"It became your life," she says, nodding. "Completely understandable, if unfortunate."

She's probably not aware how apt that statement is.

She finds the backpacks and frowns behind her hand - they're lighter, less like the heavy-duty one she's wearing, and look to be made of flimsier stock. But they're better than nothing, and she points them out.

"It might matter," she says. "If you have any idea why we came here, any insight from your world we could compare to others... correlations we can track and rule out..."

She laughs. "Once we're situated, of course. Wouldn't do to run out of food or rest before we can think about the big questions."