The lifts are novel to Elsa -- she had been used to stairs, had never seen anything like this in her life. Now she uses them every day, but never without the kind of skepticism that colors most of her experiences on the Tranquility. She tries to disregard how unnatural all of these new elements that people have added to everyday life feel to her, but sometimes the oddness stands out. There are boxes that make food hot as if by magic (but not really magic), boxes that whisk people through vertical tunnels at what must be high speeds, letters with changing contents and talking images, and so on.

This time, someone is already in the lift when the door opens, and she steps in with them. The girl is young, without being a child, but what stands out to Elsa is how similar the girl’s hair is to her own, so blonde it’s almost white.

Neither of Elsa’s parents had had hair like that, and what had happened to Anna had made her assume that her own hair was probably as pale as it was because of her powers.

She had sometimes chafed at the manners that had been instilled in her since early childhood, but on the whole, they serve her well. It’s that politeness, as well as her curiosity about why the girl’s appearance might be so similar to her own, that causes her to smile her gentle guarded smile and say, “Hi. I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Elsa.”