"A gem," Beth repeats, to help herself remember this much, if nothing else. What a gem is involves a lot of jargon, most of which she recognizes (inorganic), some of which she doesn't (sapient), all of which comes at her in a long stream. "We must be from different Earths. If there were gems at home, they were a government secret."

This kind of gem, anyway. The kind that comes straight from the ground is a different story. It's always a little disappointing to realize that someone's not from home--though, she realizes after a moment, an alien isn't likely to be from Earth in the first place.