"These spiders are large?" Gidds asked.
"Only in nightmares," Laura said, and waved a spatula at Nick and Alyssa, as they arrived. "There’s plenty of them about on Muina, though on Tare the closest seems to be what are called ferat. Although ferat are much larger than Earth spiders." Ferat were eight-legged things twice the size of human hands, and a powerful reason never to venture into the few natural caves remaining on Tare.
"Are we having spider milk?" Sue asked, following Alyssa. "Do you have any of the flavouring that tastes like pistachio left?"
"Maybe," Julian said, emptying the carton of dozai juice into a saucepan and remembering—this time—to put the lid on before setting it to heat. "The zingy flavours are way better."
"Where’s Maddy?" Laura said, watching Alyssa and Nick exchange a quick glance before murmuring their hellos to Gidds.
"Taking off her skates," Sue said, giving Gidds a wide, highly entertained grin. "No interplanetary crisis this time?"
"I usually avoid them," Gidds replied, with his usual equanimity.
Sue: I can never decide if he’s the most literal man in the universe, or secretly funny.
Laura did not have a response for this, and instead said: "So the copies have arrived?" as Maddy belatedly trotted through the patio doors.
"Yes, and they even managed to get the size right," Maddy said, energetically depositing herself wrong-way around on one of the dining chairs. "My feet have gotten bigger, but they made a couple of different pairs around my size. Now all we need is the ice." She glanced at Gidds, plainly not altogether sure who he was, but switching to Muinan to say, with the long halts that showed she was repeating phrases sounded out to her by the interface: "Do you have an Ice talent, mister? We could freeze Aunt Laura’s pond and I could try out my skates."
"Too small," Alyssa said, even as Gidds shook his head. "You’d run right into the edges, Maddy. Wait until tomorrow afternoon."
"You’re the one who wants to make sure you’re not totally out of condition when bunches of people aren’t around."
"Tomorrow afternoon?" Gidds said in Muinan, his expression suggesting a mild revelation. "For a half-kasse after the end of the school day?"
"We’re using the school swimming pool," Alyssa said, eyeing him cautiously. "It’s still too small, but it’ll do to show Maddy’s friends she really can skate. Though the whole thing’s turning into a total circus, with half the school and every second Setari squad inviting themselves along."
"Including at least one of the Kalrani, I suspect," Gidds said. "It’s rare Haelin postpones one of our outings."
"You’re Haelin’s dad?" Maddy asked, brightening. "We started at Pandora Shore on the same day. We’re only in a couple of the same classes, though, because mostly she has Kalrani lessons. Our feet are the same size, so she’s going to try out my skates when I get tired."
Gidds seemed to follow the tangle of English and Muinan easily enough, and said simply: "Thank you for allowing that."
Laura paused in turning out crepes to rescue a near overflow of spider milk, then listened in mild appreciation as Gidds began to ask about skating, and Alyssa opened up over the technicalities of producing a rink on Earth, and how much or little the double edges of the blades needed sharpening. Gidds maintained his usual relaxed but upright posture, listening far more than he spoke.
It wasn’t until the crepes were near-demolished, and the spider milk all gone, that Julian moved from casting Gidds brief sidelong glances onto a small experiment.
"Hey, Tsur Selkie," he said. "What would you do if I went to the moonfall tomorrow night?"
Pandora’s moonfall was a weekly event centred on the ruins of the old Muinan town that had been the settlement’s starting point. It was actually a process to draw the teleport system’s energy source, aether, from the Ena, and was spectacular to look at, with glowing mist seeming to rise toward the moon. But aether—although it had something of a healing effect on Muinan citizens—also acted very much like alcohol. The planetary government had quickly had to set access regulations in place.
Gidds response to Julian’s question was a straightforward: "Nothing."
"I can at least tell you what I’d do," Laura said, annoyed. "Which would start with reminding you that you need to be legally an adult."
"Yeah, but that was a hint, Mum," Julian said, with a suggestion of a shrug.
"Did you pass the technically-grown-up exam, brat?" Sue asked. "No fair beating me there."
Laura joined the spate of congratulations that followed Julian’s nod, although it was very odd to now have both her children possessing a wider range of rights than she had. Especially since there was more than an Earth year to go before Julian turned eighteen. But she wasn’t going to let him off trying to draw Gidds into this particular boundary test, looking at her son steadily until he ducked his head.
"Some of my guild from Red Exchange live in Pandora, and they finally got to the head of the queue to go to the moonfall," Julian explained. “Corezzy said if I passed I could go as his guest, and since most people wear masks to control the aether intake a bit, I thought it would be fun to go and not have people know who I was."
Laura’s immediate reaction involved a firm decision to spend some time with Julian in-game in order to do some initial vetting of this 'Corezzy'—or anyone else inviting her teenaged son to go get drunk. Moonfall attendance might be thoroughly monitored, and the interface something of an in-built policeman, but it was not as if the Triplanetary was without crime or bad intentions.
Gidds, meanwhile, responded informatively: "Tsien Faluden, who is currently managing Arcadia’s security arrangements, would likely assign two Setari to accompany you. They would, of course, need to wear Exclusion Suits, to prevent the aether from affecting them."
Julian’s response to this prospect was as enthusiastic as could be expected. "Hard pass."
"Which is your primary objective?" Gidds asked. "To experience moonfall, or to meet your friends without the burden of identity?"
Julian blinked at Gidds' phrasing, and Sue—watching with an amused smile—said: "A bit of both, I’d bet."
"Moonfall is easier," Gidds told them. "Since you could ask to visit one of the undeveloped platform towns. They are all monitored, but many have no settlements, and it would be easy to arrange a visit with less intrusive security." He looked across at Laura. "Or a family outing."
Laura glanced at Sue—and carefully only at Sue—then said: "I admit I’m curious. I don’t think I’d care to copy Cass' experience of passing out in the centre of town, but the images look amazing. A walk through one of the towns before the aether concentration rose too high might work."
"Sounds like fun," Sue said easily. "I’m in. Provided I can ever pass this stupid adulthood exam."
"But what about me?" Maddy protested. "I can’t do that exam, but I want to go and see what it’s like too!"
"You were double-dipped in aether the whole of the first month you were here," Alyssa said, with just the faintest frown. "You know what it’s like."
"It doesn’t count when you’re sick. I don’t even remember that. Besides, I want to look at it."
"She could wear one of those Exclusion Suits," Nick said, mildly. He turned to Gidds. "If they have any in her size."
"They do. I will process a request for you."
They moved on to dessert then, and ate the star-shaped keffet, a chewy, jellified citrus pulp, while Maddy interrogated Gidds on the details of Kalrani training.
Sue: Do I get to call him your boyfriend now?