John couldn't help but smile. "That," he started, "sounds complicated." Then, realizing that he'd just passed a judgement, Watson quickly added, "but clearly it worked where you're from, or they wouldn't have kept doing it."
Still. Complicated. He wouldn't have been able to keep track, that's for certain. John mulled over the last name conundrum for a few seconds, then tilted his head to the side. Huh.
"Maybe this is one of those 'you ought not to ask, lest you change the future' things, but how did it get that way? Did people transition from family names, or..."