He was glad that she was laughing; some people never relaxed around him and the result was a lot of intense social discomfort while he flailed around trying vainly to set them at ease. There was no way around that—he had to carry the Church's emotional baggage around with him, and other people had a right to react to it—but that didn't make it fun. "I'm working on it, I wouldn't say I've got it covered. And I guess I shouldn't be surprised there's a game room, should I? They seem invested in making us comfortable. According to their definition."
He checked the cupboards near the stove for a draining rack, while she cooked the eggs. "I do like Boston, from what I've seen—I was only there for a couple of days last year for a conference, but I liked it. Being in the States at all is kind of exciting, everything just seems more..." He paused to choose a word. "Vigorous. Centre of the Empire. But for all I know we're in the U.S. right now—no one has any idea where this place is, right?" The computer's smug message about escape being impossible suggested that they had everyone pretty well disoriented. "Someplace that has mountains, where English is the dominant language, and that's all we got?"