He paused.“What?”
“Many families were split across continents when the asteroid hit.Around the world even.If gene matching can put together lost families, that would be great.Even if they don’t live on the same world, knowing that their siblings, parents, grandparents, and cousins were there would be a tremendous relief.”
“Are any of your people missing?”
“Just my father and mother, but they are dead to me already.”
He paused.“What?”
“When I was a child, I was beaten so badly by my father that I was in hospital for weeks.My grandfather sued for custody at that point, and he managed to secure it when I was fifteen.That was the moment that I became safe.My father was a self-obsessed bigot who tried to use me to make himself feel powerful.He was powerful, to someone a fifth of his size.If I could imagine him dying in agony, it would make me smile.Now, what is this orange one?”
Birun blinked and asked, “He attacked a child?”
“Yes.When drawing with a coloured pen, I went outside the lines.He said it was a careless and stupid thing to do, so he decided to teach me a lesson.A cracked orbital socket, broken arm, cracked skull, and collarbone later, and I had learned my lesson.My father was a rabid animal, and I was too small to defend myself.He is the shadow in my nightmares.”
Birun nodded.“I see.I will make sure that contact does not happen.”
“Good.And thank you.”
He nodded and began, “The orange ones are—”
They sat, and she learned and taste-tested for two hours, stopping to drink crystal-clear water in between fruits and vegetables.She identified favourites and where they grew.When her stomach was full and her new suit was wearing a lot of juice, she grinned at him.“Well, that was a successful experiment.”
He grinned.“I am glad my claws were useful.”
He had sat and sliced the fruit neatly.They had used a large leaf as a plate.
“So, what were the bots doing with the fruit while you were napping?”
“Processing, freeze drying, storing, and harvesting seeds.The fruit and vegetables become the base of the food in the dispenser.”
“Oh, that’s smart.Wait, if I can codify the flavour profiles into absolutes, then I can write a program that will be able to combine them into familiar foods.”She licked her fingers absently and started to calculate the flavours in each food.“I need a mass spectrometer.”
He snorted.“Wash your hands.It is time for the workshop.”
She may have splashed a little enthusiastically at the front of her suit, but she was sure that Birun would drip dry eventually.
He snorted, washed his hands, and picked her up with an arm around her waist.“Come on, little fish.”
Trin grinned.“The suit washes off easy and doesn’t go transparent.Well done.”
He snorted, and they were on the way back to the large doors they had entered through.
She hung from his arm and said, “So, is my workshop this way?”
He snorted.“You have a focused mind.”
“One thing at a time.Play your cards right, and you could make it to the roster.”
He stopped in his tracks and set her on the floor.“What was that?”
She blushed, and the whimsy bolted for cover.“Never mind?”
“Oh, your mind said it as well.You were happy and plotting, and your mind guessed at what I would look like naked.”
She also knew that she was a little befuddled, so she had put a happy face sticker over his groin.“Oh, no.”
He grinned.“Oh, yes.You keep forgetting I read minds.”
