Pablo and Claire quickly woke up after their identities as civilization candidates had been bound. As the bio-pods quietly slid open, the dog and his woman crawled out of the hibernation fluid in a daze, questioning everything they thought they knew about life.
Andrei, who had been standing guard, very gentlemanly handed them the bath towels he had prepared in advance, bearing the logo of some Eden District household goods manufacturer. Wrapped in the towels, they sat on the pure white steps nearby and tried to process how completely their lives had just changed.
As Nordtov's most famous poet—and someone who considered himself a pretty decent explorer—Andrei had already prepared his pen and paper.
He knew he was sure to get firsthand information about the Golden Age from Pablo and Claire. Murphy had already told him plenty of things that had turned his worldview upside down, but witnessing something with his own eyes would obviously be far more convincing.
"So, what exactly did you see?"
Andrei waited several minutes, but the two chatterboxes didn't say a word, so he took the initiative and asked.
His question brought the two back to their senses. Pablo opened his mouth, his roguish face filled with an expression of utter disbelief, but before he could speak, Claire rubbed her temples and asked:
"Where are Murphy and Triss? Why aren't they here?"
"Uh, they went upstairs to take care of some 'personal matters.'"
Andrei glossed over an awkward detail for his friends.
He'd just seen Murphy, usually such a gentleman, kiss Lady Triss in a very direct manner. She seemed accustomed to his sudden advances, and the two had left while still kissing. He didn't need to guess what they'd gone to do.
Andrei could only conclude that the governor of Transia really did have