had eventually led to the Islanders' confrontation with Earth. His mother had died trying to prevent one mad group from destroying one of the surface domes, but she had saved the lives of several Habbers there; that, as much as anything, had convinced the Habbers to push Earth into a face-saving settlement.
Had it not been for his and his fellow pilots' deed, Iris might still be alive, living on the world she had given her life to build.
Few Earthfolk grasped the Habbers' motivations for assisting the Project. Even the Islanders, many of whom had grown closer to the Habbers there in recent years, did not fully understand their purpose. The Project provided the Habbers with their only direct contact between themselves and the people of Earth; it was their last link with the rest of humanity.
Benzi thought of the Habitats near Mars and just beyond that planet's orbital path. Habbers had made homes for themselves inside the two Martian satellites and had built others using the resources of the asteroid belt; the location of their worldlets had established their claim to Mars. Terraforming Mars would have presented fewer problems than transforming Venus, but the Habitat-dwellers regarded planets in much the same way as some ancient Earthfolk had seen their Earthly environment. To make use of some planetary resources was acceptable; to alter a world completely was unnecessary and undesirable. Habbers lived in space; they had no need to make other planets into replicas of the Earth they had abandoned.
Long ago, Earth had been gently but firmly warned that the Habbers would not welcome efforts at terraforming Mars. The Nomarchies might have looked to the satellites of the gas giants then, but any settlements there would be farther from Earth and its influence. That left Venus, Earth's sister-planet. The obstacles to terraforming there were great, but that would only make Earth's eventual triumph more glorious. The Habbers had established no claim to Venus; there was only one Habitat orbiting the sun between Venus and Earth, built before an agreement with the Nomarchies limited the Habbers to the space near Mars and outside the red planet's orbit. As long as Earth allowed them that small outpost in the part of the solar system the Mukhtars claimed for themselves, the Habbers were content to let Earth proceed with its Project. Later, when Earth turned to them for help, the Habbers had readily agreed. They had not been able to stop Venus's transformation, but could learn much from assisting the Venus Project, whatever their own doubts about the wisdom of that effort.
The Habbers feared cutting themselves loose from the rest of their kind, yet already many of them had begun to diverge. Benzi had never visited the Habitats near Mars and beyond, but those who came to his Habitat from there seemed as distant and alien to him as they would have been to a citizen of Earth. They wore human shapes, but their minds, Linked to the artificial intelligences of their own worlds, were as engineered, molded, and shaped as their Habitats. These Habbers had shed their earlier passions and surges of irrationality, erased their cluttered memories of decades or centuries after storing them in the cyberminds, had made themselves what they once aspired to be — a society of mind, links in a vast intelligence. He often wondered how much of themselves they had given up; some of them seemed hardly more than the eyes and ears of cyberminds.
He had joined the Habbers to be free of Earth, but he was still bound to Earth's people. His home was the one Habitat between the orbits of Venus and Earth. Those who lived there saw themselves as a bridge between Earthfolk and the rest of their own kind. He had dreamed of someday exploring the stars beyond this solar system, but the people of his Habitat feared such a break with all that they knew, while the Habbers near Mars thought only of probes, of exploring space only through cybernetic intermediaries.
He and
Had it not been for his and his fellow pilots' deed, Iris might still be alive, living on the world she had given her life to build.
Few Earthfolk grasped the Habbers' motivations for assisting the Project. Even the Islanders, many of whom had grown closer to the Habbers there in recent years, did not fully understand their purpose. The Project provided the Habbers with their only direct contact between themselves and the people of Earth; it was their last link with the rest of humanity.
Benzi thought of the Habitats near Mars and just beyond that planet's orbital path. Habbers had made homes for themselves inside the two Martian satellites and had built others using the resources of the asteroid belt; the location of their worldlets had established their claim to Mars. Terraforming Mars would have presented fewer problems than transforming Venus, but the Habitat-dwellers regarded planets in much the same way as some ancient Earthfolk had seen their Earthly environment. To make use of some planetary resources was acceptable; to alter a world completely was unnecessary and undesirable. Habbers lived in space; they had no need to make other planets into replicas of the Earth they had abandoned.
Long ago, Earth had been gently but firmly warned that the Habbers would not welcome efforts at terraforming Mars. The Nomarchies might have looked to the satellites of the gas giants then, but any settlements there would be farther from Earth and its influence. That left Venus, Earth's sister-planet. The obstacles to terraforming there were great, but that would only make Earth's eventual triumph more glorious. The Habbers had established no claim to Venus; there was only one Habitat orbiting the sun between Venus and Earth, built before an agreement with the Nomarchies limited the Habbers to the space near Mars and outside the red planet's orbit. As long as Earth allowed them that small outpost in the part of the solar system the Mukhtars claimed for themselves, the Habbers were content to let Earth proceed with its Project. Later, when Earth turned to them for help, the Habbers had readily agreed. They had not been able to stop Venus's transformation, but could learn much from assisting the Venus Project, whatever their own doubts about the wisdom of that effort.
The Habbers feared cutting themselves loose from the rest of their kind, yet already many of them had begun to diverge. Benzi had never visited the Habitats near Mars and beyond, but those who came to his Habitat from there seemed as distant and alien to him as they would have been to a citizen of Earth. They wore human shapes, but their minds, Linked to the artificial intelligences of their own worlds, were as engineered, molded, and shaped as their Habitats. These Habbers had shed their earlier passions and surges of irrationality, erased their cluttered memories of decades or centuries after storing them in the cyberminds, had made themselves what they once aspired to be — a society of mind, links in a vast intelligence. He often wondered how much of themselves they had given up; some of them seemed hardly more than the eyes and ears of cyberminds.
He had joined the Habbers to be free of Earth, but he was still bound to Earth's people. His home was the one Habitat between the orbits of Venus and Earth. Those who lived there saw themselves as a bridge between Earthfolk and the rest of their own kind. He had dreamed of someday exploring the stars beyond this solar system, but the people of his Habitat feared such a break with all that they knew, while the Habbers near Mars thought only of probes, of exploring space only through cybernetic intermediaries.
He and
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