Rlinda led him aboard in the early-morning stillness and showed him to a small guest cabin that had once been used to carry the green priests Nira and Otema, before anyone had ever heard of hydrogues. Lotze touched the bunk, noted the computer console and the ship's library database, and nodded with satisfaction.

"I am ready to go. I'd rather not make a scene packing up my belongings. The colonists think I'm just another settler with a bit of engineering knowledge. They have no clue why I was really here."

Rlinda was surprised. "No goodbyes? You've spent years on Crenna... and you just want to slip away into the dawn? With nothing but the shirt on your back?"

His expression remained unruffled. "That would be my preference. I am ready to go find those missing archaeologists."

Rlinda drew a deep breath. "It'll take me a while to prep the ship for departure. In the meantime,I, at least, need to run back and say goodbye to someone."

31

ANTON COLICOS

The fabled city of Mijistra was everything Anton Colicos had dreamed it might be-and a thousand times more. The crystalline metropolis glittered under the light of seven suns. He didn't think his eyes could withstand any more wonders.

As he stepped away from the ornate Ildiran transport ship, Anton fumbled in his pockets, searching for his filmy sun filters. Though the captain had warned him that humans often had trouble with the glare, Anton had been so overwhelmed by the sights that he'd forgotten to take the simple precaution. When he smoothed the filter band across his eyes, even more amazing details popped out at him. Spires, stained glass, fountains, gardens...

The city brought to mind thoughts of wondrous places: Xanadu and the pleasure dome of Kublai Khan, mythical Atlantis, the golden city of El Dorado, the realm of Prester John, even the Emerald City of Oz. It would require centuries just toabsorb it all... much less interpret and communicate it to future generations.

He wished he could share this with his missing parents. They would love it here! Just before leaving Earth, he had received a formal message from some unnamed bureaucrat in the Hansa that they would "look into the matter" with whatever resources they had available, as soon as it was "appropriate." Anton did not take much encouragement from the answer, but it was something. Perhaps his new Ildiran friends would have something to add.

Suppressing the urge to worry about his parents, Anton reminded himself that Margaret and Louis Colicos had always been self-sufficient and prepared for unexpected setbacks. All his life, his mother and father had emphasized to him that they loved their work. And, despite the risks, they would not want to do anything else.

Just like Anton, here in Mijistra. At last.

Ildirans disembarked from the crowded passenger liner, where the travelers had been pressed together inside the communal areas. Though Anton relished solitude for quiet study and meditation, these aliens thrived on each other's company. He didn't think Ildirans ever did anything alone.