"Mi hermanos, I must leave you for a brief time. The hour is getting late and I must send a starting message to the Council of Zoners."
"But, before I go, the annoying breaches of security for our comm systems are rather interesting. A Corsair accusing another of taking the Demon's drug is paramount to treason. The alien machines have made it clear that they will take us off their 'HoS' list. These things need to be discussed, but I'm afraid that the Zoners should be contacted immediately."
"Besides, I think we could all use a short recess."
"The thirteen saloons that had lined the one street of Seney had not left a trace. The foundations of the Mansion House hotel stuck up above the ground. The stone was chipped and split by the fire. It was all that was left of the town of Seney. Even the surface had been burned off the ground.
Nick looked at the burned-over stretch of hillside, where he had expected to find the scattered houses of the town and then walked down the railroad track to the bridge over the river. The river was there."
