they couldn’t recognize me.
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6
Getting Settled
There were about fifty students in the dorm’s main lounge when Morey and I walked in the next morning. We were given a few once-over stares as we sat down in the back row of the circle of chairs. There was a guy wearing a turban in the front row, sitting next to a couple of slender African women. They towered over him, even sitting down. There was a Japanese kid in the second row who kept turning around and looking past me. Next to him sat a girl with a colorful kerchief over her head. She sat stiffly, as if afraid to look left or right. Suddenly I had the feeling of being trapped, and that nothing was going to be as I had imagined.
There was a loud group of kids at our left, dressed in multicolored metallic sheen shorts and sleeveless shirts. Then I saw Linda ten Eyck with them, and I knew why they sounded so confident; they were all from Bernal or the other settlements—the Sunflower Habitats at L-4 (that’s the other Libration Point, one of four such stable areas in the Moon’s orbit, equidistant from Earth and Moon), the Moon, Mars, maybe even the Asteroids. They were laughing and talking as if the rest of us didn’t exist.
A tall, deeply tanned man came in. There was some gray in his sandy hair, and even more in his beard.
“My name is Bill Turnbull,” he said as the chatter quieted, “and I’ll be your orientation adviser.” He gazed at us with calm gray eyes. “Most of you are physical science majors. That’s why you came here, and why you were accepted. You local students can study what you want because we have to take you, but that doesn’t mean you can coast. Anyone can flunk out, and all the programs are tough. A few major points to keep in mind. Do not spend all your time at your desk link, even though you can learn very quickly that way: You are expected to get to know your tutors and classmates.” He looked around at us carefully. “Personal growth suffers when you cut yourself off from the lively connections made when bright people get together. Use links for busy work, for catch up, to prepare for discussions with peers and superiors. The real goal of your work is not just to know a lot, but to be creative in your area, to contribute to its growth while growing up as a person. All work is for people in the end, even when we benefit ourselves individually.” He paused. “If we suspect abuses, we will place a limit on the use of links, and then they will shut down if overused. We’ve never had to do that.”
A tall, thin boy with short black hair stood up three seats to my right. “Does this include talking to other students or teachers? About work, I mean.”
Turnbull sighed. “No, but we feel that people are worth talking to personally. It’s a Sunspacer value. People are unique presences in the universe, to be held dear.”
I liked what Turnbull was saying.
“Anthropocentric prejudice,” the boy said with contempt.
“Maybe—but we don’t use it for harm. Out here we believe that human life must be at the center of things. Call personal contact our little ceremony, our prayer before a hostile universe, our way of being a community.”
Turnbull’s words made me feel good, needed. The boy shook his head in amusement and sat down.
“Other questions?”
After a moment of silence, the black-haired boy spoke up again, obviously unable to restrain himself. “Are we here to learn religious dogmas or science? I’m here to study physics, and I don’t care about much else, and it’s not up to you or anyone to make me care or tell me how to live.”
“No one will stop you from doing your work. Don’t you have any customs where you come from?”
A short, auburn-haired girl stood up in front of me.
“I think he’s just shy and wants to be left alone, but he’ll change.” I liked her voice and hoped she would turn around.
“What complete nonsense!” the black-haired boy shouted, crossing his
| Go to Table of Contents |
6
Getting Settled
There were about fifty students in the dorm’s main lounge when Morey and I walked in the next morning. We were given a few once-over stares as we sat down in the back row of the circle of chairs. There was a guy wearing a turban in the front row, sitting next to a couple of slender African women. They towered over him, even sitting down. There was a Japanese kid in the second row who kept turning around and looking past me. Next to him sat a girl with a colorful kerchief over her head. She sat stiffly, as if afraid to look left or right. Suddenly I had the feeling of being trapped, and that nothing was going to be as I had imagined.
There was a loud group of kids at our left, dressed in multicolored metallic sheen shorts and sleeveless shirts. Then I saw Linda ten Eyck with them, and I knew why they sounded so confident; they were all from Bernal or the other settlements—the Sunflower Habitats at L-4 (that’s the other Libration Point, one of four such stable areas in the Moon’s orbit, equidistant from Earth and Moon), the Moon, Mars, maybe even the Asteroids. They were laughing and talking as if the rest of us didn’t exist.
A tall, deeply tanned man came in. There was some gray in his sandy hair, and even more in his beard.
“My name is Bill Turnbull,” he said as the chatter quieted, “and I’ll be your orientation adviser.” He gazed at us with calm gray eyes. “Most of you are physical science majors. That’s why you came here, and why you were accepted. You local students can study what you want because we have to take you, but that doesn’t mean you can coast. Anyone can flunk out, and all the programs are tough. A few major points to keep in mind. Do not spend all your time at your desk link, even though you can learn very quickly that way: You are expected to get to know your tutors and classmates.” He looked around at us carefully. “Personal growth suffers when you cut yourself off from the lively connections made when bright people get together. Use links for busy work, for catch up, to prepare for discussions with peers and superiors. The real goal of your work is not just to know a lot, but to be creative in your area, to contribute to its growth while growing up as a person. All work is for people in the end, even when we benefit ourselves individually.” He paused. “If we suspect abuses, we will place a limit on the use of links, and then they will shut down if overused. We’ve never had to do that.”
A tall, thin boy with short black hair stood up three seats to my right. “Does this include talking to other students or teachers? About work, I mean.”
Turnbull sighed. “No, but we feel that people are worth talking to personally. It’s a Sunspacer value. People are unique presences in the universe, to be held dear.”
I liked what Turnbull was saying.
“Anthropocentric prejudice,” the boy said with contempt.
“Maybe—but we don’t use it for harm. Out here we believe that human life must be at the center of things. Call personal contact our little ceremony, our prayer before a hostile universe, our way of being a community.”
Turnbull’s words made me feel good, needed. The boy shook his head in amusement and sat down.
“Other questions?”
After a moment of silence, the black-haired boy spoke up again, obviously unable to restrain himself. “Are we here to learn religious dogmas or science? I’m here to study physics, and I don’t care about much else, and it’s not up to you or anyone to make me care or tell me how to live.”
“No one will stop you from doing your work. Don’t you have any customs where you come from?”
A short, auburn-haired girl stood up in front of me.
“I think he’s just shy and wants to be left alone, but he’ll change.” I liked her voice and hoped she would turn around.
“What complete nonsense!” the black-haired boy shouted, crossing his
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