Read Online Planetfall by Emma Newman - Free Book Online Page A

outside, chattering to one another excitedly, in person and in the streams. I check for any trouble brewing but there is none; they just want to see Sung-Soo and they’ve realized he’s inside.
    Now they’re all looking at me.
    â€œIs he in there?” Zara calls from the rapidly gathering crowd.
    I don’t know what to do. Will they all try to go in to see him? I hear a little beep from the other side of the door. Kay has noticed the crowd and locked the door. A second later, a message arrives from her.
    Tell them he’s here for tests and recovery and that he’s doing fine. No visitors yet though.
    â€œHe’s being cared for by Dr. Reed,” I begin and watch the worry spread. “He’s absolutely fine. Really. No visitors yet.”
    â€œWe’re going to hold a welcome party,” Nick says, coming closer. “Can I just pass on the invite?”
    â€œNo,” I say too quickly. “Send it to Dr. Reed and she’ll pass it on. He’s asleep at the moment and he might not be up for it.”
    Poor man. If I’d walked all that way, the last thing I’d want was a party thrown in my honor.
    â€œIt’s an open invite,” Nick adds. “We’d love to see you there, Renata.”
    â€œAre you free for a drink now?” Zara asks and Nick scowls at her.
    Oh shit, they want to milk me for information. “Not right now,” I say. “And thanks for the invite,” I say to Nick. “I’ll . . . do my best to be there.”
    Before I even finish the sentence, the envelope icon is flashing again as private messages pour in. I shut it down and try to think of a decent enough excuse for getting away from them as soon as possible.
    There’s a ping with a “maintenance” tag attached. As Nick strides over, pushing his way past others to reach me, I open it. Carmen’s printer has broken down. There’s a personal note attached. You can hide in here if you want.
    Her house is mere meters away and I can see her at the window. She raises a hand when she sees me look over and then mimes having a drink. Hers is not the port of choice, but there’s a storm brewing here and she’s offering the closest sanctuary.
    â€œCarmen’s printer has broken,” I say. “I need to fix it. See you all at the party, maybe.”

7
    CARMEN’S PLACE HAS marble flooring that gleams beneath the dozens of bright, starlike lights floating beneath her ceiling in baubles filled with helium. There’s enough light coming from the windows, which are bigger and clear plasglass instead of the murky aquariums that Mack favors, but she likes the sparkling. All of her home’s energy is absorbed through the outer skin of the house, which looks like a shiny black marble half embedded in the earth, its surface broken only by the curved windows.
    The inner space is totally open plan, aside from a bathroom partitioned off with a slab of polished granite. She shares her home with a different person every year. There’s about a hundred or so who do that, believing that it’s the best way to keep different groups knitted together in an expanding colony. She has two daughters, one of whom is asleep in her cot on the far side of the room. The other must be at the crèche or with her father perhaps. The other father is living with another man inthe group now. I couldn’t imagine having to share my space with anyone, let alone having to get used to a new person every year.
    â€œYou looked like you needed a hideout,” she says, coming over to kiss me on each cheek, as is her way. I try not to think of the germs she’s left on my skin, nor of the possibility that some left by Kay’s kiss are now about to invade Carmen’s body when she next licks her lips.
    â€œI did,” I say. “Is your printer really broken?”
    â€œI cracked the casing, just in case anyone checks up.” She grins.