“Well, then,” Temple says, “the Earth you’re from must be a different one than the one I’m from. Because mine doesn’t have any of those countries.”

Though Temple has met people from different Earths before on Prismatica, most of the other Earths he has heard of have borne more of a resemblance to his than this stranger’s seems to. And the worlds he’s heard of that aren’t called Earth have generally not been much like it.

So this is rather confusing for Temple, this Earth that’s not Earth.