Starseed by Spider Robinson Jeanne Robinson

Author:Spider Robinson, Jeanne Robinson [Robinson, Spider Robinson, Jeanne]
Format: epub
Tags: Science fiction, General, Fiction, Science Fiction - General, American Science Fiction And Fantasy, Science fiction; Canadian
ISBN: 9780441783571
Publisher: New York : Ace Books, 1991.
Published: 1991-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Assuming Ascension, Assumption, assent

All of our nonsense is finally non-sent

With honorable mention for whatever we meant

You are my content, and I am content.

-Teodor Vysotsky

REB AND SULKS were both waiting for us in Solarium Two. (For the rest of this week they would be teaching us together, twice a day; after that they'd teach separately again.) Although they knew us all by name and by sight, they marked us off on an actual checklist as we came through the open airlock chamber, and sealed both hatches carefully when we were all mustered. Reb was especially saintly, radiating calm and compassion, and Sulke was especially sour, nervous as a cat.

"If you haven't checked your air, do so now," she called. "We've got fresh tanks if you need them." We were all in our p-suits, and I would have bet all of us had been smart enough to check our air supply. I certainly had-six times. But little Yumiko had to come forward, shamefaced, to accept a pair of tanks and a withering glare from Sulke. "Check your thruster charges too. You're not gonna get much use out of them today, but start the habit of keeping them topped up." Three people had to disgrace themselves this time, coming forward to have their wristlets or anklets recharged. Ben was one of them.

"You've heard it a million times," Sulke told us in parade-ground voice. "I'll tell you one more time. Space does not forgive. If you take your mind off it for five seconds, it will kill you." She took a breath to say more, and Reb gently cut her off.

"Be mindful, as we have learned together, and all will be well." She exhaled, and nodded slowly. "That's right. Okay, earthworms-" She caught herself again. " Sorry, I can't call you that anymore, you've graduated." She grinned. "Okay, spaceworms, attach your umbilicals. Make damn sure they're hooked tight."

The term was outdated: they weren't real umbilicals like the pioneers used, carrying air from the mothership; they were only simple tethers. But they did fasten at the navel so the imagery was apt. Each of us found a ring to anchor ours to on the wall behind us. I checked carefully to make sure the snaplock had latched snugly shut. The umbilical was about the same diameter as spaghetti, guaranteed unbreakable, and was a phosphorescent white so it would not be lost in the darkness.

"Radios on Channel Four," Sulke said. "Seal your hood and hold on to your anchor. Is there anyone whose hood is not sealed? Okay, here we go."

There was a dysharmonic whining sound as high-volume pumps went into operation, draining the air from the Solarium. As the air left, the noise diminished. The cubic was large, it took awhile. We spent the time staring out the vast window.

Two was the only true solarium, the one that always faced the Sun. Its window worked like modern sunglasses: you could stare directly at the Sun, without everything else out there turning dark as well. The p-suit hood added another layer of polarization.

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