She burst out laughing. "Yes, I'll be certain to do that when presented with an actual old guy." He hardly qualified, his usual company not withstanding. "I'd offer you conversation peppered with cultural references more than ten years old, but I'm not sure John and I are the best bet there. I learned mine late and I'm not sure he's ever learned his." Her crash course in pop culture at eighteen left some bizarre holes.

She did agree with his observation about the hatches. "It makes me nuts. I've managed to get some living plants, small ones, which I can plant outside, but there's no way to have a real garden fast enough. Not a useful one. And a good crystal for focus should have formed slowly, building on itself, not....popped out of a machine."