The people across the long table looked at one another, and for a moment, no one spoke—they had not expected the captain to suddenly pose such a question, nor were they sure what exactly it meant.
After quite a while, Nina seemed to realize something. She thought about it seriously, then said softly, "Maybe... a very safe place? I can't really imagine it either... I think the best place would be Pland before the sun went wrong. Though it would be even better if it were more spacious. The city-state is just too crowded, and I feel it even more after going out to sea. The world is clearly so vast, yet there's only such a tiny bit of it where people can stand..."
"Yes, there will definitely be broad habitable zones, far safer than they are now," Duncan said with a smile. Then he looked at Shirley, who was sitting beside Nina. "What about you? What do you hope the New World will have?"
With half a biscuit stuffed in her mouth, Shirley mumbled indistinctly, "I haven't thought that much about it. As long as everyone's fed and warm—it'd be nice if water and electricity bills were cheaper too."
"That's a demand of 'society,' not of the 'world,'" Duncan said, gently shaking his head. "Think again?"
Shirley chewed the half biscuit, her gaze growing a little unfocused. She seemed to ponder it quite seriously before swallowing her food with effort. "Then... I guess I'm about the same as Nina. Somewhere safer and more spacious. You're right, the rest depends on 'people'... Oh, right! A'gou and I want a big house. Or a big empty plot of land would work too. Somewhere we won't be disturbed, where A'gou can come out and run around without worry..."
Duncan smiled and nodded,