"You were in America?" Taeko asks, scrunching her brown to think. She takes a breath, and another realization strikes her. She sniffs. The air is clean, lacking the nuclear toxins that poisoned Japan's old capital's atmosphere but she and the other Coppelion, thanks to their genetic engineering, were able to breathe. "If neither of us know where we are, we should find an authority like the police. Maybe they can help us."

She removes a GPS tracker from her medical bag, but when she switches it on its screen shows nothing but static. A fried electricity buzzes from its speaker. Frowning, she stashes it away.

She pivots back to him, then dips into a bow. "I'm Taeko Nomura. I was sent on a mission to recover a stranded survivor, but it seems like we're both lost." A wry smile punctuates the statement. She motions to the passersby. "If we ask these people, one of them must know where we can find the authorities."