"Kicked anthill?"

"Everyone will want to get you to do things and make it look like their idea," he says. "I'm not claiming to have nobler motives but I can't compete with myself in three hundred directions and the full Senate is more than capable of that. The polymath Cadra keeps mentioning is brilliant and not obviously disloyal but his sister is being cultivated by another senator's office."