It was good to see Percy smile. Even better to have been part of what made him smile. She was terribly fond of him, though not in any romantic sense. Their darkness and their tendency to bury themselves in projects would not work. So her smile was affectionate, but only in the manner of a dear friend, when she replied, "I know very little of Taryon. We were not acquainted. He had a large automaton that traveled with him, Dodo or somesuch. That is most everything I know."