The ceramic felt warm against his palms. Warmed by the coffee. But his skin never touched the coffee. Instead the heat transferred through the burnt clay. Fire transformed. Forged something new.

That was why he couldn't feel any different up here in 

Spacecity

. The cold. It stagnated you. Through the years warm bodies would arrive. Embers that would cool with time. Until they left. That's when they'd warm up again. The thought of returning to land.

He was disconnected from everyone now. The last person he felt connected to was Marianna and that one other guy. He'd even forgotten his name by now. That kid had been important to him. How could he have forgotten his name?

The kid used to ask him, "Keith when are you gonna go back?"

And Keith would like to give ambiguous replies. Acting unphased about being stuck up. It made him feel tough. Or cool.

Now with nobody to ask him when he was going back to 

earth

, he began wanting to return. No clue where he would go down there. But it was time that he finally left this.