From "The Calling" (the story i mentioned above):
"From my narrow seat behind the driver I watched-this strange world pass by; a motley collection of old stone buildings and modern designs of floating glass and metal. Streets, or boulevards, straight and seemingly organized according to a rational plan, suddenly broke off into branches of directional chaos (that word again). Even the smallest rues were crowded with people, some of whom were walking four-legged beasts that left their urine and feces for others to step in. Yet somehow, the slanting sunlight of the late afternoon, a filtered and roseate hue I had never seen before, cleansed the city of its filth, and these seemingly disparate and dissonant elements came together in a way that both attracted and saddened me, and awakened in me a mysterious yearning for something or someone. I could sense Mila discreetly watching me.
“It’s not the same as you remember it?” she asked.
“Yes. For the most part,” I answered. “I’m always surprised at how different it is from ... other places.”
“The Americans and the Germans think we’re recalcitrant. They call Paris the ‘museum city’ because we won’t make the changes they’ve made in their cities.” She was looking out the window.
“But they keep coming here, don’t they?” the driver snorted. “And do you know why?” He was looking directly at me.
“Uh ... because they like a museum?” I ventured.
“Au contraire, monsieur!” he snorted again. “The Americans and Germans live in sterile boxes, but they don’t want to forget what real life is like. So they come and eat our real food and walk our real streets with their guidebooks and begin to feel real feelings again. They remember what it is to be a human being.
Why do you think the Federation chose us to build their headquarters?”
“Uh ... because they want to be in a real city?”
“Voila!”I passed his test and he went back to his “driving.” Mila continued to look out the window with a faint smile. It was clear that I was being introduced to a part of Earth, a diehard culture that wasn’t featured in Federation propaganda. I vaguely remembered something Julian had said about the French being “different.” "
