Prestige Hotel
"You know," grumbled a middle aged nice looking man from Eslovakiva to another man with dark skin wearing a white three piece suit as they were both taking luggage off a rack after getting off a shuttle that had brought them round from the other side of the hotel, "I came to New Edom to vacation because the resort is beautiful, there's pretty much zero crime, and it's exotic. And I was pretty glad to find out that at least in this province they don't enforce that nudity law."
"But now it's breaking out in violence again. There's a thorn on every rose," agreed the dark skinned man. "I didn't come to vacation though, I'm from Okwe, I came for a telecommunications conference here, trying to sell more New Edomites on the idea of cell phone plans. Some places out in the country, you're lucky to have one phone per hundred people."
A young couple who were making some concession to the local laws--each wearing something below the waist, him trunks and her a sarong like skirt, were both discussing whether to stay or go. It turned out that they both worked (though in different departments) for Karlberg, a foreign multinational that in New Edom focused on sales of furniture and home goods. They had been talking about living in New Edom, and had already been looking at houses. She wanted to go; he wanted to stay. They had to look forward to re-negotiating a renter who had taken over their tiny condo back home--was it worth it? They were both fair haired, lightly tanned, in their late twenties.
A small group of young business executives from VMK and the Bundesbank were calm about it; they had been in New Edom for a while, and it was possible to overhear one of them mentioning that while the testing site in central Bara was roughing it a bit that if they weren't safe there they wouldn't be safe anywhere, that this would all blow over in time.
Soon people were lining up and handing over their key cards, and then heading with their luggage (in some cases using carts, shepherded by hotel personnel wearing red uniform paint) down the street towards the train station. For some reason it was hard to hear anything other than the occasional gunshot from where they were, and the young couple from Eslovakiva (among others) began to wonder aloud if it was all just an exaggeration or something. As a result some of them took back their cards. Some others discussed the possibility of getting a train out to Quality Bay instead, and apparently that was possible.
A few blocks away, Matthew Finchley just managed to miss a group of young men in black clothing, who ignored him, clambering into a pickup truck that then blazed down the street; several ordinary people were walking along the street or sitting at an outdoor cafe. One was a man sitting on the street with a begging bowl, his body painted with various kinds of crucifixes. There were people sitting at the cafe, mostly wearing light body paint but a couple of them probably other tourists wearing mantles or wraps around the waist (and with visible tanlines in a couple of case) sipping mint tea or bubbly drinks and eating cakes or pastries or fruit. it seemed like the noise had died down quite a bit; an unintelligible voice speaking over a loudspeaker or megaphone could be heard several blocks away, his voice echoing through the downtown buildings.
"You know," grumbled a middle aged nice looking man from Eslovakiva to another man with dark skin wearing a white three piece suit as they were both taking luggage off a rack after getting off a shuttle that had brought them round from the other side of the hotel, "I came to New Edom to vacation because the resort is beautiful, there's pretty much zero crime, and it's exotic. And I was pretty glad to find out that at least in this province they don't enforce that nudity law."
"But now it's breaking out in violence again. There's a thorn on every rose," agreed the dark skinned man. "I didn't come to vacation though, I'm from Okwe, I came for a telecommunications conference here, trying to sell more New Edomites on the idea of cell phone plans. Some places out in the country, you're lucky to have one phone per hundred people."
A young couple who were making some concession to the local laws--each wearing something below the waist, him trunks and her a sarong like skirt, were both discussing whether to stay or go. It turned out that they both worked (though in different departments) for Karlberg, a foreign multinational that in New Edom focused on sales of furniture and home goods. They had been talking about living in New Edom, and had already been looking at houses. She wanted to go; he wanted to stay. They had to look forward to re-negotiating a renter who had taken over their tiny condo back home--was it worth it? They were both fair haired, lightly tanned, in their late twenties.
A small group of young business executives from VMK and the Bundesbank were calm about it; they had been in New Edom for a while, and it was possible to overhear one of them mentioning that while the testing site in central Bara was roughing it a bit that if they weren't safe there they wouldn't be safe anywhere, that this would all blow over in time.
Soon people were lining up and handing over their key cards, and then heading with their luggage (in some cases using carts, shepherded by hotel personnel wearing red uniform paint) down the street towards the train station. For some reason it was hard to hear anything other than the occasional gunshot from where they were, and the young couple from Eslovakiva (among others) began to wonder aloud if it was all just an exaggeration or something. As a result some of them took back their cards. Some others discussed the possibility of getting a train out to Quality Bay instead, and apparently that was possible.
A few blocks away, Matthew Finchley just managed to miss a group of young men in black clothing, who ignored him, clambering into a pickup truck that then blazed down the street; several ordinary people were walking along the street or sitting at an outdoor cafe. One was a man sitting on the street with a begging bowl, his body painted with various kinds of crucifixes. There were people sitting at the cafe, mostly wearing light body paint but a couple of them probably other tourists wearing mantles or wraps around the waist (and with visible tanlines in a couple of case) sipping mint tea or bubbly drinks and eating cakes or pastries or fruit. it seemed like the noise had died down quite a bit; an unintelligible voice speaking over a loudspeaker or megaphone could be heard several blocks away, his voice echoing through the downtown buildings.
Mara sighed. 'i have no idea, apparently it's some kind of...well..President Touchstone, I heard, got assassinated at his hunting lodge along with a bunch of other advisers, and Admiral Rand has apparently been appointed acting Minister of Defense. But I gather that Perrin has been summoned to Fineberg by the Attorney-General no less to defend her so that Rand can't arrest her. It's a mess. I don't know what's going to happen." she hesitated. "Tia, I'm not leaving the country or anything, but I thought maybe you might like to stay with me at my place instead of at your hotel. If anything DOES get out of hand we can whisk you over to an airport and get you out really easily. If you'd rather though we can do that now or have you brought to your embassy." she shrugged, and looked out over the sea. "I'm sorry." she said a bit bitterly.
One day, the Guy on the Buffalo was riding around Quality Bay. He saw some ladies and people from Riemaia, which was great, and invited them to follow him in, led them up the road past some trees and some gardens, then to the big white house, cause guess what--he was on a buffalo! The Guy on a Buffalo, yeah, that's right, just follow him up, on his buffalo--Guy--just watch him go, on a Buffalo. Ohhhhhhhhhhh make sure you respect a Guy who's ridin' on a bufalloooooooo....
"I apologize for my brother's eccentricity," said Prince James, wearing a red kimono and swimming trunks, greeting them at the door. "i had meant for Mara to greet you, but I'm afraid she's not around, she suddenly went off to the beach, but Tia and Gloria Faz are there, perhaps you'd care to join them? If you'd rather get settled, relax, please do...you are most welcome here as always." He glanced shaking his head at his brother Rupert, riding off on his buffalo over the green grass, the faint strains of "Gotta move it on...on my buffalo..." echoing from across the estate.
"I apologize for my brother's eccentricity," said Prince James, wearing a red kimono and swimming trunks, greeting them at the door. "i had meant for Mara to greet you, but I'm afraid she's not around, she suddenly went off to the beach, but Tia and Gloria Faz are there, perhaps you'd care to join them? If you'd rather get settled, relax, please do...you are most welcome here as always." He glanced shaking his head at his brother Rupert, riding off on his buffalo over the green grass, the faint strains of "Gotta move it on...on my buffalo..." echoing from across the estate.