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and took public transportation the moment that it became an option.
    The café that she found opened early. She bought a roll and some hot tea for breakfast, and she chatted with the clerk.
    “Why are you up and around so early?”
    Koara shrugged. “I was out with friends chasing dropping stars. I went one way, they went another, and I ended up walking back to the city.”
    The clerk chuckled. “Well, you picked a good café.”
    Koara ate the roll and drank her tea at a small table. As she nursed the cup, the city came alive on the street outside.
    A rush of commuters flooded the café, and the tables remained sparsely populated while the line snaked out the door. It took an hour and Koara got a quick refill while she waited until the opening hours of the museum.
    She noted that everyone paid for breakfast, from labourers to executives. Everyone was equal and waited equally. It was nice to see.
    No folk of Gol turned their back to one of the others. The lines were all sideways. Shoulder to shoulder, they sidestepped toward the clerk.
    So, backs were a thing.
    Koara saw three other women with skull tattoos, and she applauded herself for noticing it in the vids.
    No one did more than glance at her, so she was able to watch without being noticed.
    When the chronometer on the wall displayed the time she was waiting for, Koara got to her feet, put her cup on the dish station and she waved farewell to the clerk.
    The museum was six blocks away, so she walked from the café to the Museum of Gol.
    It was fascinating to pay the fee and step into a tour that took her through the history of the species. The hardest part of blending in was the body language. Not turning her back to others was the hardest thing she had to manage.
    When she had picked up a number of very interesting facts, she went to the next museum to see if it reinforced what the first one had said.
    With the second tour completed, she had a handful of informational crystals to view at home and another city to book into.
    Transport was done via high-speed train. The Golum were masters of resonance, and vibration massively reduced friction if the pitch was right.
    She sat on a very comfortable seat that had a gel back as she travelled across a bridge anchored into the floor of the ocean. Far below, the waves beat at the posts, but the train remained steady, moving at incredible speed.
    She settled into her seat and caught some sleep. It might be the only chance she got.
    When she woke, a man was sitting across from her with a strange smile on his lips. “What language was that?”
    She blinked. “Something I made up when I was a child. It surfaces when I am discomforted by travel.”
    He extended his hand, the back toward hers. “I am Morgthen.”
    “Kiahrah.” She pressed the back of her hand to his.
    “Where are you headed?”
    She shrugged as she took in the strong line of his jaw, the bright blue of his eyes, and she had the funny feeling that she had seen him somewhere before.
    “I am doing museum tours, stopping at every one I come across while I travel the globe as quickly as I can.”
    “Why are you rushing?”
    She shrugged. “Time is precious and I want to make the memories now and pick through them later for revisits.”
    She went on the offensive. “Why are you travelling?”
    “Oh, just returning from visiting my sister. I am taking a detour on my way home. I have to say, so far, I am enjoying it.”
    The time display indicated that there was still an hour until they arrived at their destination, so Kiahrah settled in for chitchat mode.
    It was her first try truly blending in.
     
    Her whirlwind tour of Gol took her four days. When she was at her last stop, she walked into the local café and came to a complete halt. A familiar face was chatting with the clerk, and he blinked in surprise as he saw her.
    “Kiahrah. What brings you here?” He walked up to her and extended his hand.
    She pressed the back of her hand to his. “Sorry. My