Unseen Academicals

romantic-novel situation and I am about to learn about ships. Iradne Comb-Buttworthy never puts a ship in her books. They probably don’t have enough reticules.
    ‘No,’ said Nutt. ‘In fact, to put it simply, each ship shields the other ship from lateral waves on one side, so by small increments outside forces bring them together without their realizing it.’
    ‘Oh! It’s a metaphor?’ said Glenda, relieved. ‘You think we’re being pushed together.’
    ‘It’s something like that,’ said Nutt. They rocked as the coach hit a particularly nasty pothole.
    ‘So, if we don’t do anything we’ll just get closer and closer?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Nutt.
    The coach jumped and rattled again, but Glenda felt as if she was travelling over very thin ice. She’d hate to say the wrong thing.
    ‘You know Trev said that I’d died?’ Nutt continued. ‘Well, that was true. Probably. Ladyship said that we were made from goblins for the Evil Emperor. The Igors did it. And they put in something very strange. It’s a part of you that isn’t quite a part of you. They called it the Little Brother. It’s tucked in deep inside and absolutely protected and it’s like having your own hospital with you all the time. I know that I was hit very hard, but the Little Brother kept me alive and simply cured things again. There are ways to kill an orc, but there are not many of them and anyone trying them out on a living orc is not going to have very much time to get it right. Does that worry you at all?’
    ‘No, not really,’ said Glenda. ‘I don’t really understand it. I think it’s more important just to be who you are.’
    ‘No, I don’t think I should be who I am, because I am an orc. But I have some plans in that direction.’
    Glenda cleared her throat again. ‘This thing with the ships…Does it happen quite quickly?’
    ‘It starts quite slowly, but it’s quite quick towards the end,’ said Nutt.
    ‘The thing is,’ said Glenda, ‘I mean, I can’t just walk away from my job, and there’s old ladies I go and visit, and you’ll be busy with the football…’
    ‘Yes. I think we should be doing the things we should be doing, and it’s the last training day tomorrow, which is actually today now,’ said Nutt.
    ‘And I’ve got to make a lot of pies.’
    ‘It’s going to be a very busy time for both of us,’ said Nutt solemnly.
    ‘Yes. Um, er, do you mind me saying…in your lovely poem…the line “The crypt’s a handsome place to be, but none I think leave after tea” didn’t quite—’
    ‘Didn’t quite work? I know,’ said Nutt. ‘I feel rather bad about that.’
    ‘Oh, please don’t! It’s a wonderful poem!’ Glenda burst out, and felt the ripples in the calm sea.

    The rising sun managed to peek around the vast column of smoke that forever rose from Ankh-Morpork, City of Cities, illustrating almost up to the edge of space that smoke means progress or, at least, people setting fire to things. ‘I think we’re going to be so busy that we’re not going to have much time for…ourselves,’ said Glenda.
    ‘I quite agree,’ said Nutt. ‘Leaving things alone would definitely be our wisest move.’

    Glenda felt light as air as the coach trundled down Broad Way, and it wasn’t just from lack of sleep. That stuff about boats, I really hope he doesn’t think it’s all about ships.
    There was a crowd outside the university when they arrived, just as yesterday, but it seemed to have a different complexion now. People were staring at her and Nutt, and there was something wrong with the way they were looking.
    She reached over to the mound that was Trev, pretended not to hear a girlish giggle and said, ‘Trev. Could you, er, have a look at this. I think there’s going to be trouble.’
    Trev, very tousled, stuck his head out and said, ‘Hmm, me too. Let’s all nip in around the back.’
    ‘We could stay on and get off at the Post Office,’ said Glenda.
    ‘No,’ said Trev. ‘We ’aven’t done anythin’ wrong.’
    As they dismounted from the coach a small boy said to Nutt, ‘Are you the orc, mister?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Nutt, as he helped Glenda down. ‘I am an orc.’
    ‘Cool! Have you ever twisted someone’s head off?’
    ‘I don’t believe so. I am sure I would have remembered,’ said Nutt.
    This got if not applause then a certain amount of approval from some of the bystanders. It’s his voice, thought Glenda. He sounds posher than a wizard. You can’t imagine a