Freyr half looked round when Marae spoke, soothe stick inches from her mouth. “Oh, uhh…sure.” She took a puff, and blew a cloud of vapour over the image she now held in both hands. “Yep…That’s David my husband, and Amy my daughter. I think we’d just spent the day watching the Deng-tsai circuit back in Babylon.”

Freyr raised the two fingers clutching her soothe stick and waved them round in a circle. “Race cars, shooting around skyscrapers in the city centre. Amy [b]loved[/b] it, wouldn’t stop talking about it. I think David secretly hated it, but enjoyed seeing us happy all the same.” She fell silent, bit her lip.

“Do you have any children, Marae?” An Institute operator padded past them on patrol, holographic sight scanning the sky above.