There are certain things By is not so fond of. Numbers one through seven on that list are all members of his family, and number eight is heights, and number nine is sobriety. Number ten - high up on said list, all things considered - is feeling out of the loop. And right now, he is feeling terribly out of the loop. What, after all, is a femur camp? What is a turn? Or, no, he knows what turns are, obviously, that's a simple enough thing - but what does she mean when she talks about them here? His sensation of having a headache only increases.

"Perhaps," he says, rather delicately, "you might provide me with a bit of...background context on where you're from. Forgive me; I think I might not know some of the...Earth lingo. Or culture. Or anything. We don't get too many Earthers out here on Barrayar, you must understand."