"That's just an example."

"This sounds like a worse idea than the meth lady's idea about doing intimate things for money and I thought that was a pretty terrible idea."

"You can't keep doing this forever."

"- yes, I easily can. I've been here less than three days, and I spent most of them picking up the language and learning about fruitfly genetics and the Haspberg dynasty because those happened to be the books I read. After a few weeks I'll have it all figured out and I won't alarm people and I can just read your books which is the only worthwhile thing about your stupid terrible world and I know I have to be really careful now until I've figured things out but it's not like I am going to starve - I could live off those leaves if I really had to, I'd just have to eat a ton of them and adjust my digestion -"

"- you have digestion adjusting powers? - never mind - look, you still really can't do this forever, especially not without PRT attention."

"Okay. But if they torture me to death then when the Valar come and find me they're going to be really mad at all of you."

"I am trying to help you."

"So was my father!! People are usually trying to help me when they put me through horrible things!"

Ms. Blake facepalms. "Look. You have two options. Attempt to continue hiding in a library you aren't even supposed to be in eating leaves until the Protectorate decides to arrest you just to figure out what's going on after which they are very unlikely to believe that confinement is unusually bad for you, or go talk to them on your own recognizance and get a job and an education and a place to stay legitimately."

"If you don't go surrender to the people who want to torture you to death then they'll definitely torture you to death. I am not saying you're giving me bad advice but I hope you recognize that that is the content of the advice."

"That's not what I - That is not the content of the advice. You're not listening to me."

"Look," he imitates her uncannily, "'You have two options. Attempt to continue hiding in a library you aren't even supposed to be in eating leaves until the Protectorate decides to arrest you just to figure out what's going on after which they are very unlikely to believe that confinement is unusually bad for you, or go talk to them on your own recognizance and get a job and an education and a place to stay legitimately.' In other words, wait here for them to come and torture you to death, or go surrender to them and hope they don't do that and instead waste your time with things you don't need or want."

"Have you considered the possibility that this like so many other things is a thing you don't understand."

"I'm trying. I'm learning as fast as I can and I'm terrified that it's not going to be fast enough but I can't just go walk up to the torturers and hope they don't think I've done something wrong -"

"You have! You aren't supposed to be in the library at times you have been in the library!"

"I was assuming that wasn't a torture-to-death worthy crime even on this horrible catastrophe of a world. Fuck you people."

She turns on her heel and stomps back to her desk.

He leaves. He finds a tolerable path around the campus and walks and sings. 

A fellow in a mask suddenly comes into existence nearby.

Thinking -

Yep, this kid meets the description. "Hey there."

"Hey there."

"You're freaking everybody out. Can we chat?"

"My familiarity with the language is limited but I think 'chat' describes what we are doing."

Wow he's obnoxious. Whatever. "I'm Neighbor, have you got a cape name?"