It was Gordon Ho—it had taken me this long, a couple of seconds, to recognize him in his glory. Gordon Ho, King Kamehameha V, Ali'i of the Kingdom of Hawai'i. When I'd seen him on the telecom screen, my mental impression had been of a young, up-and-coming corporate exec. The telecom hadn't conveyed the size of him—just shy of two meters tall, I guessed; not up to Kamehameha the Great's standard, but still one big boy—and it certainly hadn't done justice to his ... his aura . (I hate the word, but it's the only one that fits.) I could feel his personality, his strength of will, like radiant heat penetrating to my core. I'd never met a king before, and for the first time I realized there might be something more to this monarchy drek than a title and—maybe—congenital defects from inbreeding.