"It takes that long? - and yeah, elves're more complicated, they were - designed to strongly prefer being slaves and be incredibly distressed at the idea of not having work to do or being such a disappointment to their masters that we'd free them - if you do, they beg you to take it back and then drink themselves to death - someone a long time ago was a monster but abolition wouldn't do much now. We've gone back and forth on the ethics of increasing their population to supplant the human slave trade once the Statute's gone."

"Oh, no, it doesn't take that long," Cam assures him. "In the States it was like, what, fifty, sixty, years off from when you are, I'd have to look it up, and I think the UK beat us to it. The magical elf slaves do indeed sound more complicated."

"Bet even if you don't come 2179 us I can do it in well under fifty. But yeah. All the nonhuman relations are a little tenuous but the Statute's more urgent."

"Oh?"

"Uh, which part? There's recurring debates over whether various races of magical peoples are, in fact, people - also periodic discussion of whether it should be legal to hunt Muggles for sport - killing a werewolf is always self-defense, even if it's not the full moon, whenever the government gets in too much debt they accuse the goblins of usury and there's a war - that kind of thing."

"I mean why is the Statute urgent, although that's also interesting." Notes appear on his computer; he doesn't even have to look at them.

Like a dictation quill but with technology, presumably. "Statute makes it illegal to let Muggles notice we exist - this contributes to the discrimination problems, because anyone who doesn't look standard human can't go out in public - it's enforced with mass memory charms, which are kind of terrible - and it means we can't cure plagues and stuff."

"Memory charms are what they sound like?"

"Yep."

"I am indestructible against all forms of physical harm but might like to test whether that extends to mental harm before coming to 2179 your world."

"Fair enough. What about, like, stunning spells -"

"That would also be good to know."

"I don't know how to cast a memory charm but I would be happy to try other magic if you want."

"If I'm immune to some of it I can probably trust that to hold as a class."

"Probably. There're also protections against a lot of it and while I've never heard of Muggles learning them they don't involve casting spells, you might be able to learn it."

"Plan B."

"Do 2179 humans still age?"

"Yes, but they regularly clear a century."

"Wizards live a lot longer than Muggles. Though maybe you can stack them or something, give my father more time for the Philosopher's Stone -"

"I will not be able to import all of the medical advances because some of them are 'summon an angel and get them to do your bidding' and that might not work where you are."

"Sounds more promising than summoning demons. How do either of those things work, when they do work?"

"Drawing on the floor. There's an extensive safety lecture. If you summon unbound daeva they may go around committing acts of wanton destruction."

"I know to be careful with magic. Drawing what on the floor?"

"Circles. I am qualified to teach the entire university course on the subject but this strikes me as still the 'overview' stage of the conversation."

"Yeah, of course, sorry. You honestly look like you could use a break, we don't have to do all the magic system comparisons right this minute."