We exit the elevator and walk across the lobby. I let Captain Blitner out the door ahead of me and hold it for the Narvidian man again.

“My thanks, Mr. Lance,” he says gruffly as he rushes past us.

We stroll down Stationary Plaza. The fountains roar around us and sweet and sour fragrances float from nearby flowers and bushes. Clouds drift overhead, and a flock of birds soars westward, their harsh squawks reaching our ears. Captain Blitner follows them with his eyes. He bobs his head when they disappear, and a sad frown creases his face.

It’s not fair, I suppose. He’s done his duty, outlived people who have worked beside him. Lost friends. Yet all he does is sit in a dark room and sift through data.

Alone.

We sit on a bench shaded by an Armici tree and watch people mill around the plaza. As we do, Captain Blitner fidgets in his pocket and retrieves his medicine bottle, then pops a pill into his mouth. He peers inside the bottle before snapping the cap shut and putting it away again.

“Forgot about that.” He looks at me, his eyes heavy. “You almost remind me of him. But you’re different somehow. I can’t tell what it is.” He folds his arms and looks out across the plaza again. “Did he ever tell you what he stood for?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so.”

“Your father remembered what so many people choose to forget: we are not a part of the future, so it’s our job to make sure there is one.”

That evening, Glacia and I ride a bus to the eastern sector of the Embassy. The buildings here are even taller than on the western side. Hovercrafts soar in the sky, illuminated by the pinkish rays of the sun as it sinks lower in the east.

The bus drops off in Eve Glow Park. Smooth paths curve through the forest of trees, trees with thin, light gray trunks and dark pink flowers sprouting in triangular patterns off their branches, and bright red bushes line both sides of the paths. Farther inside the park, a wide stream gushes into a pond that wraps partway around a slanted restaurant called the Eve Glow Grill. Large windows as tall as the restaurant face the pond, and glass lanterns dangle from the overhanging roof.

Everyone is already waiting for us. Glacia and I sit across from Michael and Ellin, and Orcher and Captain Blitner sit opposite of Victoria and Officer Remmit. Orcher offers to buy a round of drinks, but Glacia and Captain Blitner decline.

The menu is fish-based. I order Leeka Trout and Glacia gets a slab of salted Gorbil. She eats every last bite—including the onions and cooked vegetables, which I think were meant for decoration.