The word August was looking for occurred to him swiftly. "Berlin is striving," he said. He explained: "It's the capital of a relatively new country, and you can tell that is a key part of its identity. It wishes to be modern, and singular." This was similar to what he'd said to Miss Callisto Adebayo — but he had enjoyed his conversation with Miss Adebayo, so August was hoping that this one would play out similarly pleasantly.