Ambassador Janet introduced herself and greeted me with a hug. This took me a little by surprise, as on other realms Ambassadors are usually more interested in their title and appearances, than with actually being amicable. A pleasant surprise that.
The Ambassador, who insisted that I refer to her by her given name, showed me to my quarters on deck 29, which were appointed nicely. The Ambassador, Janet, then pointed out the one prominent feature in the room. "This,"she said with some pride, "is called the Portal. With it we can communicate with anyone on the Orbiter.'She smiled, "Here is where you will look for messages left while you were out." She went on to describe its many functions, and as I am slightly ill at ease with mechanical things, she showed great patience.
I decided to take a stroll around the main decks. Gleaming metal and colorful lights abounded. Friendly, smiling people everywhere, but something was a bit off. I could not put my finger to just what, though. I spied an important looking building under construction. I stopped to speak to one of the workers. He was wearing dungarees and was covered in blue paint. I asked him what he was working on. "These are Chat Rooms." "Chat Rooms, what are they?"I asked. "Whenever groups of more than two people wish to have a discussion, we make these room available to them."It was then that I realized what was missing. People were talking, but never in groups, always two at a time. Strange customs some cultures have. So these Chat Rooms must be a revolutionary idea to them. "The Chat Rooms are working now, but they're not very pretty, and mind the bugs we're still getting rid of them."He added almost as an afterthought, "By the way, I'm Paul."I found out later that the worker Paul that I was chatting with was none other than Vulcan Paul, the chief architect and leader of the Orbiter. No aristocracy here, I see.