The silence hadn't seemed awkward to Raju; even as desperate as he is that mask is distracting, stranger than he'd realised when the man had only been walking by, and Raju's spent the time in staring, fascinated, at it.

There's certainly nothing more than natural, mechanical about it. Certainly. Probably something working on magnets or chemicals. They can do amazing things with technology these days.

"As much as there is," he says once the reply comes, eager enough for an answer that not seeing anything like a face to rest his gaze on, in this moment, almost doesn't bother him. "It doesn't matter. Anything, so long as I can write."