Pongpianskul frowned. "No matter. You were in Dembowska then, anyway. Things aren’t so bad here under Neotenic aegis, eh, Mavrides, you admit? Gone a bit to rack and ruin, but all the better for the tourist trade; those Ring Council types eat it up with a spoon. Tell the truth, we had to go into the old Lindsay mansion and bash it about a bit, make it more romantic. Had some mice installed. You know mice? Bred ’em back to the wild state from lab specimens. You know their eyes weren’t pink in the wild? Funny look in those eyes, reminds me of a wife of mine."