 Where is the ship sailing?
VOYAGE TO FAR N'JURD I "I don't see why we have to be here," a crewman said. An' iffen I aims ta talk...." "So he do; an' I'll tell ya, hit shore is time he's a-gittin' hyere. The crewman to his left bent over and whispered, "I'll bet he's gonna tell us it's gonna be another postponement." Nestir, the priest, was dressed out in the full ceremonial costume of office. And then, more loudly, "Men!" I want you all to take it away from here with you and think about it, tonight, in the privacy of your cabins. He came to me, and he said: 'Father, I am weary of sailing.' "Yes, he said, 'I am weary of sailing.' "But because he came to me and said, 'Father, I am weary of sailing,' I went to the captain, and I said, 'Captain, the men are weary of sailing.' "And then the captain said: 'All right, Father,' he said, 'I will set the day for the Festival of the Casting Off!'" And the day is not very far distant," said Nestir. You are thinking: 'What kind of a Festival can we have here on this ship?' You are thinking: 'What a fine thing—ah, what a good thing, that is—ah, how nice it would be to have the Casting Off at home, among friends.'" "The arena in Koltah is the greatest arena in the whole system. "Well, the point I want to make is this: I just wanted to tell you that I know what a Festival should be, and the captain and I will do everything in our power to make our Casting Off as wonderful as any anywhere. While they were still cheering and stomping and otherwise expressing their enthusiasm and approval, Nestir walked off the speaker's platform and into the officer's corridor. II Dinner that evening was a gala occasion aboard the ship. He nodded curtly to the officers when he entered the mess hall, walked directly to his place at the head of the table, sat down and morosely began to work the cork out of his wine bottle with his teeth. When the third mate saw that his opinion on the wine was not immediately to be justified, he settled back in his chair with a little sigh of disapproval.
 Somewhere in deep space.
 In Koltah.  In the province of San Xalthan.  Underwater.  Somewhere in deep space.