Hostile stares follow me as I take a few steps into the room.
“I’m Harley,” the friendly guy says. “You must be the new res!”
One of the nurses fussily hands him three pills — one of the big blue-and-white ones, and two smaller ones, one green, one pink. The man swallows them in one big gulp and bypasses the nurse, striding toward me with an even bigger grin than before. “What’s wrong with everyone?” he calls over his shoulder. “This is the new res Elder told me about!”
Some girls near the elevator twitter nervously, then turn to whisper to each other. A wave of words and whispers washes over the crowd. I can’t distinguish what most of them are saying — really, that accent is hard to figure out sometimes. Still, it’s not like it’s hard to know what they’re talking about. It feels very much like high school lunch for the new girclass="underline" seeing everyone staring, hearing everyone talking, and knowing that everyone’s staring at and talking about you.
“What’s wrong with her?” I hear someone nearby whisper.
“Nothing’s wrong with me,” I say, loudly.
“Her hair…” says someone else behind me. When I whip around, my red hair spinning out behind me, I cannot tell who spoke, but they are all staring with brown eyes in dark faces framed by darker hair.
The tall man licks his lips at me. He doesn’t even pretend not to stare.
“Nice to meet you!” says Harley, interrupting the uncomfortable silence. When he shakes my hand, he leaves behind a bright stain of color on my palms. Harley’s skinny and lanky, with hair that sticks up everywhere, some of it streaked with paint. His face is bright and open. He reminds me a little of Elder that way.
“Everyone, this is the new girl. Elder knows her. New girl, this is everyone.” A few people look up politely; some actually smile. Most, however, look wary at best, disgusted at worse. The nurse closest to me jabs her finger behind her ear and starts whispering to nobody.
“What’s wrong with her?” I ask Harley as he leads me to the table he was sitting at.
“Oh, don’t worry, we’re all mad here.”
I giggle, mostly from nerves. “It’s a good thing I read Alice in Wonder-land. I definitely think I’ve fallen into the rabbit hole.”
“Read what?” Harley asks.
“Never mind.” All around me, eyes follow my every move.
“Look,” I say loudly. “I know I look different. But I’m just a person, like you.” I hold my head up high, looking them all in the eyes, trying to hold their stares for as long as possible.
“You tell ’em,” says Harley with another Cheshire grin.
“Where did you come from?” asks the tall man who keeps watching me, smirking.
“Who are you?” I demand, annoyed.
“Luthe.” His voice is low and gravelly.
“Well, quit staring at me like that, Luthe.” I cross my arms over my chest. Luthe’s smirk widens, and his gaze doesn’t leave me.
“Where did you come from?” a woman near Harley asks.
I sigh. There’s no real point in demanding that Luthe not stare at me; they’re all staring at me. “I came from Earth,” I say. “A long time ago.”
There are looks of disbelief — from most of them, actually — but a few glance up with a light in their eyes that makes me know that they, too, are very aware of how their sky is painted metal.
“Will you tell us about it?” Harley asks.
So I sit down in the seat he offers, ignoring how the woman closest to me scoots away. What can I tell them about Earth? How can I describe how the air smells different, how the earth feels richer, how you yourself are different, just from knowing the entire world is at your disposal? Should I start with the mountains always hidden in clouds and snow — or do they even know what those words are: cloud and snow and mountain? I could tell them about the different kinds of rain, pouring rain that’s perfect for when you want to stay inside and watch a movie or read, or piercing rain that feels like needles on your skin, or soft summer rain that makes your first kiss with your first love all the sweeter.
They look at me eagerly, waiting to hear about the planet I called home.
I begin with the sky.
26 ELDER
“THAT FREXING GIRL HAS GONE INTO THE WARD COMMON room and is telling them all about Sol-Earth,” Eldest growls. “Didn’t we tell her about what would happen if she created more of a disturbance? Didn’t we?”
“Now, Eldest,” Doc says in a placating tone. “The Season will begin any day now. They’ll be distracted enough to forget anything she says.”
Eldest punches the nearest cryo chamber door. I jump back, wary of him, unsure of what or who he will strike next.
“Fine,” Eldest says. He turns his burning gaze to me. “The first cause of discord?”
A pop quiz? Now? “Difference,” I say.
“Exactly. Discord will follow that girl everywhere she goes on this ship like dirt a child tracks across the floor. And the second is lack of leadership. Boy, when differences cause discord, the only thing that can maintain control is leadership. Learn from this.”
He jabs his wi-com button. “All-call com link,” he says.
“What are you doing, Eldest?” I ask as a familiar beep, beep-beep fills my ear.
“Attention all residents of Godspeed. I have a very important announcement.”
My stomach drops. Eldest is talking to every resident on the ship through his wi-com link. And I think I know what he’s going to say. My mind races. There’s no way he’d tell everyone on Godspeed about the cryo level, the frozens, where Amy really came from. He would never tell them that.
“Eldest, don’t do this,” I say.
He ignores me.
“Some of you, particularly those of you on the Feeder Level near the Hospital, may notice a new resident on board.”
“Stop.” I lunge at Eldest. I’m sick of his lies.
Doc pulls me back, his long fingers gripping my arms. I try to shake him off, but he’s too strong.
“This new resident is a young female with strangely pale skin and bright hair. She is the result of a Shipper science experiment attempting to develop physical attributes of the body to withstand the possible harsh nature of Centauri-Earth. The girl is harmless, though simple, and prone to lying. She is easily confused and poorly suited to labor; therefore she will remain in the Ward. You are not required nor expected to interact with her at all. She is a freak, and should be treated as such.”
My fists clench. A freak, is she? The result of a crazy Shipper science experiment? Well, that is believable — the Shipper scientists spend most of their time coming up with new things that will protect us in whatever kind of environment Centauri-Earth provides. Still, it’s clear Eldest is trying to cover up Amy’s real origins and keep her away from most people.
I shake with anger as Doc releases me, but there’s no point. Eldest is done. I turn and head back to the elevator, back to Amy.
27 AMY
“WHAT I DON’T UNDERSTAND,” I SAY, “IS WHY YOU’RE ALL HERE.”
“What ya mean?” one of the men says. He has a guitar on his lap, an old acoustic relic.
“Harley said you all were crazy. He said this was a mental hospital.”
“Ah, we’re not crazy,” the guitar player says. His accent is thicker than the others; I can barely understand him.