the lift drops me down

to the lowest deck of our spaceship, where gravity approaches unity.....the only thing lower than this low rent district is the bilge belt where all the used water ends up, to be processed by the nanoslurry and pumped back up again....I enter the comfortable dimness of the Lounge, and make my way towards the bar....Misty sees me coming in, and has my scotch and soda poured before I climb onto my usual stool. The regulars are here....Mrs. Corozon and J.P. are playing gin rummy at one of the tall small tables....the guy from accounting stares out through one of the little thick portholes at the endless parade of stars.....Bill and his latest girlfriend, the redhead, occupy one dark booth....a couple of guys in Orbital Authority jumpsuits are drinking beer and eating catfish nuggets, dipping them in ranch dressing. One of them starts to tell a joke, and Misty leans on her elbows listening with that expectant little smile you get on your face when you are being told a funny story.....the screens above the barback are showing a golf course, the weather for Europe, and some telenovella with the sound off....the only thing coming from the overhead speakers is something that sounds like Russian drinking music....the writing scrolling beneath the golf course is in Chinese characters.....I can't figure out where they are playing....... Thinking back through my work day, nothing had happened really.....only Miss Wen.....the machine that teaches Ontology had sent her to me....it said that she kept asking it why questions.....she wanted answers with meaning.....so it told her to go talk to a human.....I gave her an appointment time right after lunch.....she was a severe looking petite Han person with very short hair and pink lipstick, wearing a huge Lakers jersey that came down below her knees....she was barefoot, and her toenail polish matched her lipgloss. She told me that when she tried to talk to her parents about the deeper questions that were troubling her, they just looked at her with stupefied expressions on their faces.....I asked her if she would like an introduction to my friend Mr. Kato, the Zen Master on deck 11.....she scowled fiercely for a moment, but then said "Yes, please."