Earthseed

respect for herself and consider her actions, but she just laughed and said she’d do what she wanted.”
    “I don’t want to hear about it,” Zoheret said, waiting for him to tell more.
    “I think it’s kind of strange for Ship to tell us we should restrain ourselves when nothing’s going to happen.” He gestured at the tiny white line on his lower right arm; each of them had such a mark where Ship had inserted a tiny contraceptive implant. “We can’t have kids now anyway. And when we leave Ship, we’ll have to have kids to survive. So we might as well learn how to enjoy what we have to do to get them. That’s what I think.”
    She laughed. “You never did it.”
    “How do you know? Anyway, it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t.”
    Zoheret drew up her legs and wrapped her arms around them. Sometimes it was hard being friends with boys now; it had been easier when she was younger. She often felt uneasy and awkward around them. She would be talking to one, and then, without warning, would feel flustered and embarrassed, unable to be herself. At least Anoki, whatever his faults, didn’t make her feel like this.
    “Ship says we have to learn restraint,” she said slowly, “because we’ll need a stable society, and we won’t have one if we don’t have some sort of code of behavior.” Even as she spoke, she hated the prissy sound of her words. “Ship doesn’t tell us what to do, it just says we have to think about what it means, and be sure we know what we want, and not just go on our feelings.”
    “Oh, sure.” Gowon tilted his head. “You learned your lessons. Ship ought to give you a big prize. Maybe I won’t tell you what Manuel and Ho said.”
    “About what?”
    “About Ship.” He leaned toward her. “You’ll find out soon enough anyway. They think Ship ought to shut down its sensors here in the Hollow. I mean all its sensors, not just its ears once in a while.”
    “But why?” She brushed back a lock of hair. “So they can get into more trouble?”
    “No, so that we can get along on our own. When we get to the new world, we’re not going to have Ship to save us if something happens.”
    “It’ll be in orbit.”
    “But it won’t be able to help us directly. Manuel thinks we should have more practice in taking care of ourselves. Ship’s going to want us to spend more time in the Hollow anyway—we’re supposed to live in it soon. Why shouldn’t it shut down and see how we do without it?”
    Zoheret rested her chin on her knees. It might be Manuel’s idea, but it made sense. Maybe Ship would agree with Manuel; if it did, it would shut down its sensors and keep its promise. Ship always kept its promises. She thought of being without its constant watching eyes, and her excitement was tinged with fear.
    “When are they going to ask it?” she said.
    “Soon. I don’t really know.”
    “Want to skate back with me? I’m going over to the gym.”
    Gowon looked around uneasily. “I’d better stay here. Those two will get mad if they can’t find me.”

3
    There was one room Zoheret had never seen; neither had anyone else. It stood at the end of the corridor on the last level. The room was a storage area, according to Ship; it contained biological materials that had to be stored at low temperatures, which was why no one could go there.
    The room had two large, sealed doors. As she untied her skates, Zoheret glanced toward the end of the corridor at those doors. Ship carried part of Earth not only in the Hollow, but also behind those doors—seeds and animal embryos and a computer that would analyze their new home’s life forms and determine which plants and animals could thrive there, and which would be needed.
    Lillka, surprisingly, was in the gym. She sat in a rower, pulling at the oars with grim determination. Her stocky body was strong, but Ship often had to urge her to go to the gym. Exercise was not something that Lillka enjoyed, but a duty; she did what she had to do and no more.
    Zoheret waved at her friend as she walked toward the mats; for once, they had the gym to themselves. A doorway at the far end of the gym led to the swimming pool; she could hear the echoes of splashes and shouts. As she bent and stretched, she thought of Lillka’s comments about the storage area.
    “They wanted to make the world we’re going to like Earth,” Lillka had said. “But it’ll have its own life forms, its own ecology. Either we’ll end up destroying it, or we won’t fit in.”