if you go around looking unhappy or ashamed about what you're doing, you'll just prove their point—that it's a waste."
"You could have said something at supper," she said, still feeling a little resentful.
"I'm only your father," Tad responded, "and a guest in this house. I can't hang around here just to prop you up, you have to do that for yourself. Look, if you do all right at whatever you're learning, then you'll get to do what you want—the Linkers'll see to that. And if you don't, then nobody here's going to change that, either. At least you'll know you tried, and that has to be better than not trying."
She leaned back on her elbows, letting her feet dangle from the bed. "Did you try, Tad?"
His lip curled. "No, I'm doing what I want. I'm sort of hoping I might get a chance at satellite repair—they still need some people for that. I put in my name for sea wall work too. See, if I get to do any of that, I won't be coming by here again for a long time, maybe not until you're a woman, so I have to say whatever I have to tell you now. In a way, it's easier for a Plains boy. At least if he learns some skill or craft, he gets to go places."
"Julia worked on dikes once," Iris said.
"Yeah, but here she is, right? I've worked with a few woman mechanics. They do all right, but they always seem to get dragged home after a while, especially if they want kids. You can't go roaming around with a baby. Anyway, you need farmers. There's only one way out for a farm girl. You have to have something that makes you more valuable to the Mukhtars somewhere else."
"I wouldn't leave Lincoln," Iris murmured. "I mean, not for good."
"I don't know if you'd be studying if you didn't think of leaving."
Iris gazed into Tad's grayish-green eyes. He was more understanding than she had realized. His rough horseplay, like her feeble efforts to appease her friends, might have been only a way of hiding his real feelings.
"There's one place I'd like to go," she said.
"And where's that?"
"Venus."
"Venus! You want to work on the Project?" Tad snorted, then rubbed his nose on his sleeve. She looked down, hurt; he would laugh at her after all. "Hey, Iris, don't sit there like that. You just surprised me, that's all."
She tugged at his shirt. "Don't tell Angharad. She'd just—"
"Yeah, I know." Tad frowned for a moment; his drooping mouth and lowered eyelids made him look like a boy who had lost something precious. "I won't tell. But why would you want to go there?"
Iris bit her lip, unable to find the words to answer him.
"What do you know about it, anyway?"
"A lot. I've seen it all with my band—how the Parasol was built, why they brought in metallic hydrogen from Saturn."
"Why'd they do that?" Tad asked.
"Because otherwise, as the atmosphere changes, there'd be too much free oxygen. I mean, as it cools and the level of carbon dioxide goes down, more oxygen is freed, and they can't just leave it there, but when it combines with the hydrogen, it can turn into water. Venus didn't have enough hydrogen there before, so they had to bring it there, you see. It's complicated."
Tad frowned. "I guess it is." He was silent for a moment. "I don't know. I can't see people living there, but—"
"That's just one of the things they've done there. They have to do a lot more."
"Well, I know that much."
"They even had to make a new kind of algae for seeding the cloud layer. See, the rain has a lot of sulfuric acid in it, but the algae metabolizes—" She had mangled that word. "Well, it sort of eats the acid and changes it into other things—iron and copper sulfides."
"You understand all of that?" Tad asked.
"Sort of. It's not really part of the prep lessons, but—Venus is my star, it was in the sky when I was born. I wanted to know about it."
"Well, that won't get you to the Project." Tad raised one leg, resting his ankle on his knee. "And no one's going to live on Venus for a long time—if ever."
"You might be wrong. Some people think that
"You could have said something at supper," she said, still feeling a little resentful.
"I'm only your father," Tad responded, "and a guest in this house. I can't hang around here just to prop you up, you have to do that for yourself. Look, if you do all right at whatever you're learning, then you'll get to do what you want—the Linkers'll see to that. And if you don't, then nobody here's going to change that, either. At least you'll know you tried, and that has to be better than not trying."
She leaned back on her elbows, letting her feet dangle from the bed. "Did you try, Tad?"
His lip curled. "No, I'm doing what I want. I'm sort of hoping I might get a chance at satellite repair—they still need some people for that. I put in my name for sea wall work too. See, if I get to do any of that, I won't be coming by here again for a long time, maybe not until you're a woman, so I have to say whatever I have to tell you now. In a way, it's easier for a Plains boy. At least if he learns some skill or craft, he gets to go places."
"Julia worked on dikes once," Iris said.
"Yeah, but here she is, right? I've worked with a few woman mechanics. They do all right, but they always seem to get dragged home after a while, especially if they want kids. You can't go roaming around with a baby. Anyway, you need farmers. There's only one way out for a farm girl. You have to have something that makes you more valuable to the Mukhtars somewhere else."
"I wouldn't leave Lincoln," Iris murmured. "I mean, not for good."
"I don't know if you'd be studying if you didn't think of leaving."
Iris gazed into Tad's grayish-green eyes. He was more understanding than she had realized. His rough horseplay, like her feeble efforts to appease her friends, might have been only a way of hiding his real feelings.
"There's one place I'd like to go," she said.
"And where's that?"
"Venus."
"Venus! You want to work on the Project?" Tad snorted, then rubbed his nose on his sleeve. She looked down, hurt; he would laugh at her after all. "Hey, Iris, don't sit there like that. You just surprised me, that's all."
She tugged at his shirt. "Don't tell Angharad. She'd just—"
"Yeah, I know." Tad frowned for a moment; his drooping mouth and lowered eyelids made him look like a boy who had lost something precious. "I won't tell. But why would you want to go there?"
Iris bit her lip, unable to find the words to answer him.
"What do you know about it, anyway?"
"A lot. I've seen it all with my band—how the Parasol was built, why they brought in metallic hydrogen from Saturn."
"Why'd they do that?" Tad asked.
"Because otherwise, as the atmosphere changes, there'd be too much free oxygen. I mean, as it cools and the level of carbon dioxide goes down, more oxygen is freed, and they can't just leave it there, but when it combines with the hydrogen, it can turn into water. Venus didn't have enough hydrogen there before, so they had to bring it there, you see. It's complicated."
Tad frowned. "I guess it is." He was silent for a moment. "I don't know. I can't see people living there, but—"
"That's just one of the things they've done there. They have to do a lot more."
"Well, I know that much."
"They even had to make a new kind of algae for seeding the cloud layer. See, the rain has a lot of sulfuric acid in it, but the algae metabolizes—" She had mangled that word. "Well, it sort of eats the acid and changes it into other things—iron and copper sulfides."
"You understand all of that?" Tad asked.
"Sort of. It's not really part of the prep lessons, but—Venus is my star, it was in the sky when I was born. I wanted to know about it."
"Well, that won't get you to the Project." Tad raised one leg, resting his ankle on his knee. "And no one's going to live on Venus for a long time—if ever."
"You might be wrong. Some people think that
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