"Granted, it's not a perfect metric, but it's a start." And in any case, Raine believed him and didn't intend to bandy the matter about, so the matter was more or less academic. She took up her half of sandwich instead, and continued to watch, intent, as Cain filled in Ireland.

He had predicted her. Ireland. She knew something of it, of course, that was unavoidable, but it was something different, seeing the entire shape sketched out and put in relation to the rest of Earth. "I take it then that English has evolved different ways in different locations?" Raine asked, curious. Their common tongue, evidently close enough to English itself, had been prevented from changing overmuch by the linked nature of the two worlds, and Cruxis' involvement. "How many languages are there, across Earth?" With such a large scale, she wouldn't be surprised if there were quite a few.