motion
gave her no perception of speed, no sound of air rushing by or wheels on
pavement, just a smooth, peaceful, floating sensation as if they were drifting
down a dark, wide river.
“They really let you take this out all by yourself,” Barbary
said with wonder.
“Sure.”
“They don’t let kids drive cars, back on earth.”
“That’s dumb. Why not?”
“They don’t think we’re responsible enough, I guess.”
“Hmph,” Heather said, offended. “I’ve never had an accident.
I never got drunk and took a raft out to race and nearly ran into the
transport, like somebody I could name. And I’ve never run out of fuel, either.
It’s adults who do that. Not kids.”
“But you’re not a regular kid.”
“I am too! What do you mean by that?”
“I mean —!” Barbary tried to say exactly what she did mean.
“I mean you’re different from most of the other kids I’ve ever met. They’re all
kind of silly, and, I don’t know, bored.”
“I get bored sometimes. I can be as silly as anybody, too.
Want to see?”
The steering rockets vibrated. The raft spun on its long
axis and whipped back to front to back at the same time. The stars and the
station spiraled past. Barbary squeezed her eyes shut.
When she looked again, the raft sailed in a perfectly
straight line, as if it had never departed from its course. Satisfied and
unperturbed, Heather drove on. Barbary felt as if she were still spinning. She
clapped her hands over her ears, shut her eyes, and buried her face against her
knees.
“I meant it as a compliment!” she said.
“Oh,” Heather said. She patted Barbary’s shoulder. “I’m
sorry. But I hate it when people give me that, ‘Oh, isn’t she mature?’ stuff. I
feel like they expect me to die any minute.”
“I still meant it as a compliment.”
“Okay. I believe you. Come on, Barbary, sit up, you’ve got
to get used to ignoring what your balance tells you sometimes. You sort of have
to rely on your eyes.”
Barbary raised her head. The dizziness faded.
“I guess,” she said, “it could get to be fun…”
“Yeah,” Heather said. “Shall I do it again?”
“Not quite yet,” Barbary said with her teeth clenched.
“Okay. I’m not actually supposed to, this close to the
station. Besides, we’ll be at the construction site in a minute.”
“Where is it?”
“Just there.” Heather pointed straight ahead at a cluster of
stars.
“But…”
Sunlight touched one edge of a curve of metal. Barbary
gasped. As the observation platform and the space station moved in their orbits
around each other, the shadow of the station slipped away, leaving the delicate
platform in full sunlight.
“It’s so small,” Barbary said.
“No, it isn’t. It’s huge. Look, you can just see one of the
workers.”
“Where?” Barbary expected someone in a space suit to appear
and scoop up the filigree sphere of the platform like a basketball.
“There. To the left.”
“I don’t see anything.”
“We’re still a couple of kilometers from it.”
The clarity of space had tripped Barbary up. She saw that
she had mistaken something far away but distinct for something close. Now she
could not estimate the platform’s size at all. It grew larger and larger. By
the time Barbary spotted the worker who floated deep within the spindly struts
and braces, the person was the size of a doll instead of the size of a speck.
The platform dwarfed the raft.
“Hi, Heather,” said a disembodied voice.
Barbary started, then realized that the voice had come over
the radio. A space-suited figure made its way out of the interior of the
platform and floated just outside. She looked “up” at them while they looked
“up” at her. Barbary felt very weird.
“Hi, Sasha. This is Barbary.”
Sasha raised the reflective visor of her helmet. She moved
closer to the raft’s bubble and cupped her gloved hands around her faceplate so
Barbary could see her. A yellow headband, bright against her dark
gave her no perception of speed, no sound of air rushing by or wheels on
pavement, just a smooth, peaceful, floating sensation as if they were drifting
down a dark, wide river.
“They really let you take this out all by yourself,” Barbary
said with wonder.
“Sure.”
“They don’t let kids drive cars, back on earth.”
“That’s dumb. Why not?”
“They don’t think we’re responsible enough, I guess.”
“Hmph,” Heather said, offended. “I’ve never had an accident.
I never got drunk and took a raft out to race and nearly ran into the
transport, like somebody I could name. And I’ve never run out of fuel, either.
It’s adults who do that. Not kids.”
“But you’re not a regular kid.”
“I am too! What do you mean by that?”
“I mean —!” Barbary tried to say exactly what she did mean.
“I mean you’re different from most of the other kids I’ve ever met. They’re all
kind of silly, and, I don’t know, bored.”
“I get bored sometimes. I can be as silly as anybody, too.
Want to see?”
The steering rockets vibrated. The raft spun on its long
axis and whipped back to front to back at the same time. The stars and the
station spiraled past. Barbary squeezed her eyes shut.
When she looked again, the raft sailed in a perfectly
straight line, as if it had never departed from its course. Satisfied and
unperturbed, Heather drove on. Barbary felt as if she were still spinning. She
clapped her hands over her ears, shut her eyes, and buried her face against her
knees.
“I meant it as a compliment!” she said.
“Oh,” Heather said. She patted Barbary’s shoulder. “I’m
sorry. But I hate it when people give me that, ‘Oh, isn’t she mature?’ stuff. I
feel like they expect me to die any minute.”
“I still meant it as a compliment.”
“Okay. I believe you. Come on, Barbary, sit up, you’ve got
to get used to ignoring what your balance tells you sometimes. You sort of have
to rely on your eyes.”
Barbary raised her head. The dizziness faded.
“I guess,” she said, “it could get to be fun…”
“Yeah,” Heather said. “Shall I do it again?”
“Not quite yet,” Barbary said with her teeth clenched.
“Okay. I’m not actually supposed to, this close to the
station. Besides, we’ll be at the construction site in a minute.”
“Where is it?”
“Just there.” Heather pointed straight ahead at a cluster of
stars.
“But…”
Sunlight touched one edge of a curve of metal. Barbary
gasped. As the observation platform and the space station moved in their orbits
around each other, the shadow of the station slipped away, leaving the delicate
platform in full sunlight.
“It’s so small,” Barbary said.
“No, it isn’t. It’s huge. Look, you can just see one of the
workers.”
“Where?” Barbary expected someone in a space suit to appear
and scoop up the filigree sphere of the platform like a basketball.
“There. To the left.”
“I don’t see anything.”
“We’re still a couple of kilometers from it.”
The clarity of space had tripped Barbary up. She saw that
she had mistaken something far away but distinct for something close. Now she
could not estimate the platform’s size at all. It grew larger and larger. By
the time Barbary spotted the worker who floated deep within the spindly struts
and braces, the person was the size of a doll instead of the size of a speck.
The platform dwarfed the raft.
“Hi, Heather,” said a disembodied voice.
Barbary started, then realized that the voice had come over
the radio. A space-suited figure made its way out of the interior of the
platform and floated just outside. She looked “up” at them while they looked
“up” at her. Barbary felt very weird.
“Hi, Sasha. This is Barbary.”
Sasha raised the reflective visor of her helmet. She moved
closer to the raft’s bubble and cupped her gloved hands around her faceplate so
Barbary could see her. A yellow headband, bright against her dark
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