"Science is slow, huh."

"Remember that part I mentioned about not always getting the answers you're looking for? That - happens a lot."

"That's disappointing."

"Sorry," winces Darren.

"I doubt it's your fault."

"It's not, but I feel like a jerk for screwing over science fantasy for you."

"I presume the books will still be there. And you haven't made any inroads on the lucid dreams either. These things were never intended to be realistic."

"True. And we might manage it eventually, anyway."

"Good. Then you can live in a proper science fantasy paradise."

"That'll be fun. If it turns out you won't break it by showing up at that point, you can have an invite to it."

"That'd be nice. But the bar said we can't expect to find doors again. I'm probably going to stay here for a while, I have cash on me for nibbles from the bar and it's Friday afternoon and I can skip the one class I have between now and Monday, it's just Basic Knife. But that's it."

"Oh! Oh, phew, okay, I don't need to make a mad dash back to class."

"What kind of classes do you take in Science World, anyway?"

"Algebra, French, Gym, History, Earth Science, Art... What kinds of classes do you have?"

"Uh, most of those, I don't know what French is and obviously we don't do Science. I'm in college now so I'm doing Basic Knife for my weapons requirement and a lot of subtle arts mostly. In high school there was more of a mix. I took an etherscaping elective, last year of it."

"Um, why do they teach you how to use knives in college?"

"I picked Basic Knife in particular because I'm not going to be doing any serious weapon work, I'm not on the skirmish team or gladiating in my spare time and I'm not a delving or combat major and I don't leave the warded paths at night, but I think the ostensible rationale is that if they're going to require us to carry weapons everywhere we go, we ought to know which end is sharp."