“I get by,” he replied. “It’s good to be home.” He looked around, and for the first time Park tried to see her module with a stranger’s eyes. It was as spotless as Glenn could make it, and she herself was a tidy person. But of course there were the obvious signs of living in a biodome like New Diego: the posters and wallpaper curling in the seaside humidity, the slumping furniture fashioned from scrap. Park’s uncle said, “I’m sure you’re glad to be out of this place soon. It’s a long airship ride to New Boston—a few days, if I’m remembering correctly. And you’ve never been in the air. You should prepare yourself.”

“Why were you glad to catch me before I left?” Park asked. “You said that when we came in.”

Her uncle turned back to her and blinked. “Because you would have taken Glenn with you,” he said.

It felt as if her heart had jerked: a tight, vicious little movement. “And why would that be a problem?” Park asked calmly.

“I wouldn’t want to spend the money to bring him back,” her uncle answered, with equal calm. “He’s staying here, of course. I need him.”

—

After dinner, Park said that she was going on a walk. This was not implausible; the stuffy summer nights were finally cooling down, giving way to a fresher autumnal breeze that trickled through the vents before the hard drafts of winter set in. Glenn rose silently to accompany her, and Park’s uncle, watching the news on his wrist console, made no motion to object. When they had made their way down the street, Park remarked sourly, “I suppose we’ll be taking plenty of these from now on.”

Glenn said, “His sickness is not as severe as he makes it seem. I believe on the current treatment routines he will recover within the year.”

“Then maybe he’ll go off again and leave us alone,” Park thought aloud. She hadn’t told Glenn about her uncle’s plans to keep him in New Diego, not yet; not until she could figure out a way to persuade him to let Glenn go. She didn’t want to worry her bodyguard unnecessarily—and she was also a little afraid of his reaction. But the solution ought to be easy, Park thought. Her uncle only needed someone to administer his medicine, to help him with his daily routines. He didn’t need Glenn for that. Any cheap helper bot would do.