rode sta-tionary bicycles alongside a display of bone movement. The skeleton riding a bike resembled something from an old Don Knotts comedy.
KATHRYN FOX
81
A man with an overdeveloped upper body crouched down into starter position to race Cathy Freeman.
Vaughan shot Anya a look that said, Don’t say a word.
‘I’ve always wondered why they crouch like that. It looks incredibly uncomfortable,’ she pondered.
‘You accelerate faster than if you start standing upright. In the crouched position your body is so close to being off balance, it’s easier to move forward. Take someone out of their comfort zone and they can do things they never imagined.’
‘Give me balance and comfort any day.’
Mr. Muscles was barely in a standing position by the time Cathy Freeman’s image had finished. As if disputing the result, he lined up to race again.
In a corner, a staff member in a blue coat introduced herself as an ‘explainer’ and asked if they’d like to learn about angular momentum. Anya reluctantly agreed and stood up to the platform. In the middle of a large turntable was a T-shaped bar to which she was strapped with a seatbelt around her hips. The Questacon employee turned the table and told Anya to stick out her arms. The turntable slowed. When she pulled them in close to her body, the platform spun faster. Vaughan laughed at the face she pulled as his face spun in and out of focus.
‘Try the ice-skater spin,’ he goaded.
She tentatively lifted her leg in an arabesque position and held her arms out wide. The assistant spun the platform hard.
Anya waited before pulling her arms to her chest and her legs together. She spun faster than ever and didn’t like the feeling.
‘Can you stop it now?’ she asked, her voice a pitch higher than she expected.
‘Just hold your arms and leg out again and you’ll slow down,’ the explainer said as she answered a question from the milling group about why cats always fall on their feet.
Anya was dizzy from spinning. Vaughan applauded before helping her down.
‘You were in control the whole time. You just didn’t realize it.’
‘Somehow that’s no consolation. Now it’s your turn.’
82
MALICIOUS INTENT
‘No way, I get carsick at the movies. Let’s try something else.’
The pair moved on to magnets, then a simulated earth-quake, before exploring a cybercity. Two hours later, Anya couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d enjoyed herself this much. She’d forgotten how much fun science could be, having spent most of her life taking it so seriously.
‘Coffee?’ she suggested.
They collected their drinks from the downstairs café and sat at a table outside with a perfect view of the lake. Anya felt the sun warm her skin.
Vaughan sat initially with his eyes closed, as though thinking the same thing about the sun. She studied the laugh lines around his eyes and realized how unusual it was to be around someone who enjoyed such simple pleasures. The camel-colored polo looked expensive, as did the long woolen coat he carried, but he didn’t come across as vain or egotistical. Anya wondered why he’d never married.
Vaughan spoke first. ‘Are you originally from Canberra?’
‘No, why do you ask?’
‘Profiling is part of what I do. I like to work out where people are from, where they came in the family order, what they do for a living.’
‘All right, you tell me where I’m from.’
‘That’s difficult to say because your clothes this morning screamed city, yet you have the air of someone from the country.’
‘Air?’ Did he mean like a country bumpkin? Suddenly, she felt defensive.
‘It’s naïveté, or innocence, I assume. Don’t tell me I’ve offended you.’
On second thought, he was probably right. ‘I grew up in Launceston in Tasmania, trained in Newcastle and Sydney, had three years in London and moved back to Sydney at the beginning of the year. I’m not sure what you mean by naïveté?’
‘Perhaps
KATHRYN FOX
81
A man with an overdeveloped upper body crouched down into starter position to race Cathy Freeman.
Vaughan shot Anya a look that said, Don’t say a word.
‘I’ve always wondered why they crouch like that. It looks incredibly uncomfortable,’ she pondered.
‘You accelerate faster than if you start standing upright. In the crouched position your body is so close to being off balance, it’s easier to move forward. Take someone out of their comfort zone and they can do things they never imagined.’
‘Give me balance and comfort any day.’
Mr. Muscles was barely in a standing position by the time Cathy Freeman’s image had finished. As if disputing the result, he lined up to race again.
In a corner, a staff member in a blue coat introduced herself as an ‘explainer’ and asked if they’d like to learn about angular momentum. Anya reluctantly agreed and stood up to the platform. In the middle of a large turntable was a T-shaped bar to which she was strapped with a seatbelt around her hips. The Questacon employee turned the table and told Anya to stick out her arms. The turntable slowed. When she pulled them in close to her body, the platform spun faster. Vaughan laughed at the face she pulled as his face spun in and out of focus.
‘Try the ice-skater spin,’ he goaded.
She tentatively lifted her leg in an arabesque position and held her arms out wide. The assistant spun the platform hard.
Anya waited before pulling her arms to her chest and her legs together. She spun faster than ever and didn’t like the feeling.
‘Can you stop it now?’ she asked, her voice a pitch higher than she expected.
‘Just hold your arms and leg out again and you’ll slow down,’ the explainer said as she answered a question from the milling group about why cats always fall on their feet.
Anya was dizzy from spinning. Vaughan applauded before helping her down.
‘You were in control the whole time. You just didn’t realize it.’
‘Somehow that’s no consolation. Now it’s your turn.’
82
MALICIOUS INTENT
‘No way, I get carsick at the movies. Let’s try something else.’
The pair moved on to magnets, then a simulated earth-quake, before exploring a cybercity. Two hours later, Anya couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d enjoyed herself this much. She’d forgotten how much fun science could be, having spent most of her life taking it so seriously.
‘Coffee?’ she suggested.
They collected their drinks from the downstairs café and sat at a table outside with a perfect view of the lake. Anya felt the sun warm her skin.
Vaughan sat initially with his eyes closed, as though thinking the same thing about the sun. She studied the laugh lines around his eyes and realized how unusual it was to be around someone who enjoyed such simple pleasures. The camel-colored polo looked expensive, as did the long woolen coat he carried, but he didn’t come across as vain or egotistical. Anya wondered why he’d never married.
Vaughan spoke first. ‘Are you originally from Canberra?’
‘No, why do you ask?’
‘Profiling is part of what I do. I like to work out where people are from, where they came in the family order, what they do for a living.’
‘All right, you tell me where I’m from.’
‘That’s difficult to say because your clothes this morning screamed city, yet you have the air of someone from the country.’
‘Air?’ Did he mean like a country bumpkin? Suddenly, she felt defensive.
‘It’s naïveté, or innocence, I assume. Don’t tell me I’ve offended you.’
On second thought, he was probably right. ‘I grew up in Launceston in Tasmania, trained in Newcastle and Sydney, had three years in London and moved back to Sydney at the beginning of the year. I’m not sure what you mean by naïveté?’
‘Perhaps
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