Exclamation points were the norm for Gates, as it happened. Exclamation points, and little bursts of righteous indignation. But right now, they were definitely in overdrive. "Has no one challenged this rampant speciesism?" he asked. "Don't tell me the populace is too beaten down to resist. Rebellion always lives on in the sentient spirit!"

He looked at the hand being held out to him, then cautiously unwound one of his own hands from the lamp post and reached out to take hers. His mouth tugged into a frown. "My hand is so fleshy," he said in a small voice. "It's unnatural." He slowly shifted weight back onto his feet. "I can walk if I have to," he said. "But not on two feet!"