Which Stephen accepted. He lowered his voice as well, going on in a hushed tone --

"It's better not to talk to them more than you have to. They don't know how to handle it. You see, Phil, they're...basically, they're reeducated criminals." Stephen pulled in a breath and looked more than a little uncomfortable. "One of the Capitol's punishments for severe lawbreaking is to turn you into an Avox. They condition you so that you can't really do anything but follow orders -- and they cut out your tongue. It's happened to Tributes and citizens."