In my dream, it’s early morning, and I’m wandering a small cruise ship similar to the one Irene and I took to the Galapagos in 2001 and Antarctica in 2005. It doesn’t seem as if anyone else is awake as I head to the dining area in search of breakfast, but when I get there, Ajay and Edna Budrys are already seated. They’re the only ones there.

It doesn’t bother me that Ajay is dead in the real world. Actually, I’m not even aware of it in the dream, and so chat with them nonchalantly about what’s available for breakfast, and the places we’ll be touring that day. Places which, now that I’m awake, I can no longer remember.

I don’t usually eat an elaborate breakfast, maybe only a bagel or croissant, but I have trouble finding one. The tables are filled with food completely inappropriate for breakfast—hot dogs in buns, marbled cakes with mounds of frosting, thing like that. Finally, after much searching, I do find a bagel, and return to the table to talk with Ajay and Edna.

As I sit, in comes Susan Casper. Gardner Dozois isn’t awake yet, and so it’s just the four of us for awhile. We get to talking about reviews of Ajay’s books, and Susan mentions a particularly devastating one, and how she wanted to contact that critic, whom she knew personally, to see what was up with his undeserved slam.

Bells ring, telling us that the first boat is going ashore. I want to be on it, to see the sights in the early morning light, when fewer people are up and about. Then I slowly come awake, still with no idea what sort of place we’ll be touring that day, but eager to see it anyway.