Tachyon Web by Christopher Pike

nearby fruits were as hairy as miniature coconuts, only they were shaped at though they were inverted pears, with the stem fitting out of the heavy end.
    “ Would you like one? ” Vani asked.
    “ Ki ,” Eric said. Vani broke off three, one for each of them, and Strem quickly took a bite and almost cracked his teeth; they were rock-hard. Vani gave her now familiar puzzled expression and banged her fruit on the railing. The husk split, she pulled it off and threw it into the soil. Eric followed her example and was rewarded with the taste of another sugar-saturated delicacy. Strem threw his whole fruit away.
    “ I planted these ,” Vani said. “ I attend to these plots. ”
    Eric told her they were very good. He scowled at Strem.
    Suddenly, loud chimes filled the air and people everywhere stopped what they were doing. Eric was still uncertain how to read Kaulikan emotions but there was no mistaking the sudden heaviness in the air. The forward and backward walls began to unravel as their numerous panels tilted edge on, like the opening of window blinds that could still be found in houses on Earth. Space was outside, and the ship’s other two massive wheels, both of whose walls were also opening, turned in unison with them before the snowy nebula of the heart of The Milky Way. And in the other direction, beyond the hot spear of the ion drive, was the nova, whose bright light shone across the farm, seeming to cause the rows of plants to stand up and take notice. The chimes halted.
    “ Dawn ,” Vani said. “ I used to cherish it. ”
    The translation did not convey the sadness in her tone, but Eric didn’t need the computer’s help. Other shades of Kaulikan emotion could be misunderstood. Strange how sorrow seemed a thing above confusion.
    “ Would you like to go elsewhere? ” she asked.
    Eric glanced at Strem, whose expression was also easy to read. “ Let's go to engineering ,” he told her.
     
    The elevator they took to the central shaft was different from the others; it was padded from top to bottom. Eric was glad he hadn’t finished his lunch. As they rose through the levels, his weight dropped rapidly, until a deep breath was enough to bobble him off the floor. Strem appeared perfectly at ease, however, and Vani was quickly regaining her good cheer.
    The transfer point between the rotating wheel and the stationary axis was fascinating in its simplicity. This time a door in the ceiling of the elevator opened above them, which made sense when considering the physics of the set up. Eric remembered that his own people’s first Earth space stations, before the advent of the graviton flux, had had similar peculiarities. All they had to do here was fly up and grab a pole that ran along a wide cushioned wall. Once he had hold of the pole his perspective was immediately set straight, and it was clear it was the elevator that was really moving. He watched as it curved overhead and disappeared.
    “ Do you have your bands? ” Vani asked.
    Their cute escort had wrapped an elastic strip of cloth around her forehead, holding her floating hair out of her face. Eric shook his head and began to spin like a top. Vani laughed.
    “ There will be bands with the scooter packs ,” she said, pulling herself smoothly along the pole. Eric followed at her feet – her slippers were not unlike his own, he noted – admiring the muscled curve of her calf through the hem of her pants. He accidently kicked Strem in the head.
    They came to a cabinet that opened with the standard hand-to-the-light trick. The scooter packs fit on their backs and were designed to help them maneuver in the free fall. Eric was disappointed with their bulk and the obvious limited steering mechanism. He assumed they worked by the expulsion of compressed air; it wouldn’t do to use rockets inside. Fortunately, there were headbands, and they were able to get their wigs out of their eyes.
    A cave-like opening was nearby, and they entered into a dark cavern. This