Deleted scene: Rome encounters art

In the original, unabridged version of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome take much longer to get to know each other. Rome was very cold to him at first. A lot of their initial interaction was cut out so that I could get to the action sooner. In this scene, Rei tried desperately to find out what happened the Vuduri's interest in art. He showed Rome a painting he had found. This is how it went:

     “Why do we need those?” Rome posed to him. “Art? Music? We have outgrown their use. There is nothing lost that is required.”
     “But there is,” Rei insisted. “Here, let me show you. I found it when I was going through the archives.”
     Rei turned back to the view screen. He pressed a few icons and went back to a picture he had seen previously.
     “Look at this,” he said.
     Rome leaned forward and looked at the picture he was indicating. Her eyes widened then her stare became diffuse.
     “Rome?” Rei asked.
     She didn’t answer for a moment. Then her eyes focused again and she said, “This item has been catalogued. The painting is entitled The Hallucinogenic Toreador by Salvador Dali.”
     Rei replied, “I know that. I want to know what you think of it.”
     Rome said, “He was a, your term is surrealist. He was from the twentieth century as measured by your calendar. This painting was created approximately 1970 AD. The picture was supposed to depict the thought processes of someone under the influence of a type of drug-induced double vision.”
     Her eyes defocused again then she continued on tonelessly. “This painting was to be a celebration of his career combining elements of his homeland, an optical illusion and the nature of representation…” Rome stopped for a second. She focused on Rei again. “And his affinity for Spanish culture.”
     “Rome, I don’t need a recitation of who painted it or why. I just want to know what you think about it.”
     She shook her head. “I do not understand.”
     “How does it make you feel? What does it stir up inside of you?”
     She looked at the picture then back at Rei and let out a sigh. “Nothing,” she said. “I feel nothing about it. The painting is an aberrant use of colors and image progression. To you, it might be interesting, perhaps. I find it simply inaccurate. What is accurate is that nothing is stirred inside of me.”
     “That’s my point,” Rei said. “Art is all about feelings. The artist conveys what he feels to you through his craft. Art has been around since man distinguished himself as a species over the apes. And that species no longer connects with you. You, your Overmind, you are different. You don’t feel things the same.”
     She stared down at the painting again, blinking rapidly. Then she looked at Rei with a pained expression on her face. She looked down at the painting one last time and said in a very quiet voice, “I do not need to feel.”

Needless to say, it didn't go well initially. But much later, Rome not only learned to love art, she became an artist herself. She even built a studio in the solarium attached to their house on Deucado so she could paint in her spare time.