Clemence guided her through the various parts of the station, from the lower-gravity medical center to the highest, where walking meant using your leg muscles. Welga observed as much as she could, trusting Por Qué to catch anything she missed. The station WAI blocked her from full network access, but they couldn’t stop her eyes and ears.

“It’s good that you’re moving so much. Good practice,” the other dakini said. “It will improve your healing, too.”

Welga drew information from her companion as they moved through the station. “Certain areas are blank on the map, like behind this door. Are they under construction?”

“Only the council can access those areas. The one behind this wall houses the air and climate controls.”

Welga allowed surprise to show on her face. “Don’t they have maintenance workers for things like that?”

“No labor is beneath the dignity of any Eko-Yi citizen. After you’ve healed, you’ll be added to the work roster. Everyone takes part in different kinds of work, including the most basic tasks like cleaning, cooking, and maintenance.”

“Even you?”

“Yes. I’m not superior because I’m dakini.”

Welga took note of the locations of the four other unmarked areas, careful to ask about only two of them. She guessed the remainder by looking at other stations’ plans, which she could access. All held critical functions: motor controls, power storage and distribution, water cycling, and data storage; threshold protection kept personal swarms out, but the station had its own microcams as well as static cameras fixed in the walls. Its WAI saw everything in those rooms.

After the third procedure, Welga and Clemence went farther and visited the greenhouse, where fresh produce and flowers came from. Welga took five minutes to close her eyes and enjoy the smell of moist soil and growing things.

A diminutive person in basic tunic and trousers greeted them with folded hands. “Welcome to Eko-Yi. It’s an honor to meet you. Thank you for joining the dakini.” They bore a slight resemblance to Nithya.

Welga kept her reply polite and neutral to hide her surprise. They had no reason to be kind and friendly, considering her origins, but they accepted her at face value. She received similar treatment from the people doing food preparation. They had a fully functioning kitchen, but Neo-Buddhism encouraged manual labor, so they took shifts cooking one meal per day and served them to either the morning or evening shift. People could also order food from the kitchen at other times. The cooks worked in the highest gravity ring of the station. Welga found it hard to leave. They’d made fascinating adaptations for the environment, like having suction points on every surface—in case of loss of power—and magnetic pots and pans.

“I love to cook,” Welga said to Clemence as they moved on. “But don’t people have more important work to do?”