Through the distorting field of gel, Artemis could see Ragby
taunting Mulch, and thought that perhaps it would be a good idea if he
joined the argument.
Speaking through the gel was a tricky affair that involved forming
the words through clenched teeth, which kept the gel out but allowed it
to pick up vibration in the throat.
“Hello, Mr. Ragby,” he said. The amorphobot sprouted a gel speaker
and translated the vibrations into words.
“Hey, look,” said Ragby. “The thrall speaks. What do you want,
Mud Boy? A little shock, is that what you want?”
Artemis decided that highbrow intellectual argument was not the
way to go with this person, and chose to go straight for the personal
insult.
“I want you to have a bath, dwarf. You stink.”
Ragby was delighted to have a little diversion. “Wow. That’s like
actual grown-up fighting talk. You do know that your bodyguard is out
of action?”
If Butler had been equipped with laser eyeballs, Bobb Ragby would
have had holes bored right through his skull.
What are you up to, Artemis? wondered Butler. This kind of insult is
not your style.
“I don’t need a bodyguard to dispose of you, Ragby,” continued
Artemis. “Just a bucket of water and a wire brush.”
“Funny,” said Ragby, though he sounded a little less amused than
previously.
“Perhaps some disinfectant, so your germs would not spread.”
“I have a fungus,” said Ragby. “It’s a real medical condition and it’s
very hurtful of you to bring it up.”
“Awww,” said Artemis. “Is the big tough dwarf in pain?”
Ragby had had enough. “Not as much pain as you,” he said, and
instructed the bot to pass a charge through its gel sac.
Artemis was attacked by shards of white lightning. He jittered for a
moment like a marionette in the hands of a toddler, then relaxed,
floating unconscious in the gel.
Ragby laughed. “Not so funny now, are you?”

- The Atlantis Complex, Chapter 9