She came off the train, but whoever was accompanying her had not showed up. True, once the train had left, her husband ... or chaperone ... would have...to get it stopped and then walk back, unless he ... or she ... had a horse in the baggage cars. But they should have heard something by now, even if it was just a telegraph message. She'd been missing from that train for hours.He looked back up at her face. Her cheeks were pink now, though her breathing had slowed since he stopped stroking her. He had claimed the power of a god, and his ability to move through the electronic systems and the dreams of the residents made him as near to one as was possible. Rabbit, and by extension Michael, were free of this form of control, but only by escaping the facility altogether would he ever be free of all his influence. Hunting for Rabbit was Prometheus’ sport. Rabbit had been chased through the system for decades, and caught several dozen times over. This jaunt was the longest he’d been free,. The times when people had traveled, had exchanged merchandise and news, had been eager for the foreigner to trade with, to exchange tales and freely share their houses and food and drink and, often enough, their bodies with them, were over. Commerce with the outside world, for what little they needed from it, was done by trips to the nearest town, a few days away on decayed roads, by groups large enough not to be easy prey to bandits but not so large as to deplete the village from all who could. "Marla,you've heard me go through this before. Either he's gonna fire me, orI'll eventually blow and walk out. They are bastards and could care lessabout the clients!" We had, indeed, frequently spoken of my growingfrustration at my job as Clincial Director, which had been described to meby the big boss--Bert--as a great opportunity when he sought me out, butwhich had proven to be anything but.Marla spoke, "What happened today, Ken?" That bitch trophy wife of his got snotty again. She is.