She nods in recognition. Some Earthers don't like being called Earthers, it's fine. 'Americans! Yes, I've heard of your country. The United States.' She stops short of asking him whether he's ever heard of Commander Crichton, because she already knows Earth's population is orders of magnitude above the average colony world. It'd be a daft question.

'My people have never seen any sign of Earth,' she tries to explain. 'It could be that we're billions of years apart in time, or exist in galaxies at opposite ends of the universe, or it could be that we inhabit different universes entirely. I haven't thought of a way to tell for sure. The planet my people first came out from is called Tirva.'