restrictions. They could get off-world far more easily than anyone else who had paperwork and job responsibilities that made it difficult to leave.
With what she'd figured out about the adults, Wynne found herself wondering if the reason Servumen were servants wasn't necessarily because there was anything wrong with them.
Maybe it was because they were normal .
And if that were true, just what had been done to Wynne's brain?
Wynne took deep breaths, struggling not to panic and lose her periodic table defenses — elemental abbreviations, those were easy — with the appalled realization that she was likely every bit as freakish as Hector. Her brain had been changed into something not entirely human, but her abilities just hadn't manifested yet, for some reason.
Why hadn't they manifested yet?
Hector's eyes widened momentarily — pointedly — and he gave a little shake of his head.
Wynne knew she was disappointing him — that much of why he helped her was surely that she could keep up with him, to some degree — but she couldn't follow, not this time.
She didn't want to understand.
Tugging the tie around his neck with one hand, with the other he swiped the brown beverage from his father's hand and downed it in a gulp before his father could stop him, then handed the cup back. "Mmm. Thanks for the Kahlua. I think my tie's too tight. Do you know how to fix those, Wynne?"
She stared at him, shock-still for too long.
He smirked — an easy, friendly expression, with no sense of the Pull yourself together that was behind his eyes — and nudged her shoulder. "Arzon to Wynne. It's my debut. Did you not expect my father to be here?"
"I didn't think about it," she answered shakily, recognizing the opening as the save it was.
"You get your snack?"
"Yeah, thanks." She remembered how the best lies, in things she'd read, had truth in them. "Odd flavor, though. Have you had cinnamon before?"
"Your mother's favorite."
Wynne blinked. "It is?"
"The system must've… glitched," he suggested, the pause saying that the mistake was no glitch.
She decided against asking for an explanation. It was probably something frightening like Wynne already being deleted from the Layuman registry, anyway. "Um, right." She shook herself and focused on him. "Um, tie?"
"Yep," he said, cheerily. Which was creepy. He was never cheery. Quietly amused, sometimes. Cheery? Never. "Need some help with the tie. Excuse us. We'll be right back."
"No need to rush." The sly smile the governor gave his son said what he thought they'd be doing, and he caught her by the arm.
She tensed and tried not to shiver.
"Really," Governor Hector Primuman the Third insisted. " Don't hurry back."
Hector Primuman the Fourth gave his father an inscrutable glance. "Our attendance has been logged then?"
The governor's smug smile was appreciative of a message sent and received. "Of course."
Hector gave his father another look she couldn't read, this one longer. "We'll be back," he said flatly. "Soon."
From the startlement that crossed his father's face, Wynne assumed he wasn't usually so obvious about his distaste.
Before she could figure out how to respond, Hector pulled her away from his father, who let them go. Wynne didn't dare say anything as they quickly headed out of the annex, toward Hector only knew where.
She cautiously lowered her defenses—
"Os: Osmium," Hector continued immediately, giving a little shake of his head. "Ir: Iridium. Pt: Platinum—"
Au: Gold , she thought, and resumed the mental recitation.
They reached the wall of a building, a habitat Wynne recognized because she'd grown up a Layuman and knew all the colony blueprints. Hector glanced at their surroundings as if measuring something off, then stepped up to the building, a bit of wall with a bright yellow smudge on it.
Wynne frowned and rubbed it with her thumb. The stain didn't come off.
"Turmeric," Hector explained, smiling slightly. He glanced around again, adjusting his
With what she'd figured out about the adults, Wynne found herself wondering if the reason Servumen were servants wasn't necessarily because there was anything wrong with them.
Maybe it was because they were normal .
And if that were true, just what had been done to Wynne's brain?
Wynne took deep breaths, struggling not to panic and lose her periodic table defenses — elemental abbreviations, those were easy — with the appalled realization that she was likely every bit as freakish as Hector. Her brain had been changed into something not entirely human, but her abilities just hadn't manifested yet, for some reason.
Why hadn't they manifested yet?
Hector's eyes widened momentarily — pointedly — and he gave a little shake of his head.
Wynne knew she was disappointing him — that much of why he helped her was surely that she could keep up with him, to some degree — but she couldn't follow, not this time.
She didn't want to understand.
Tugging the tie around his neck with one hand, with the other he swiped the brown beverage from his father's hand and downed it in a gulp before his father could stop him, then handed the cup back. "Mmm. Thanks for the Kahlua. I think my tie's too tight. Do you know how to fix those, Wynne?"
She stared at him, shock-still for too long.
He smirked — an easy, friendly expression, with no sense of the Pull yourself together that was behind his eyes — and nudged her shoulder. "Arzon to Wynne. It's my debut. Did you not expect my father to be here?"
"I didn't think about it," she answered shakily, recognizing the opening as the save it was.
"You get your snack?"
"Yeah, thanks." She remembered how the best lies, in things she'd read, had truth in them. "Odd flavor, though. Have you had cinnamon before?"
"Your mother's favorite."
Wynne blinked. "It is?"
"The system must've… glitched," he suggested, the pause saying that the mistake was no glitch.
She decided against asking for an explanation. It was probably something frightening like Wynne already being deleted from the Layuman registry, anyway. "Um, right." She shook herself and focused on him. "Um, tie?"
"Yep," he said, cheerily. Which was creepy. He was never cheery. Quietly amused, sometimes. Cheery? Never. "Need some help with the tie. Excuse us. We'll be right back."
"No need to rush." The sly smile the governor gave his son said what he thought they'd be doing, and he caught her by the arm.
She tensed and tried not to shiver.
"Really," Governor Hector Primuman the Third insisted. " Don't hurry back."
Hector Primuman the Fourth gave his father an inscrutable glance. "Our attendance has been logged then?"
The governor's smug smile was appreciative of a message sent and received. "Of course."
Hector gave his father another look she couldn't read, this one longer. "We'll be back," he said flatly. "Soon."
From the startlement that crossed his father's face, Wynne assumed he wasn't usually so obvious about his distaste.
Before she could figure out how to respond, Hector pulled her away from his father, who let them go. Wynne didn't dare say anything as they quickly headed out of the annex, toward Hector only knew where.
She cautiously lowered her defenses—
"Os: Osmium," Hector continued immediately, giving a little shake of his head. "Ir: Iridium. Pt: Platinum—"
Au: Gold , she thought, and resumed the mental recitation.
They reached the wall of a building, a habitat Wynne recognized because she'd grown up a Layuman and knew all the colony blueprints. Hector glanced at their surroundings as if measuring something off, then stepped up to the building, a bit of wall with a bright yellow smudge on it.
Wynne frowned and rubbed it with her thumb. The stain didn't come off.
"Turmeric," Hector explained, smiling slightly. He glanced around again, adjusting his
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