Eventually the Oncoming Fashion Revolution will have what Lev considers to be a reasonable number of clothes. Lev pays for them.

"If you don't want to stay in Coalinga I can put you up in a hotel tonight? It's nicer than the public housing."

"I wouldn't want to impose too much on your hospitality."

"I'm rich, don't worry about it."

"I was planning to head up towards Portland, seeing as I know one person there who is neither a social worker or a horrified nurse."

"I'm glad my company is relatively pleasant!"

"You're helpful! Also sort of mostly believed me!"

"I'm a forecaster. It's what we do. Sort of mostly believe things."

"What does a forecaster do? I don't think we had something similar."

"Forecasters predict what's going to happen-- the outcomes of policies, what other governments are going to do, what problems we're going to face in the future. We call it the division of facts and values. Parliament is elected, so it reflects the will of the people, what people care about. But they aren't selected to be particularly good at knowing what plans will bring it about. And forecasters can't decide how to choose between tradeoffs. We can say that this policy will increase births to such a degree with thus-and-such costs to liberty, but we can't decide whether to prioritize births over liberty. Only the Cascadian people can do that." 

"So you're-- advisers, chosen to be good at predicting things."

"Yes! My husband and I are the top-ranked forecasters in Cascadia. We do population policy and foreign affairs."

He is just not going to react to the 'my husband' thing. "Ahh, the two most important things."

"Exactly."

To the hotel?

To the hotel!

Taking more care for his time traveler, Lev is going to demonstrate the use of the light switch, the remote control, the faucet, the toilet, the shower, the tea kettle, and the phone particularly in reference to calling up for room service. 

Jing Yi feels very educated now.

Also, electric kettles are great. (Not that other modern conveniences like artificial lights aren't great, but he feels he should take time to appreciate all of them, and "I can set water to boil and then leave it alone?" is very good.)

"I'm going to head off to the other room to do work, but you can call me if you need me for anything." 

"No worries!"

Jing Yi has a brief moment of trying to come up with something productive to do, before giving up and falling face first into the bed. (Bureacracy is Tiring, and also he feels subtly ill.)

This is the most comfortable bed imaginable. It is SO soft. He has never slept on something this soft.

Cascadian furniture continues its streak of being strangely high quality.

He may be melting a bit and trying to become one with the bed.

In the morning he wakes up, still in The Most Comfortable Bed Imaginable.

Does he have to get up and do things? ... Yes, yes he does.

There is zombie-like shuffling in the direction of the kettle, to see if abstract knowledge of how kettles work and where the tea and coffee(?) making facilities are can be turned into a cup of tea. It's mostly a success, in that he ends up with caffeine inside of him without burning himself with the kettle or choking on the teabag (Cascadians really love their rectangles) or something.

There is also a bit of blearily staring at the sun trying to work out if this is an appropriate time of morning to both Cascadians eg Lev.

Probably? The sun isn't that low.

Bleary operation of telephone. "Hello, Lev. What do Cascadians do in mornings? Do we have plans. Hello, yes. I Am Awake." This is the most coherent string of sentences he has ever said in his life.

"Probably you should have coffee. Tea? And eat breakfast."