C.ISI.EDU would reply to this query with:
+---------------------------------------------------+
Header | OPCODE=SQUERY, RESPONSE, AA |
+---------------------------------------------------+
Question | QNAME=SRI-NIC.ARPA., QCLASS=IN, QTYPE=NS |
+---------------------------------------------------+
Answer | <empty> |
+---------------------------------------------------+
Authority | <empty> |
+---------------------------------------------------+
Additional | <empty> |
+---------------------------------------------------+
The only difference between the response and the query is the AA and RESPONSE bits in the header. The interpretation of this response is that the server is authoritative for the name, and the name exists, but no RRs of type NS are present there.