"I approve of these elves, wherever they come from."

"Can you tell a lot about how good their company would be from their flavor?"

"No, but I approve of their flavour very much."

"Should I be jealous?"

"You have many other qualities to recommend you."

"Gosh, this multiversal hub business is just setting out to assault my self-esteem, isn't it. Mark took fifteen seconds to get a potentially deadly hit in, elves are yummier than me, the less said about Linyabel the better..."

"There, there. You're still my favourite living creature, how's that?"

"That's good."

Bella flips through the material Bar supplied on Linyabel. She finds the article with the photograph. "Apparently," she says, "this is what I'd look like if I was heavily genetically engineered. And didn't need to dress for practicality and was a Space Noblewoman."

"Yes," says Sherlock, "seems about right."

"The hair is really something. It looks so heavy."

"Apparently her husband is in the habit of braiding it elaborately. Mark's creators stole a length of appropriately engineered hair from a collector and made him practice. He says it's very soothing."

"Isn't it just," Sherlock agrees.

"But given that my extremely intimidating mirror universe twin is inaccessible I'm trying to think of other useful things to do with access to this bar while I'm here. Notions?"

"Appropriately futuristic textbooks in whatever areas you please. Small useful items such as laser pointers. Drag Giles in here and get him to buy any book he wants and doesn't have."

"She does! Do you have your wallet on you? She does charge for the books. But 'out of print' is not a thing here."

Published books. I cannot get you your neighbor's diary, or books that are from your own future as opposed to a later calendar year in someone else's world.

"What're you getting?"