Just as he could bear no more, as his body verged on an explosion, she violently broke free. Threw herself off the bed and charged to the door. She whirled. He had that image—captured as she met his eyes—of her heated face, the fire in her eyes, her desperate panting for breath.

“If you get out of that bed . . . try to follow me,” she said between gasps, “I will break both of your legs and feed you to a slug!”

And she was gone, pausing only long enough to grab her utility belt off the chair out front. Then the door slammed with a finality.

. . . Leaving him to battle for breath, slow his heart, and try and find some semblance of peace.

“What just happened here?” he demanded of the empty room.

A disembodied voice beside his ear clearly said, “Transformation . . . if you are strong enough.”

23

The children were in the observation dome—a circular room just past the last of the personal quarters on the first level. Separated from the hallway by a weather door, the observation room consisted of a transparent blister that stuck out from the Pod’s rounded end. Varina Tam had led them all here, given Felix his orders in the sternest of tones: “You are in charge, Felix. Make sure that everyone stays here and doesn’t leave this room until someone comes for you.”

She had given him a wink and closed the weather door behind her as she’d left.

The job was important. Felix was fully aware of the terrible responsibility that was his. Because he was eight, and oldest, he was in charge while the grownups had some important meeting in the cafeteria. The little kids and babies, including two-year-old Kayle, and the infants Saleen and Vetch—just months old—got to go to the meeting with their mothers.

That left Felix in charge of Sheena, Felicity, Breez, Tomaya, and little Toni, who was three. Toni was the potential problem. The little boy—barely toilet trained—liked to get into things. Not that the observation dome offered much to get into. It was, after all, a big transparent bubble with padded benches around the circumference so people could sit and look out at the sea.

Fortunately, Sheena—and to a lesser extent Tomaya—helped with the little brat. Felicity always insisted that she wanted nothing to do with the irritating tile crawler. The problem was that Toni was Yosh’s son. Yosh, after Shin, was one of the important people. When he spoke, others listened, and the Director herself often deferred to him. Yosh’s wife, Mikoru Yamasaki, took care of the personal quarters. She did the laundry, cleaning, and managed all the housekeeping things the scientists were supposed to be too busy to do. She also had plenty of time to ensure that Toni received constant attention, that his every demand was met.

Mother said Toni was spoiled.