"Oh, right. Sorry." He'd gotten excited to talk to another tech expert, because he was like that. He still is a nerd, even if Pidge was far more of one than him.

"We were pilots- paladins -of mechs meant to protect the universe. They were in the shape of lions, and each one represented a cosmic 'element'. I know, I know that magic stuff seems hokey? But the race that created them had the ideas down pat."

He sighs at that, though.

"I've met pre-industrial cultures and had to do these kinds of errands. At least they're not treating these people like they're not too stupid to learn new tools or anything. We're allowed to run ideas by them."