Fred tells Miss Meryl that he's surprised that she didn't realize how different the city was from the rest of the world. He explains that the city uses cans as a kind of barter system, which means that people can buy other people's goods in exchange for food. He says that he never thought that human society would be so poor after all this time. He's also surprised that the guardian doesn't give him information about how much money he needs to buy dinner. He thinks that's because the guardian is so jealous of the assistant's jealousy. Fred also tells her that he used to work as a security guard at a supply point near the desert. He tells her how lucky he is that she found him by herself. He adds that if it weren't for Martin, he wouldn't have been able to enter the city. He also says that the resources in the other cities are limited, so people have to use cans to buy other things. He mentions that he grew up eating cans, which is cool because it means that you can store them for long periods of time. Fred says that before he came to the city, he never would have thought about living in a city where he could have tomatoes.