10
WITH THE EXCHANGE in operation, a trip to Asto wouldn’t be anywhere near as long and uncomfortable as my previous one. Not long after he became fascinated with me, when I was very new to this job, Ezhya had taken me to look at Asto from orbit a few times. Looking at stars or some other celestial phenomenon was his euphemism for a private talk, or some other private activity. In a way it galled me that I had to do this with a very unpleasant person. I had good memories of floating in orbit and seeing the planet’s surface pass under me while sipping some kind of liquor.
I spent much of the morning trying to organise a pilot, without a great deal of success. They were busy. They wanted exorbitant amounts, or they didn’t take tourists. I was left with two I didn’t particularly like but wh
