Two hours later, Sam was on the ground at his destination, being greeted by a Renraku employee in a fringed synth-leather jacket, floppy pilot’s cap, and pointy sequined boots. The clothing was no less outrageous than the woman’s overly familiar forms of address and rude jokes. First she led Sam through the intricacies of Seattle customs and security checks, then she took him onto the field to a waiting Federated Boeing Commuter marked with the Renraku logo. The woman assured him that the tilt-wing shuttle plane would take them to the arcology in the most expeditious manner. When Sam had boarded and taken his seat in the luxurious passenger cabin, his escort vanished through the forward door to the cockpit. A few moments later, the craft lifted from the ground. Take-off was accompanied by the pilot’s commentary on minor faults in the lower control’s procedure.