"Look, you're out of it. It's over. But obviously my request went further and quicker than I thought it would. We triggered something. But you've put them off. They aren't interested any more."

"Hmm. I suppose you're right."

"Gurgeh; I'm sorry."

"Never mind," Gurgeh told the old machine. He looked up at the stars. "Hub?"

"Hey; we're interested. If it had been purely personal we wouldn't have listened to a word, we swear, and besides, it'd be notified on your daily communication statement we were listening."

"Never mind all that." Gurgeh smiled, oddly relieved the Orbital's Mind had been eavesdropping. "Just tell me how far away that ROU is."

"On the word «is», it was a minute and forty-nine seconds away; a light month distant, already clear of the system, and well out of our jurisdiction, we're very glad to say. Hightailing it in a direction a little up-spin of Galactic Core. Looks like it's heading for the GSV Unfortunate Conflict Of Evidence, unless one of them's trying to fool somebody."

"Thank you, Hub. Goodnight."

"To you too. And you're on your own this time, we promise."

"Thank you, Hub. Chamlis?"

"You might just have missed the chance of a lifetime, Gurgeh… but it was more likely a narrow escape. I'm sorry for suggesting Contact. They came too fast and too hard to be casual."

"Don't worry so much, Chamlis," he told the drone. He looked back at the stars again, and sat back, swinging his foot up on to the table. "I handled it. We managed. Will I see you at Tronze tomorrow?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I'll think about it. Good luck — I mean against this wonderchild, at Stricken — if I don't see you tomorrow."

He grinned ruefully into the darkness. "Thanks. Goodnight, Chamlis."

"Goodnight, Gurgeh."

The train emerged from the tunnel into bright sunlight. It banked round the remainder of the curve, then set out across the slender bridge.