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stone lecture hall surrounded by a tall colonnade. A carved granite slab in a nearby flowerbed read Veskin Hall – Physics . They had to weave and push through a crowd of students, most about Duaal's own age. A Lyran in a tweed suit stood on the roof, holding a leather pounceball over his head.
    "Now stand back!" he shouted to the students below.
    On the other side of a lawn studded with sculptures of twisted metal, Xia pointed to a stately red brick hall covered in a thick net of ivy.
    "That's where we're going, Xol Hall. We used to call it the Xol Hole . It's a little cramped inside."
    That turned to be an understatement. They joined the tide of students and professors pouring in through the pillar-flanked entry. Doors lined the long hallway, crowded display cases flanked the doors, all full to overflowing with rocks, bits of old cloth in a thousand fading colors, fragments of pottery, shards of metal and vials of dust. The ceiling hung artificially low with sagging maps stapled to the spongy insulation tiles and genetic models hanging from thin, nearly invisible threads.
    A kiosk flickered on one corner where the hallway intersected another crowded corridor. Xia stopped beside it and leaned close to make herself heard over the noise. "Directions to Professor Xen's office," she shouted. The holographic display buzzed and flickered, then showed Xia what she had asked for:
     
    Professor Xen (4)
    Office 310
    Third floor, fifth door on the left
    Office hours: Open
     
    A red line blinked through a wireframe map beside the instructions. Xia glanced down the right-hand hall to the elevators, but the foyer was full of waiting students.
    "Come on, the stairs are over here," she said.
    By the time they reached the third story, Tiberius was huffing. "This is ridiculous!" he protested. "I've been climbing mountains – real Prian mountains, not colony-world hills – since before either of you were born!"
    "Maybe Prianus isn't the challenge you make it out to be," Duaal suggested.
    "Shut it, chickling. I'm just getting old."
    Duaal laughed and chased after Xia, who had pulled ahead. There were fewer people up here, but even more overfilled glass cases. Xia waved the men over to a closed door, fifth one on the left. A cartoon had been printed out and taped to the window, showing a comically exaggerated Hadrian facing off against an exasperated Axial. The two shared a single dialog bubble: You show me your monkeys!
    Xia laughed. "Pretty good."
    Duaal did not get it and tried to think of some subtle way to get Xia to explain the joke. While he pondered, she knocked on the door.
    "It's open. Come on in!" called a voice from inside.
    Xia opened the door for Tiberius and Duaal, then followed them into the office. It was only slightly less crowded than the hallway. A huge window looked out on the sculpture garden they had passed through on the way in. Monitors filled the other three walls, all displaying maps and news stories, photographs and charts. Two desks took up most of the office, pushed back to back in the middle of the floor and leaving only a narrow gap around the edge of the room.
    A slender blonde girl sat at one of the desks. She had large green eyes and a pretty, fine-boned face. She smiled at the three visitors and stood. "Good morning! I'm Panna Sul, Professor Xen's assistant." She offered her hand to each of them in turn. "You're probably here to see him, right?"
    "Yes," Xia answered. "The kiosk said he was in."
    "He should be, but Professor Xen is downstairs. He's covering Professor Stark's lecture. That should be over in about fifteen minutes. Can I get you anything? Coffee, fizz?"
    "No, thank you," Xia declined. Tiberius and Duaal shook their heads.
    "Well, have a seat," said Panna, gesturing to a row of chairs under one of the screens. She grimaced down at the computer on her desk. "Are you quite sure I can't get you anything?"
    "I'm sure," Xia said.
    Panna sighed and sat down. "Back to grading undergrad essays, then.