"Well, here we think all kids should try to learn something useful, but we try to give them choices about what to learn. Your father made you an apprentice to the Order of Mercy - that's us, the organization of doctors from the other world - but we can let you try to learn some other things to see if you like them better some time, and if you don't like learning medicine, we can try to work something else out."

"Okay. Thanks. I'll tell you if something else sounds better."

"When we teach you, we want you to ask questions whenever you have one. You learn better if you do that. I hear that you're going to mostly live here, we're going to give you a room and food here, and your father will come visit sometimes. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, that's okay. Why'd you come here?"

"Our home is terribly cold now. It was normal and then one year, something happened, and the weather everywhere became freezing. Nothing grows naturally anymore. It was a bad place to live. But then a scout found this strange place called Milliways. We went into Milliways and met Governor Valanda, and from there some of us came here because he offered free land and a new place to settle. Some of us stayed in Milliways and looked for other places to go than Har."

"That sounds bad, I'm glad you're here instead. ...That means you don't know what shows are any good, doesn't it? I'll give you a recommendation for a ring."

"I think I'll be alright, dear. Let's get you to the classroom we've set up for your first lesson. You'll have two classmates your age, and sometimes the older students will be there too."

"Okay. Am I supposed to interrupt when I have a question or wait for you to pause first?"

"Try to wait until I finish saying something. I'll try to ask if you have questions a lot, but I might forget!"

"Okay."

Her classmates are two local boys, one a bit older and one a bit younger than her. They're chattering about a little metal toy the older one has when they come in. "Adam, Benjamin, this is Raih."

"Hi, Raih."

The other boy asks a question about Raih involving the word 'slave', in English, which she probably doesn't much understand yet.

"Use Hari while we're in this classroom, Adam. Raih might learn English later, but for now it is polite to use Hari. She is the apprentice from Ira Sani. Please take a seat, Raih."

She pulls down a blackboard and gets out a stick of chalk and starts writing on the board.

She says hi to both boys and sits down. She watches the blackboard.

One of the boys asks her what she thinks of his toy, but receives a glare from their teacher and quails and sits meekly in his seat.

And Nurse Abernathy starts the lesson. She goes over what they'll hopefully be learning this year. The general principles of medicine, introduction to something called 'medical ethics', some general biology and anatomy and medical science, germ theory and the different kinds of germs, the basics of diagnosing diseases, and how to correctly administer common treatments. There will be some hands on training, but not with real patients until they're a bit older. They are making medical simulators that act mostly like a real patient, for practice, and those will be ready in a few months probably.

"Any questions?"

She doesn't have any questions yet.

She tries to catch up with the boy who was trying to talk to her after class.

Class continues to actually start on general biology. She asks the kids questions about what she's covered to test their memory - she's not a bad teacher. It lasts two hours before she gives the kids a break.

"There's free time for half an hour, and then lunch for half an hour, then more free time, and then afternoon class. Let me know if you want to go outside! I'll be working in my office right over there meanwhile if you need anything."

The kid is willing to talk to her! "Hi. I'm Benjamin."

"Hi. What's that thing you wanted to show me before?"

"It's my toy car. I think it's cool. Here, watch!"

It's a little metal vehicle of some kind? It looks a little bit like those farm machines she would have seen around New Dover, but sleeker and painted in bright red. He winds it up with a little turnkey and sets it on the ground, and the car zips off and rams a wall, turns, and zips off again!

"Oh, cool, and it's not magic? Not at all?"

"I think it's defense magicked? But not force. It's called clockwork, my uncle does clockwork. It was a birthday present."

"It looks fun! Is that what you use for all your technology?"

"I don't know about all the technology. I'm still just a kid. The au-tom-a-tons are really big clockwork and, and stirring engines though."

"I'd pay for a chance to look at the insides. Or a book about clockwork and stirring engines."

"Maybe you can ask my uncle about that. There's probably a book."

"A ring if you tell me how to find your uncle?"

He makes a face. "Why does everyone here offer money for things like that? It's weird."