"Many people find it useful to have savings in case of unexpected eventualities."

"I had no money at all when I first encountered humans, and have yet to encounter a use for money that looks like it will use it up faster than I can make it in the long term, so I think I am content with my current plans unless you have a compelling argument for why I shouldn't be!"

"I mean, I don't have anything against neurologists, you can give one your money if you want, I just think it's not going to help you at all."

"I am also curious about several other aspects of my brain besides the sudden English, since it appears to be capable of some things that human brains normally aren't!"

"I think brain scans probably cost more than a consultation appointment."

"If so, I will learn more about that at the consultation appointment!"

"That's true. I'd offer you a referral but I don't know any neurologists I want to refer people to, I'm the wrong kind of doctor and so's he."

"Which kinds of doctors are you?"

"I'm an epidemiologist."

"I'm an otolaryngological surgeon."

"Those are interestingly shaped words!" she says. "It took me a noticeable amount of time to grasp the meaning of otolaryngological, which has fascinating implications about my Sudden Knowledge of English! I would previously have expected that all the English words I encountered would be ones I either knew immediately or didn't know at all, but this one was neither!"

"Wow, that's really interesting! It has roots which appear in other English words but it is itself fairly obscure."

"I wonder if I derived its meaning etymologically from other known words too quickly to consciously observe the process, or if I have a store of vocabulary knowledge from which the most obscure entries take some time to arrive once I hear them!"

"Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis!" chirps Elspeth helpfully.

Blink. Blink. "...what an incredibly specific word!"

"Doctors have those!"

"I see!"

Ned gets the lasagna out of the oven.

Bird bounces excitedly in anticipation of the lasagna.

She will get to eat some! "I'm self-conscious about not having something home-cooked to offer a guest but we work very long hours and convenience food is important to making that work for us," he remarks as he cuts a square of it for her.

"I know how to cook but only scrambled eggs, potato wedges, and bean soup."

"I'm very excited about novel experiences and this is a novel experience so I think you have fulfilled my needs as a guest very well!"

"Oh good."

"What do brains taste like?"

"The brain-eating-alien sense of taste hs a much narrower range of available sensations than the human sense of taste! There's a dimension of intensity that varies with the breadth and depth of the brain's experiences and the nature of the brain, and a dimension of flavour that varies with the content of the experiences, but if you have eaten both ice cream and pizza you have experienced more flavour variation and viscerally pleasant eating experiences than a brain-eating alien is capable of."