A chilly wind ran across the harbour at two figures collapsing onto a bench looking out into the bay.
"We've run out of wine Klass."
"What, Look ere Ri- reo- ry-"
"Ryu"
"Whatever, Japanese is wired, Ryu, have you been drinking more than you shud. I swear we 'ad more."
"Who cares, we can celebrate on Synthaholee"
"Bha, rubbish shuff. Go on then."
Ryu pulled a flash from inside his jacket and poured half into Klaas' flask. "To birthdays, and futures."
"Indeededo. Hold on, I am going to have to find somewhere to live, and I can't go to the library anymore."
"That's the general idea, you see you come, you go on a course, then you leave and you don't stick around pretending your studying for a course you finished years ago. Your fault they banned you. Try getting a job. I might go into stafleet"
"I don't do the taking orders thing. Maybe I should set up a small shop."
"Where"
"Well not in Tokyo, too many people, somewhere that no one cares about."
"New Zealand?"
"No, further away"
"Ohh, Canada."
"No no no."
"Bandar-Seri-Begawan? Sri-Jawardenepura-Kotte?"
"What? No. Off world."
"America?"
"Ever heard of Ecnarf?"
"Yes."
"That won't do then."
"How about Serenity?"
"I mean a real place."
"It is."
"Oh, good. Where is it?"
"Haven't a clue. Though the civilian flights over there are dirt cheap for the distance. Saw it in the back of a tourism company brochure that went bust. Apparently they have a lost continent or something"
"That was careless."
"No I mean they don't know what's in it."
"Sounds like Joe's mystery Thursday at the canteen."
"Has to be better than that. To Serenity!" Klaas announced staggering to his feet "May I get some peace from the people!" He shouted out to the harbour. A few moments later he seemed to get a response from one of the flats behind him. "What's he complaining about?"
"Its midnight."
"Oh." He turned around to the flats, "Sumimasen!"
"Fantastic, took us 45 minutes, no one will ever find me." Klaas shouted throwing his coat into the corner here he would put his chair. "Maybe I should black out the windows or is that too far Ryu?"
Ryu dropped the box of books he was carrying since the space port catching is breath. "You know, most people try to get people to visit their shop."
"I'm not most people. You think I spend my life collecting these books to get rid of them. I just don't want to be labelled unemployed, is very demeaning." We walked round the edge of the room. "Besides, everyone reads books of the UFP database, or plays holoprograms of them, anyone coming in hear would obviously want something real like me, so no more people calling me paperback like in Tokyo"
Ryu chuckled slightly "Was rather funny when-"
"Quiet. Must get the rest of the stock."
"Can't we just use the transporter?"
"No. If we transport them then they won't be thousands of years old anymore will they!"
"Okay, but once we have the things over here I need to get back to Earth, got some interviews to catch."
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