Tom laughed, sudden and loud and beyond grateful for the distraction. He fiddled with the controls, bringing up the familiar sound of static on all stations.

"Might be," he said, "If there was anyone out here running stations." He slid the scanner all the way up and down. "Guess that means there's nothing like Santiago City anywhere around here."

"You doin' okay back there?" he asked, turning to look at Neil, sitting in the same place Florence had, all long limbs and silence. But Florence wasn't here now. But somewhere in the Realm....

He wondered if she'd remember them, the Island-them, or if she was still wrapped up in revolutions.