Cris, the son, laughed at her. "It's not a Pall Mall. It's just — Pall Mall."

Ito hushed him. "It's a street, dear, the main one leading from the Palace to the Market... All this must be very strange to you. Why don't you come see the sights with me?"

Uncertain, Dura looked to Toba. He nodded. "Go ahead. I've got to head back to the ceiling-farm, but you take your time; it's going to be a few days before Adda's ready for visitors. And maybe Cris can look after Farr for a while."

Ito was eyeing Dura's bare limbs doubtfully. "But I don't think we should take you out like that. Nudity's all right for shock value — but in Pall Mall?"

Ito lent Dura one of her own garments, a one-piece coverall of some soft, pliant material. The cloth felt smoothly comfortable against Dura's skin, but as she sealed up the front of the outfit she felt enclosed, oddly claustrophobic. She tried Waving around the room experimentally; the material rustled against her skin, and the seams restricted her movements.

After a little thought she wrapped her battered piece of rope around her waist, and tucked her wooden knife and scraper inside the coverall. The homely feel of the objects made her feel a little more secure.

Cris stared at her with a skeptical grin. "You won't need a knife. It isn't the upflux here, you know."

Again Ito hushed him; the two adults politely refrained from comment.

Leaving Farr with Cris, the two women left the home with Toba. He led them to his car, waiting in the "car park." Dura helped him harness up a team of fresh pigs from the pen in the corner.

Toba took them through a fresh maze of unfamiliar streets. Soon they left behind the quiet residential section and arrived in the bustling central areas. Dura tried to follow their route, but once again found it impossible. She was used to orienting herself against the great features of the Mantle: the vortex lines, the Pole, the Quantum Sea. She suspected that keeping a sense of direction while tracking through this warren of wooden corridors was a skill which the children of Parz must acquire from birth, but which she would have to spend many months learning.

Toba brought them to the widest avenue yet. Its walls — at least a hundred mansheights apart — were lined with green-glowing lamps and elaborate windows and doorways. Toba pulled the car out of the traffic streams and hauled on his reins. "Here you are — Pall Mall," he announced. He embraced Ito. "I'll head off to the farm; I'll be back in a couple of days. Enjoy yourselves..."

Ito led Dura out of the car. Dura watched, uncertain, as the car pulled away into the traffic.