"She stays up a really long time - two days or so - and then has two or three long naps over the next day.  I think.  She doesn't keep to that very well either."

"Huh. I'd think that must be a modification if she's not on medication for it."

"Might well be.  What's it like, being a soldier?"

"Up until I died it was usually not very eventful. Ship maintenance tasks and drills."

"How did you die?"

"It became briefly eventful. I shouldn't discuss the details."

He nods.

"On my Earth, we haven't had a war in centuries.  Except that Journey said I died in one."

"We aren't having a war exactly - or weren't, things may have changed - but there was a detente that required frequent attention. Between planets, though, not on one. A planet is the natural unit of solidarity."

"For us the relevant unit is cities.  We haven't colonized any other celestial bodies, that I know of."

"There are many, in my world, three colonized in our system alone."

"Wow."

"What is your city like?"

"Apparently it's somewhat stricter and more violent than most of them.  I'm happy to tell you about - my culture, on the planet level where it's planet-wide and more specific when it is.  It's a long story but I have a decent idea of where it differs from most other local universes."

"I'm not sure how typical my universe is for the locality."

"It seems like a lot of places are 21st-century Earths."

"Well, we used to have one of those."

"...And you lost it by exiting the 21st century?"

"Yes, the planet is still there. It has a very famous moon."

"It's a pretty good moon.  By 'ship maintenance' you meant spaceships?"

"Yes. Ibyabek has boats but they're manned by sailors, not soldiers."

Nod.  "What's being in space like?"

"Artificial gravity feels slightly different from real gravity. It's functionally the same, but it's a little like - being underwater, subjectively. And it's loud, spaceships have a lot of parts that make noise."

"Huh!  What was life like for you before you were a soldier?"

"Before that I was in school. Do you have school?"

"Through 15, yes.  - Are you used to different-length years -"