By the late 2000s, dubstep had splintered into numerous factions, from brostep to wonky to the evocative “purple,” […]

“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.[…]”

My Setacia story was, I admit, simplistic—deliberately, riskily so—but its main purpose was to present a valid point about time and meta-time.

Ruthie Alpern, as she was then known, was a poised and chatty blonde with an updo and a winning smile.