Oh.

[she also looks a little surprised it was just that, but she decides not to be rude and move past it.]

What did you get back?

My phone. Which... is great, except I don't have any service, and I don't think I'm going to be able to charge it after the battery runs out, so...

[...]

What's a phone?

[ oh. ]

You too, huh...

You've spoken to others who don't recognize it, I guess?

Yeah. Which is kind of surprising, because pretty much anyone with anything resembling a social life has one back home.

[ that distinction is necessary because he is the only one of his brothers who has one. ]

What do they do?

They let you talk to people across long distances in real time. And with modern ones like this you can also play games on them, take photos... lots of stuff.

Without having to send letters?

[immediately wishes her world had that]

How useful.

Yeah! Well, you can do it with text too, but that's also basically instantaneous.

Is that kind of technology easy to develop?

Mm, it was over a hundred years in between when basic ground line telephones were invented and smartphones like this, so probably not...?

Or, well... it takes a long time to get the groundwork, I think. But then each new advancement lets you reach the next one faster, and eventually you get to where new models are being released all the time, and the thing you just bought five years ago is already obsolete.

[ spoken as someone who was in elementary school in the 60s and 80s and high school in the 2000s... somehow... ]

...I see. Maybe I could at least bring back notes about it.

[thoughtfully]