"Getting on your nerves?" he said."Getting on your nerves?" he said. "Look, Paul, I know you don't like her. I know M'Ress doesn't like her, but I need her. She's the most qualified Centaur obstetrician on the Ring. She's a stress and a pain, but I need her." "She's not a Shardik." "No, she's not. We've never really settled on what that means, though, but she definitely does not qualify. Look, right now I'm more than a little steamed." "What happened?" "We were in Alpha again, and she started complaining again." "About?" "Paperwork. Look, you know how much of the original Centaur design is simply notes scattered around in a couple of notebooks I have. They're carefully put away, but that's not good enough for her. Paul, when I made you, I got it right, but Carroll is... sterile. I can fix it, I know I can, but I need the help of someone who isn't a microbiologist, someone who understands the big picture. She's it. P'nyssa Traken is the best, recommended by Rhys himself, but Rings, kiddo, I did perfectly well without hypertext. She wants everything hypertexted, and I just don't have that. I work up here," I pointed to my temple, "and she doesn't understand that. |