“Thank you,” Brill said, primly picking up a knife and fork and going to work. “Hmm. It tastes slightly…odd.”

“Yeah.” Miriam chewed thoughtfully, then poured a couple of cups of coffee from the thermal jug. “The eggs aren’t as good. Are they?”

“It’s all a little different.” Brill frowned, inspecting her plate minutely. “They’re all the same, aren’t they? Like identical twins?”

“It’s how we make things here.” Miriam shrugged. “You’ll see lots of things that are identical. But not people.” She began working on her toast before she noticed Brill surreptitiously following her example with the small wrapped parcels of butter. “First, I’m going to call my friend. If she’s all right, we’re going to go on a journey to another city and I’m going to leave you with her for a few days. The way we tell it is: You’re a relative from out of state who’s coming to stay. Your parents are weird backwoods types, which is why there’s a lot of stuff you haven’t seen. My friend will know the truth. Also, she’s got a contact number for Roland. If I—” she cleared her throat—“she’ll get you back in touch, so you can go home. To the other side, I mean, when you need to.”

“‘When I need to’,” Brill echoed doubtfully. She glanced around the room. “What’s that?”

“That?” Miriam blinked. “It’s a television set.”

“Oh. Like Ser Villem’s after-dinner entertainments. I remember that! The cat and the mouse, and the talking rabbit, Bugs.” Brill smiled. “They are everywhere, here?”

“That’s one way of putting it.” Kid, I prescribe a week as a dedicated couch potato before we let you go outdoors on your own, she resolved. “I’ve got a call to make,” she said, reaching for her mobile.

The first thing Miriam did was switch her phone off, open the back, and replace the SIM chip with one she took from her billfold. Then she reassembled it. The phone beeped as it came up with a new identity, but there was no voice mail waiting for her. Steeling herself, she dialed a number—one belonging to another mobile phone she’d sent via FedEx a couple of days before.

“Hello?” The voice at the end of the line sounded positively chirpy.

“Paulie! Are you okay?”

“Miriam! How’s it going, babe?”

“It’s going messy,” she admitted. “Look, remember the other day? Are you still home?”

“Yes. What’s come up?”

“I’m going to come pay you a visit,” said Miriam. “First, I’ve got a lot of things to discuss, stuff to get in order—and a down payment. Second, I’ve got a lodger. How’s your spare room?”

“Oh, you know it’s been empty since I kicked that bum Walter out? What’s up, you wanting him to stay with me?”