"There's a lot of disagreement among the people old enough to remember school!"

"I mean I like being in the school choir, but I could do without math class."

"I actually think math is really fun."

"Well, it would be a very dull world if we were all alike."

"Anyway. Do you have any more questions?"

"Why do you all think I'm a dream thing and not - that a dream thing took me here, or something?"

"I think they were using 'dream thing' to mean both of those. I certainly don't know whether you were created or transported, and I don't know how we'd figure it out."

"I don't know how I'd prove it. I didn't like, bring anything with me besides I guess my phone."

"Can I see?"

"Okay." She hands it over. It's at seventy percent.

He looks through the apps.

Various music apps - tuner, metronome, keyboard, her actual music player. Games, some simple puzzles and some music themed and one task management themed around nursing. Phone, texting, three different chat apps. Bank, doctor appointment app, grocery coupon app, grocery list app. Maps, reminders, calendar, camera full of pictures of Catherine and (longer ago) various other people, some Rebecca's age and some older. A school app, a web browser, an app for a pizza place.

He turns it off.

"We should probably wait to use this until we figure out if we have any compatible chargers."

"I have the cord in my pocket but not the part that converts it from Zapline to wall plug."

"I don't know what a Zapline is, so that's not promising."

"It's the kind of charger all the little electronics use nowa- uh, in 2040." Catherine nuzzles her. Rebecca sticks her on a boob.

"Would you rather I take it to the electronics people so they can study it when they have time, or leave it with you and you don't turn it on?"

"I'd probably turn it on by accident, like, to check the time, even though I haven't reset the time."

"Okay, we'll take it. --If we had money, I'd pay you for it, but unfortunately I haven't gotten that up and running yet."

"You don't have money? What, are you communists or something?"

"Or something. The economy is run by me deciding who gets things."

"That... sounds hard?"

"I'm trying to get everyone onto a different system. But I think I do an okay job."

"Okay. Uh, I don't want people reading my private notes or anything. Like maybe just stay out of the prayer app completely."

"Of course. --What religion did you say you are?"