"Assembly lines are when a multi-step manufacturing process is broken down such that lots of people participate in the process each specializing in one step, so they can get very quick at it and have only the tools necessary for that step within reach, then pass it on to the next stage."

"How many steps might be involved and what might they consist of?"

"I would be wildly guessing for shoes. The shirt it's probably like, there's somebody cutting the fabric - possibly separate people for the different fabric shapes, I'm not sure - and somebody pinning it together in the correct fashion and somebody sewing - with a machine - and somebody making sure it came out right and somebody putting it in the package with the other four shirts?"

"Do they make the same shirt many times or a variety?"

"Same pattern same texture different colors."

"Oh, I suppose that would make sense. Would the dyeing and the weaving be done in similar assembly lines?"

"The shirt's knit, I think by machine, but insofar as there are steps requiring human labor yeah."

"Does the knitting process not require any human labor?"

"Presumably they've sometimes got to... refill the machine with thread?"

"Do they use some sort of engine instead of humans to produce motion?"

"Yes, the machine would have a motor run with electricity that every modern building has available via outlets in the wall that machinery can plug into."

"-how does electricity make a motor run? And also, are there so many motors that every modern building must have it or are there other uses?"

"There are a lot of motors but there are also non-motor things that run on electricity like lights and computers. I don't actually know the electrical engineering principles behind electricity making a motor run, unfortunately."

"I've heard of it being used to attract small pieces of paper, but not much more on the subject. I suppose I might send for more literature on it and see if anything seems promising."

"I'm pretty sure you need magnets and - copper? Possibly not specifically copper but copper's a good cost/efficacy tradeoff point - spinning relative to each other to generate substantial electricity."

"Oh, those don't sound at all difficult to acquire."

"That's promising! I don't know much about the technology development there but I will be able to provide, uh, frustrating vague hints. Of course you can skip lots of steps if we make it to my world."

"That certainly does seem like the nicer option - I have not yet found much time to research wild demons whose remains may help us travel between worlds. Have you made any progress with the campaigns?"

"Nothing promising so far."

"Unfortunate - the Earl Albert's writings should arrive tomorrow, perhaps I should set aside some larger blocks of time to read through them than I have done for the campaigns."

"No joy on the Metcalfe portal angle?"

"My impression is that Miss Henrick has bragged to at least some of her friends about having secured a dance with Narnian royalty, and judging by her previous abscenes from social events she will be taking dinner with her uncle, the Duke Metcalfe, shortly, so hopefully she'll do so again at the dinner, therby ingratating you with the Duke." 

"Plausibly, it would also be advantageous to circulate word of some great and unique luxury the Duke might acquire should he provide you with access to your world - does anything come to mind as particularly boastworthy?"

"Well, chocolate didn't seem to be much of a draw, he can presumably already fly, I don't know, what's he into?"

"Previous events have included zebras, lapis lazuli jewelry, magma, sake, and golden orbs harvested from a wild demon that he claimed was tame."

"Artificial flawless gemstones the size of his fist? Tequila? Actually with that list I think he wants monsters, like my winged cat, but explaining those requires explaining dungeons."