"Th- that." Lin points emphatically at Pepper. "All," he repeats, shaking his head with something close to sad incredulity. "Family is everyth- thing. I've wondered--"

He hesitates, then, but squares his shoulders and asks with honest curiosity and something near to pity: "Are most Foreigners orphans? Even th- the ones who have been here for years d- don't seem to get it. L- like you've n- never had to th- think about how what you do affects a group."