She wonders a little at the softness of his acknowledgement. Was she too effusive with her praise? "i'm glad she's making friends, too. The Nexus is good for that. But I'll bet you'll always be her best friend." Considering how protective Isidor is of her brother, she's not about to trade him in for some shiny new friends. As for what it's like to be an only child, it's her turn to fall into quiet thought. "It was a little lonely," she admits. "I was very close to my parents and they made a lot of time for me, but it's not the same as having another kid around. But it was nice not having to share their attention... or my toys, I guess. And I didn't have to worry about being teased or picked on at home. I could relax and be myself."

Adia looks a little surprised by his question. "Yes. A few papers, actually. My thesis was on the genetic variability of the flu virus... not super exciting, but it helped me to graduate."

At least Viatorus doesn't have to worry about Runa being a sleeper agent for a race of genocidal robots. That often doesn't make for a happy marriage. "That's good," Adia says quickly, trying to ease his nervousness, as well as hers. "She sounds great. The, um, the flowers were a nice touch to your waiting room. Very pretty." She tries to find something else nice to say about a woman that she has never met, then blinks at the implications of Runa having been in Viatorus's office in the first place. "Wait, does that mean that she knows about the Nexus?"