said pointedly. “And he’s not a downer. He’s just—well, Raoul wasn’t one of our original people. He was an engineer at the Jupiter station. He came aboard when he had an accident while we were refueling at Jupiter on the way out here. Applied for citizenship after … after the trouble we had with those religious fanatics. They beat him up, too.”
“And he decided to stay here?”
“I think it’s because of me,” Holly said.
“Well, well.”
Growing somber, Holly confessed, “Thing is, Panch, he’s given up his chance to go back home because of me. That’s a load.”
“You like him?”
Holly nodded, a little uncertainly.
“You get along well?”
“Oh, yeah, sure.”
“In bed?”
Her chin went up. “Like you said, that’s none of your business.”
“But you’ve got no complaints.”
A hint of a smile sneaked across Holly’s face. “No complaints.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“I think that sooner or later he’s going to want to go home.”
“To New Jersey?”
“It’s his home. His family, his friends, they’re all there. He misses them. He was at Jupiter station doing his two years of mandatory public service.”
“So you’re scared of him dumping you.”
“And that makes it tough to make a real commitment.”
“Which increases the chances of him dumping you.”
“Catch twenty-two,” said Holly unhappily.
“You could go back Earthside with him, you know.”
Holly’s eyes went wide. “And leave Goddard? I couldn’t do that, Panch. I’m somebody here. All my friends are here.”
“And all your family, too,” Pancho said gently. “Even though I’m not sure how long I’ll stay.”
“This is a good place, Panch,” Holly said earnestly. “It’s got everything a person could want.”
“Maybe,” Pancho said, a slight hint of wistfulness in her voice. “It’s a big solar system, though. Lots of places. They’ve rebuilt the Ceres habitat. Enlarging it, even. And they’re finding more on Mars every day, just about.”
Holly took a good long look at her sister as Pancho rambled on about the solar power stations being built on Mercury and the new cities being dug into the Moon’s battered regolith. She realized that Pancho had a wanderlust, a longing to see new places, to travel across the breadth of the solar system. That’s what’s brought her here to Saturn, Holly realized. She thinks it’s to visit me but it’s really that wanderlust of hers.
Holly found that she felt almost relieved about it.
Oswaldo Yañez felt almost delighted that the poor man had mashed his thumb so badly. His hours of duty at the habitat’s hospital were almost always so boringly quiet that he welcomed an opportunity to actually practice medicine. The habitat’s population was mostly young; even most of those whose calendar age was climbing up there took rejuvenation therapies that kept their bodies youthful.
Yañez was considering rejuve therapy for himself, although he had told no one about it yet, not even his wife of thirty-two years. He was still vigorous, his dark hair still thick and luxuriant,
but he had added nearly ten kilos to his weight since joining this habitat and he worried about that. Too much easy living, he knew, but his determination to exercise and go on a diet always melted away in the presence of his wife’s cooking.
As he cleaned away the blood, he saw the technician’s thumb wasn’t all that badly mangled.
“I was working on the main water pump,” the younger man explained, “down in the underground. My power wrench went dead, poof! just like that. When I tried to figure out what was wrong with it, the damned thing snapped on again. Whacked my thumb real hard.”
“It’s not serious,” Yañez assured him. “I’m going to extract some stem cells from your bone marrow, culture them and then inject them back into you to rebuild the damaged tissue. You’ll be fine in a week or less.”
The technician nodded, but kept on
“And he decided to stay here?”
“I think it’s because of me,” Holly said.
“Well, well.”
Growing somber, Holly confessed, “Thing is, Panch, he’s given up his chance to go back home because of me. That’s a load.”
“You like him?”
Holly nodded, a little uncertainly.
“You get along well?”
“Oh, yeah, sure.”
“In bed?”
Her chin went up. “Like you said, that’s none of your business.”
“But you’ve got no complaints.”
A hint of a smile sneaked across Holly’s face. “No complaints.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“I think that sooner or later he’s going to want to go home.”
“To New Jersey?”
“It’s his home. His family, his friends, they’re all there. He misses them. He was at Jupiter station doing his two years of mandatory public service.”
“So you’re scared of him dumping you.”
“And that makes it tough to make a real commitment.”
“Which increases the chances of him dumping you.”
“Catch twenty-two,” said Holly unhappily.
“You could go back Earthside with him, you know.”
Holly’s eyes went wide. “And leave Goddard? I couldn’t do that, Panch. I’m somebody here. All my friends are here.”
“And all your family, too,” Pancho said gently. “Even though I’m not sure how long I’ll stay.”
“This is a good place, Panch,” Holly said earnestly. “It’s got everything a person could want.”
“Maybe,” Pancho said, a slight hint of wistfulness in her voice. “It’s a big solar system, though. Lots of places. They’ve rebuilt the Ceres habitat. Enlarging it, even. And they’re finding more on Mars every day, just about.”
Holly took a good long look at her sister as Pancho rambled on about the solar power stations being built on Mercury and the new cities being dug into the Moon’s battered regolith. She realized that Pancho had a wanderlust, a longing to see new places, to travel across the breadth of the solar system. That’s what’s brought her here to Saturn, Holly realized. She thinks it’s to visit me but it’s really that wanderlust of hers.
Holly found that she felt almost relieved about it.
Oswaldo Yañez felt almost delighted that the poor man had mashed his thumb so badly. His hours of duty at the habitat’s hospital were almost always so boringly quiet that he welcomed an opportunity to actually practice medicine. The habitat’s population was mostly young; even most of those whose calendar age was climbing up there took rejuvenation therapies that kept their bodies youthful.
Yañez was considering rejuve therapy for himself, although he had told no one about it yet, not even his wife of thirty-two years. He was still vigorous, his dark hair still thick and luxuriant,
but he had added nearly ten kilos to his weight since joining this habitat and he worried about that. Too much easy living, he knew, but his determination to exercise and go on a diet always melted away in the presence of his wife’s cooking.
As he cleaned away the blood, he saw the technician’s thumb wasn’t all that badly mangled.
“I was working on the main water pump,” the younger man explained, “down in the underground. My power wrench went dead, poof! just like that. When I tried to figure out what was wrong with it, the damned thing snapped on again. Whacked my thumb real hard.”
“It’s not serious,” Yañez assured him. “I’m going to extract some stem cells from your bone marrow, culture them and then inject them back into you to rebuild the damaged tissue. You’ll be fine in a week or less.”
The technician nodded, but kept on
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