"I think we used to have water, I don't know if it was acid or not. But people lived on the surface before everything dried up. Things started getting really hot when I was small, though."

"Did people manage to adapt?"

"Lotsa people left where I lived, I dunno where they went."

"How long ago was this again?"

"Uh. Long? I was really young, I didn't really count the time."

Shrug. "Okay. What is life like now?"

"There wasn't really anyone left at all before I got lost exploring. Here's nice, though, I like being around people again."

"I was surprised with how organized they were. And even if they weren't organized it beats being lost at the oceans of my world."

"Apparently most places aren't this organized? And someone said it used to be worse under the last Great Speaker, and a lot worse during the civil war. But yeah, a lot of people are happy with the current Great Speaker."

"Yeah... I have no idea what we would've done if we had landed in an open conflict. Find somewhere isolate, maybe."

"Mhm! I can't imagine what a war would be like!"

"Luckily, I never had to deal with one, but back in my world there used to be some extremely bad ones."

"That's horrible."

Nod nod. "At least people eventually learned their lesson."

"Do you think wars won't happen anymore here?"

"I mean people back in my world. If the leaders here keep dying every other decade, the lesson might never stick. Which is reason to go back to my world and bring our kind of immortality to this one."

"Oh, yeah. I think I head there's a few immortal leaders somewhere? Someone was gossiping. But I don't know much about people anywhere, let alone here."

"You mean immortal leaders that always stay in power? That also lends itself to disaster. At least back in my world. It's nice when there are wizened old people that remember how bad things can get, but leaders that never leave power tend to turn bad, or be violently replaced."

Shrug. "Dunno which it is. Haven't been here long."

"At least it isn't an issue I have to deal with. I just need to figure out how to talk to about magical engineering."

"That sounds neat."

"Despite everything I am excited to learn the things this world got up to."

"Me too! Being around people's cool, even if it gets a bit much at times..."

The conversation comes to an end and Adam has some duties to attend, mostly research...

Adam is good at research, but not the best at people management.

Good thing that his family is willing to help him out.