"Sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic," Claudia teased, but that might be a good thing. Rome did have a thing for soothsayers and the like.

"Consider my position, master. I think some things might be inappropriate, right? I know how to barter and how to read people well enough to pick up when I'm letting myself be cheated. I once had to find two yearling heifers to trade for a particular walking stick that had found its way into Africa. Highway robbery, but it was the fastest way to get it back into storage."