Under normal circumstances, Fatima might have bristled a little at something she said being called a 'simplification,' but in this instance, she found herself a bit proud of herself. Making progress in understanding this place was a little like trying to trudge uphill through peanut butter. She'd take the victories she could get.

"I guess theoretical physics was never really my thing," she sighed. "My world has enough problems, without factoring in the problems of others."

Aside from the Veil, but she was pointedly compartmentalizing that, for the time being.

"It is cool, though," she added. "Some of the differences really make you stop to wonder about social evolution." There were people who didn't automatically assume she was a terrorist here. That was pretty nice.