Xenoglish

'What does mercy mean?' Mr Task asked, his eyes examining the word on the page as if it were some strange animal. 

Number 48 quit bouncing the base ball off the cell wall and bit her lip.'When you have it in your power to hurt someone, or punish someone if they've hurt you previously: but don't'.

Task's teeth chattered rapidly together at this answer 'That-t-t-t-t-t-ts silly. Why would you not push the advantage?'. 

'Usually out of a sense of compassion' she answered, rolling the worn ball in her hand.

'Well, there will be none of that when we're in charge' he said resolutely, before returning to his reading.

She looked at her missing arm 'I'd never have guessed'.

A few moments later and Number 48 caught him quietly chattering his teeth again.

'Stop that' she warned, thumping the glass panel between them.
'Stop what?' he answered, feigning innocence.
'You bloody well know what, I let it slip last time but you can't keep gnashing your teeth together every time you get the impulse. It's not normal, people will notice. So stop it'.

He closed the book 'It's not as easy as all that you know, this is how I used to breath'. 

'Yeah and I used to live in a six bedroom house, cry me a river'. 

'Cry me a river, I don't think I've heard that one before' he said excitedly, getting out his pen and notepad.

 

She sighed 'It's something you say when someone is complaining and you don't care'. 

After scribbling down the definition of the phrase on the small black line, Mr Task contextualised the use of the term. 'You do not care about my bodily troubles?'.

She began bouncing the old ball on the wall again 'It's my job to care about your bodily troubles. I just get frustrated when you keep making the same mistakes'.

'I only chattered twice' he said defensively.

'Yeah but you're still bending your fingers back like you're trying to break them'.

He crossed his arms 'It's a stupid design for a hand, why make the digits only go one way?'.

'Don't ask me, I didn't design them. Regardless, you need to cut all that out. And put some more practice into your walking, you looked like a cripple in a hurry this morning'.
'I think you'd see things differently were you my shoes'.
'In my shoes' she corrected',
'In my shoes. I don't .think you'd fare any better if you had your body compacted into a smaller frame... with less limbs'.
'Less limbs? I think I can relate to that' she spat, holding up her stump.
He rolled his eyes in the wrong direction 'Are you still angry out that?'.
'Who me? No, couldn't be more over it really I'm fucking livid'.
'You were trying to escape, the superlatives had to punish you somehow... and they could not mercy you. Besides, you know exactly what to do in order to get a replacement'.
'Yeah yeah, become a black suit, help you lot spy on the masses down there blah blah blah. Haven't you got it through your head yet that I'm not going stab my race in the back?'.
'But all the other linguists are doing it, Just yesterday Number 93 signed the contract'.
'Whoopty doo for them' she muttered, facing the wall-wide window to the left of her.
'I must admit I truly don't understand you sometimes Number 48, every time I think I've got a handle on humans you go and say the strangest things, making me feel like I'm a neophyte again. Nevertheless I am glad you've stayed here for this long, I feel I've learnt-t-t a lot - learnt a lot in your company'.
She smiled despite her mood 'You're a long way from a undetectable infiltrator yet, Task'.

 

Once the session was finished, the linguist became bored and threw the ball at the window for a change, it bounced off Earth and snapped back into her hand.