[Robert smiles back a bit, because Ian's demeanour is the kind to make him feel a bit better.]

If you would not object to me seeing a sample of your medicine sometime - assuming it does not injure you or strain you too greatly to do so - then I would be most enthusiastic. I am composing a report on various' worlds manifestations of magic and how that relates to physics... But I am also an astrobiologist, and I greatly appreciate any chance I have to communicate with non-human sapients. It is always a deep honour to see the many spectra of sapience in the multiverse.