Read Online Building Harlequin’s Moon by Larry Niven, Brenda Cooper - Free Book Online Page B

flight, focusing on small muscles and tiny changes in air and wind. Calculations and vectors flowed in his head, andhe followed them as best he could, changing the tilt of his legs or arms to follow the places his mind said he could take the flight, working to gain the most lift and speed from minute motions. He laughed to hear Rachel taunting Ursula, driving her to reach higher, higher.
    Gabriel and Ali lagged behind, evaluating the children’s flight.
    The teens stopped halfway down the long slope. They hadn’t even bothered to tell Gabriel or Ali. Gabriel used his radio to talk to Ali. “Let’s lurk a bit behind them, and see if they get concerned.”
    Ali landed just ahead of him, graceful and quick as she swept her wings closed. They settled above the children, out of sight, and Gabriel released a camera-bot with instructions to hover above and behind the kids.
    Ali looked worried, a small frown furrowing her brow. He guessed at her worry. “Rachel asked about her mom after the flare. What’s this about Rachel’s mother? Why did you tell her you can’t find out what happened from here?”
    “I checked the records.” Ali’s mouth was a tight line, and her eyes hugged the horizon.
    “And?”
    “She doesn’t want to come back.”
    “We can’t tell Rachel that,” he said.
    “You should,” Ali said quietly.
    “When she’s older.”
    “Why not now? The girl deserves some honesty—this is important to her.”
    “This isn’t a good time to upset her,” Gabriel said.
    “Better the sting of truth than a long painful uncertainty. Besides, we shouldn’t try to control her world. She has to hear hard things to grow. You can’t terraform people.”
    Gabriel bit his tongue. “I’d like to talk to her mother first. Is she awake?”
    “She’s cold.”
    Gabriel changed the subject. “Have you checked on Andrew?”
    “No new damage today.”
    “We should never have given Andrew that second chance. It was a bad lesson for the others.”
    He was surprised to feel Ali lean into him, laughing, her serious demeanor broken. His mood didn’t match hers, but he stripped wing gear from one arm anyway and laid it over her shoulders, asking, “What’s gotten into you?”
    “You’re trying to control them. They’re people, not stones or air.”
    “Picture . . . Andrew moving a little moon when he gets a temper tantrum.”
    “Another sea in the wrong place? Andrew’s Hissy Fit?” She tugged his braid. “They’ll never get access to LPTs anyway. What about Andrew, though? Isn’t he just a teenager pushing boundaries?”
    Gabriel had shown Ali Andrew’s destructive streak, what he’d done
after
they left. “He’s refusing to learn discipline. We can’t afford to let him run free—there’s no time to babysit him.”
    “I mean, look, he’s just a kid. We were right to give him a chance; we’re right to limit him now. I meant it when I said I’d support you.” Ali’s black braid across his knees contrasted with the grays and reds of the slope as it fell away behind her. “But you still need to give them time to think for themselves. They have to be able to live after we’re gone.” Ali’s voice was angry again. “Why are we even doing this?”
    “Ask the damned High Council. Remember, I argued to use nano to build the assembler in space.” Ali hated nano. She should remember that none of the choices were good.

C HAPTER 6
S TAR S YSTEMS
    R ACHEL WATCHED OUT the window as they flew into Aldrin early the next morning. They landed just outside the city, Apollo’s sunrise brightening the cloth tents just enough to make out color and shadow. She squeezed Ursula’s hand briefly and they darted down the path toward home together. It seemed to take a long time to get there. Ursula peeled off for her home, and Rachel ducked into her doorway, smelling warm rice and eggs as she buried herself in her father’s chest, filling his arms. She hadn’t been gone long, not really, but she felt taller,