Realware

"That's the Royal Palace, Yoke. It burned down in 2010, but the Tongans faithfully rebuilt it. I think we may be having di

"Da King don't live in it no more," corrected Tiko. "He started livin' down by da lagoon."

"I can imagine why," murmured Onar, but Yoke didn't push him to explain. The sun made talking too difficult.

The New Beach Guest House dated back to the twentieth century; it was a quaint cinder-block structure with a wide concrete porch and many open doors. There were swaying palms. The shade was a palpable relief. Yoke flopped down on an ancient metal porch chair and caught her breath.

"Mrs. Yoshida?" called Onar, but no answer came.

"She not go

"Two rooms," said Yoke.

Onar looked at her with mild disappointment. "We won't be sleeping together? It would be less expensive to share. Not that I want to presume on our brief acquaintance."

"I don't think so," said Yoke. It had been pleasant enough when they'd smooched a little last night--even if she'd only been kissing Onar to somehow spite Phil for Kevvie. But flying all the way here squeezed into Cobb with Onar had been a definite turn-off. And now Onar kept acting so -- British.

"Quite," said Onar, with a little bow. "I'll wage a courtship for your favors, milady Starr-Mydol." Double ugh.

Yoke and Onar found two empty rooms on the ocean side. The New Beach Guest House was an incredibly casual place, with no locks on any of the doors. Some of the other guests were in their rooms napping or reading. While Onar made some uvvy calls, Yoke took a shower and put on her silvery summer dress.

"HRH is sending 'round a limo for us in half an hour," a

"Where's Cobb?" asked Yoke.

Onar pointed, and Yoke noticed a shiny puddle of plastic on the ground near the guest house. Cobb was relaxing moldie-style, lying there in a patch of sun and letting his algae soak up the light.

Onar went off for his shower and Yoke got a bottle of soda from the kitchen fridge. She sat on the porch and looked at the ocean and the sky, with the endless puffs of cloud marching out over the Pacific forever. She picked up a handheld fan, a woven palm thing with feathery fringed edges. She waved it gently, enjoying the gentle pulses of air.

A vortex is like a boulder, mused Yoke as she played with the fan. If you hit a boulder, it breaks into smaller rocks; if you jolt a vortex, it decomposes into a pack of smaller vortices. The vortices coming off the edges of the fan would be interesting to model.

Overhead the light breeze rattled the leaves of the palms. It was so wonderful to be loose in the open air of this great living world. After a lifetime in the pawky corridors of the Moon, Yoke couldn't get over the oceanic dimensions of Earth's atmosphere. The lucky mudders walked around at the bottom of a very sea of air.

Around four o'clock the "limo" showed up, a tiny electric car like all the others, chauffeured by an enormous Tongan man named Ke

Hearing Onar and Yoke preparing to leave, Cobb perked up and poked his head up out of the puddle. "Am I invited?" he wanted to know.

"You definitely should follow us down to the Foreign Ministry to register," said Onar. "But as far as di

"I'm human," protested Cobb, his plastic old man's head bulging out of the shiny patch on the ground.

"Maybe you should try making friends with the Sea Cuke dive moldies," continued Onar. "Or if you want to be with humans, you could go to a bar. The Happy Club is quite colorful. There's a lot of fakaleitis there." Onar looked over at Yoke and explained, "That's the Tongan word for transvestites. Boys raised as girls. It's not uncommon. They're quite promiscuous. Takes some pressure off the women, I suppose."

"The Happy Club's a dangerous place, Mr. Anders," put in Ke

"But isn't it true that moldies are welcome there?"

"Maybe a little too welcome," said Ke

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Cobb in alarm. He'd grown himself back up into human form.

"That happens here too?" said Onar.

"Yis," said Ke

"What happens?" asked Cobb.

"Oh, you know," said Onar. "Sporeheads slitting open moldies to get all of their camote at once."

"God," said Cobb, looking down at his body. "If they want those little fungus nuggets so much, they only have to ask me. I gave some camote to my great-grandson just the other day. Randy Karl Tucker. He's a little that way. It comes from being a cheeseball. I just hope he's staying out of trouble in San Francisco. That boy." Cobb sighed heavily. "I better not go to the Happy Club."

"Whatever you like, Cobb," said Onar. "But right now you should follow us to the ministry so we can get you a chirper. According to Tongan law, moldie visitors have to be tagged. It's like an electronic visa."

"I don't need no stinkin' visa," said Cobb. "You go on without me. I think I'll fly around the island. See you here in the morning, Yoke. We'll go for a dive." Onar shrugged. "I thought you might feel that way. Just as well if you don't come at all."

The elevator in the Foreign Ministry building had a marble floor. It was possibly the only elevator in Tonga, and it was ma

"Hello," Yoke said.

"Malo e leiei," said the elevator operator, kindly but firmly. "You must learn to say hello in the Tongan way. Malo e lelei."

"Malo e lelei."

A trim Tongan woman in a gray dress greeted them near the elevators. She was wearing an uvvy.

"Hello, Mr. Anders, I'm glad to see you. We are on the point of closing down for the day. Quitting-time is the one appointment that Tongans observe punctually! But I believe Mr. Olou is still here. And first we have our little business with your friend's visa."

"Excellent, Eleani," said Onar. "Let me introduce my friend Yoke from the Moon. Yoke, this is Eleani Matu. She's a Vice-Minister."

"Did Onar get you a contract from Meta West Link?" Eleani asked.

"No, I'm just a tourist along for the ride."

"Yes, yes," laughed Eleani. "Of course you are. Step into my office and I'll give you the visa." Eleani led them into a cool, dark room with elegant modern furniture. "Sue Miller," she said, nodding to Yoke. "It's all set."

"Huh?"

"It's your identity of record," said Onar. "Eleani's in charge of Tonga's interface to international ID protocols. Tongan counterintelligence, that is. She's setting up some one-month ID viruses for you and Cobb."

"Why?"

Onar looked cagey. "You'll find out later on tonight. When we go to meet the King. Suffice it to say that HRH wants you to help him with a mission that could lead to you getting hold of something extremely valuable, and he doesn't want any off-islanders hounding you for it. It'll be for your own good if nobody can recognize you."