Esca frowns again, trying to puzzle this all out-- Laurence sounds Roman, and Martha certainly does, but he cannot quite place the meaning behind either, and to Tharkay he has no idea... but if he lets his mind get too caught up in this, he will surely go mad. The world has changed much. "Ah, yes, it is nice to meet you, too." It is actually quite distressing, but that's hardly her fault. "Thank you for tolerating my confusion. Are fixtures like this--" he gestures to the blinking mass of light and sound around them, "common, in your- in your experience?"