used in her own mind and could just barely keep out of her speech.
Short. Blunt. Thick without being fat, that was Marlene. Nothing graceful about her. Her hair was dark brown, rather long, and quite straight. Her nose was a little bulbous, her mouth turned down just a bit at the ends, her chin small, her whole attitude passive and turned in upon itself.
There were her eyes, of course, large and lustrously dark, with meticulous dark eyebrows that curved above them, long eyelashes that looked almost artificial. Still, eyes alone could not make up for everything else, however fascinating they might be at odd moments.
Insigna had known since Marlene was five that she was unlikely ever to attract a man on the physical plane alone, and that had become more obvious with each year.
Aurinel had kept a languid eye on her during her preteen years, obviously attracted to her precocious intelligence and her almost luminous understanding. And Marlene had been shy and pleased in his presence, as though dimly realizing that there was something about an object called a 'boy' that was somehow endearing, but not knowing what it might be.
In the last couple of years, it seemed to Insigna that Marlene had finally clarified in her mind what 'boy' meant. Her omnivorous reading of books and viewing of films too old for her body, if not her mind, undoubtedly helped her in this, but Aurinel had grown older, too, and as his hormones began to exert their sway over him, it was no longer badinage he was in search of.
At dinner that night, Insigna asked, 'What kind of day did you have, dear?'
'A quiet one. Aurinel came looking for me and I suppose he reported to you. I'm sorry you have to take the trouble to hunt me down.'
Insigna sighed. 'But, Marlene, I can't help but think sometimes that you're unhappy and isn't it natural for me to be concerned about that? You're alone too much.'
'I like to be alone.'
'You don't act it. You show no signs of happiness at being alone. There are many people who would like to be friendly and you would be happier if you allowed them to be. Aurinel is your friend.'
'Was. He's all busy these days with other people. Today that was obvious. It infuriated me. Imagine him getting all wrapped up because he was thinking about Dolorette.'
Insigna said, 'You can't quite blame Aurinel, you know. Dolorette is his age.'
'Physically,' said Marlene. 'What a bubblehead.'
'Physically counts a great deal at his age.'
'He shows it. It makes a bubblehead out of him, too. The more he slobbers over Dolorette, the emptier his head gets. I can tell.'
'But he'll keep on getting older, Marlene, and when he's a little older, he might find out what the really important things are. And you'll be getting older, too, you know-'
Marlene stared at Insigna quizzically. Then she said, 'Come on, Mother. You don't believe what you're trying to imply. You don't believe it for a minute.'
Insigna flushed. It suddenly occurred to her that Marlene wasn't guessing. She knew - but how did she know? Insigna had made her remark as sincerely as she could, had tried to feel it. But Marlene had seen through it without effort. It wasn't the first time either. Insigna had begun to feel that Marlene weighed the inflections, the hesitations, the motions, and always knew what you didn't want her to know. It must be this quality that made Insigna increasingly frightened of Marlene. You don't want to be glass to another's scornful glance.
What had Insigna said, for instance, that had led Marlene to believe the Earth was doomed to destruction? That would have to be taken up and discussed.
Insigna suddenly felt tired. If she couldn't ever fool Marlene, why try? She said, 'Well, let's get down to it, dear. What is it you want?'
Marlene said, 'I see you really want to know, so I'll tell you. I want to get away.'
'Get away?' Insigna found herself unable to understand the simple words her daughter had used. 'Where is there to get away to?'
'Rotor isn't all there is, Mother.'
'Of course not. But it's all there is within more than two light-years.'
'No, Mother, that's not so. Less than two thousand kilometers away is Erythro.'
'That scarcely counts. You can't live there.'
'There are people living there.'
'Yes, but under a Dome. A group of scientists and engineers live there because they are doing necessary scientific work. The Dome is much smaller than Rotor. If you feel cramped here,