"Production line.... huh."

"Yeah. I think as far as major technological advances, those might be it? There were some advances in physics that permitted things like miniaturization of computers, and tinkers are a bit uncategorizable in that trajectory. Is there anything you see around that you're curious about?"

"How are the lights that direct the cars scheduled?"

"I'm not sure about the details, but I think their internal clocks are calculated so that the overall flow of the city works, more or less? But as far as I know they're not connected to each other."

"Huh. That must be interesting to figure out."

"I guess. It must involve a lot of math that I have no idea how to do."

Kiri nods. "This place is so rich."

"...I guess it is, isn't it? I hadn't thought of it that way."

"There are a lot of -" She points to elicit the word. "Trash cans. People must have a lot to throw out that much."

"Huh. I wouldn't have thought of that. Do you not throw food away a lot?"

"No, we eat it. And usually from things we can use again." She's speaking a little slowly, often relying on him to think the right vocabulary.

"But like... fruit peels and other such stuff? I suppose you don't have a lot of packaging... Huh..." He is very much finding it very curious to look at the world through a lens of someone from—whatever time Kiri is from.

"Sure, we throw out peels - compost or animal feed."

"Right. I think people might do that? I don't know whether garbage collection separates organic materials from other things."

"But like - that -" She points. "A glass bottle like that we'd wash. And we don't have -" She points around, elicits words, "foil, plastic..."

He nods. "A bottle like that is cheap enough that it can be cheaper to throw it out than wash it."

"Like I said, rich."

He laughs and continues to roll her along the street.

She asks for words for things as they go, takes notes.

He provides words! And sometimes he speaks in her language to get her vocabulary for it.

...and when he does that, there's... something new. In his brain. It must be his power?

"Huh," she says.

"What's up?"

"I think I can see you use your - language power."

"Oh, interesting. I suppose that would make sense."

"It's pretty."