"It's not your fault," she sighs.

He nods.

Wait wait wait and then there's a knock and the armored man is back. He says something and Harold says, "Okay, we have a place for you! And they'll see what they can do about translation, but while we don't have anything sorted out I can hang around if you'd like."

"I'd appreciate that."

"Okay! Let's go see your room, then," he says, standing up to follow the armored man.

Kiri follows at a safe distance.

They take the elevator again, and armored man says something to Harold before they board then stalks off.

"What'd he say?"

"Told me which number was your room, and that if I needed him I could get the comm."

"Comm?"

"It's a technological device that lets people communicate at a distance that's more specialized than mobile phones." He gestures at his phone to indicate what he means.

"Specialized how?"

"It can only communicate to other devices of its type, or to specific computers. Phones can talk to any other phones or to any other computers or interact with anything computers can, as well as have games and books in them or other interesting applications, and record images and sound and take notes..."

"Why would you want the kind that can do fewer things?"

"It's smaller and cheaper, for one. And also it's more secure—people can retrieve information and remotely access your phone without your permission, if they know how, whereas the comm is much harder to intercept like that."

"Oh, huh, okay."

And at a narratively appropriate moment, the elevator arrives, and he leads her to her room. It's not particularly big, but it contains a bed and a desk with a computer and its own bathroom and a wardrobe and a bedside table and a telephone and pens and pencils and paper.

All useful commodities. "Thank you. What's that and that?" The computer and the phone, which isn't a rectangle.

"That's a phone, but a less sophisticated one, it only makes and receive calls. It can make calls to the rectangle phones or any other phones connected to the same network. That is a computer, which is more like the rectangle phone except it can do more things, has a bigger screen, and is generally better. I can show you how to use it but it won't have menus in Welchin."

"If there's no immediate prospect of getting me home I should learn the local language anyway."

"That would be a good idea, probably. I could try to help!"

"I'd appreciate it."

"Okay! Is there anything you want to do right now? They're going to see if they can figure out the technological solution I mentioned earlier so they'll tell you when that happens."

"Can I get a starting phrasebook of the language?"

"Sure. Lemme see if I can get one here..." He walks over to the phone, taps some keys, and says something into it.

"Thank you."