And inside there is a woman taller than Izakin, she looks up (well, down, she is really tall) from her book and tilts her head when she registers Kyeskei's skin.

She seems somewhat comforted by his tone, and follows him into the building. (Why would anyone bother to make something like it?)

She doesn't remember what Izakin's probably-greeting was, but looks up and says "Hello. I Kyeskei Tsi-Dyu Mekto. I Kyeskei. I one nende. You word? You one human?"

She nods, then says "Sovie," she holds up her hand and writes something on a piece of paper, then she shows her the words "Do you know how to write?"

The words are in some sort of unfamiliar language (the alphabet is unfamiliar too).

Kyeskei can understand them just fine.

... How.

"No? Yes, I write words somebliz, I no write words solor, no write words-" she points to the paper and makes an extremely confused face.

Sovie writes. "Magic. I can translate any writing. If you can write we will be able to communicate."

She nods, then writes in Mebliz (which seems to mostly consist of symbols for words, rather than for sounds), "That is useful but strange. How does it work? Language is not encoded in people's patterns" with the implication that patterns are related to heritable traits, "and there is not contact. Why are you here, and why are the buildings like this, and where is here, and how has it not collapsed, and who created you, and why?"

"This world is called Elsewhere. I am using a sorcery gift," sorcery is transmitted as a kind of life-related magic, "it spends my wakefulness to produce this effect. These buildings are fairly normal to us and stable. I was born, not created, not even altered. Were you altered? Your skin looks like something caused by synth magic," synth is transmitted as a different kind of magic, related to life in a different way than sorcery.

"I have never heard of magic that does anything unrelated to patterns, or costs wakefulness more than any other mental activity does, or can be done without contact. You all look edited, Izakin said humans were synth people, is synth not the same as editing patterns? I am not edited."

She pauses and rereads the first sentence. "This world? I fell here, but not for long enough to fall through the planet."

"Not all humans are synth people, but many are. Synth is editing patterns of a sort, but if the translation isn't rendering them as the same then they might be different things." In response to the world question she writes. "There are worlds connected to this one, sometimes people just vanish where they're from and appear here, but there are portals connecting places too."

"Oh."

Pause.

"I edit patterns to make more useful things. It is good to know that not quite that blasphemy is occurring. I am curious about the difference. Do the holes between worlds remain after people fall through?"

"Holes usually stay, and it looked like you fell through an old one," Sovie writes, then she adds an "really" between "an" and "old".

"What do you mean with blasphemy?"

"Then there might eventually be more contact, and possibly trade, between our worlds? And I should see my housemate again. Good.

"It is blasphemous and wrong to edit a person's patterns. It is treating them like a lower plant, to be edited for usefulness, and has never been done without introducing debilitating or lethal mistakes. Synth apparently lacks this problem."

"Trade between worlds would be good. We can see to at least returning you to your housemate. It is possible to make mistakes with synth, but making people healthier, stronger and longer lived is simple enough that it was discovered independently many times during ancient times. Mistakes would be considered medical malpractice instead of blasphemy."

She pauses to think for a few breaths.

"I apologize if this is rude, but might I compare a sample of synth and non synth human patterns, to figure out whether it could theoretically be accomplished by editing, and whether it seems like it could work on tinende? From whichever stage, and not necessarily from someone alive, if that helps?"

"I can't guarantee a completely non synth pattern. But if anyone is likely to have one it is my stepsons. I am on the higher end of synth change and they are at least on the lower range."

"Thank you. I hope that this will make it possible to similarly improve the lives of tinenfe, or at least to find out whether it might be possible. What relation is a 'stepson'?

"I cannot make trade agreements on anyone else's behalf, but I am a fairly good engineer. Once I have a better understanding of the limitations of synth engineering, I might be able to offer plants that would be more difficult to design with synth?"

"Stepson is the son of someone's spouse. He is the son of my former husband, I raised him."

"And that sounds like something people would be interested in."

"To compare, I will need to touch either you and your stepsons or separated parts of your bodies, or your other stages, whichever you are most comfortable with."

"Would you need to touch other parts besides the arms and head? What do you mean with stages?"

"No, anywhere with the same pattern will do. If any of you were uncomfortable with me having the information about the patterns affected by your lives, I could use the patterns of your vines instead.

"Oh," Sovie says out loud, then continues writing. "Another species difference. We don't have vines. We do sort of have stages, but they don't include vines. I don't expect different parts of me to have different patterns, but that might depend on how patterns work."

She looks deeply confused, but does not ask about where humans come from. "Some things that happen to people in life affect their patterns. If, for example, someone once had a small-seed infection, the patterns in their arm would be slightly altered, and someone reading the pattern would be able to guess that they had had an infection there."

"There are things that could do that, but they are not common. I am not sure synth could detect them, but if you can there is no trouble."

"As long as you all know ahead of time. I can do it however and whenever you prefer."

Nod. "My stepson has a memory-related power." She starts writing then she writes above that line. "You should know." Before returning to the line below. "He can duplicate, erase or enforce them. He is responsible and won't use it on you unless you explicit ask."