> > San sat at the table, alone in the interrogation room, and
> > toyed idly with the pretzel sticks she'd been given while she
> > waited for her hot cocoa to cool enough to drink.
>
> They gave her pretzels but no mustard?
>
> These people are animals.

Pretzel sticks are to pretzels what tortilla chips are to tortillas. (Well, except most people consider salsa a necessary companion to a tortilla chip, whereas pretzel sticks generally stand on their own.)

> Aww, poor Chryssalids. They get no respect.

Maybe there aren't any Chryssalids in the NXE universe?

>
> > Gendou could still -pretend- to be a mature, authoritative
> > grown-up when the need was upon him, and he talked them across
> > the border with ease.
>
> You know, in a story about giant cosmic war machines fighting out
> a literal biblical war here on earth, this one part is actually the
> thing I have the most trouble believing. :)
>

Remember, NXE has a severe divergence from real-world history. I imagine that border crossings more closely resemble ones made circa 1997, because the continued survival of humanity made the idea of flying airliners into civilian buildings for the purposes of terrorism seem a little less important.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.