Falling Free Read Free

waved them urgently. Ah, ah! The girl turned in air to face the visitors. Ah, ah, a h! the baby repeated.
    Oh, all right, she laughed. You want to fly to Daddy, hm?She unhooked a short tether from a sort of soft harness on the baby's torso to a belt around her own waist, and held the infant out. Fly to Daddy, Andy? Fly to Daddy?
    The baby indicated enthusiasm for the proposal by waving all four hands vigorously about and squealing eagerly. She launched him toward Tony with considerably more velocity than Leo would have dared to impart. Tony, grinning cheerfully, caught him—handily, Leo thought in blitzed inanity.
    Fly to Mommy? Tony inquired in turn. Ah, ah, the baby agreed, and Tony hung him in air, gently pulling his arms out—like straightening out a starfish, Leo thought—and imparting a spin rolled him through the air for all the worldlike a wheel. The baby pulled his hands in, clenching his face in sympathetic effort, and spun faster, and gurgled with laughter at the success of his effort. Conservation of angular momentum, thought Leo. Naturally . . .
    Claire tossed the infant back one more time to his father—mind-boggling, to think of that blond boy as a father of anything—and followed herself to brake to a halt hand-to-hand against Tony, who proffered an automatic helping grasp for that purpose. That they continued to hold hands was clearly more than a courteous anchoring.
    Claire, this is Mr. Graf,Tony did not so much introduce as display him, like a prize. He's going to be my advanced welding techniques teacher. Mr. Graf, this is Claire, and this is our son Andy. Andy had clambered headward on his father, and was wrapping one hand in Tony's blond hair and another around one ear, blinking owlishly at Leo. Tony gently rescued the ear and re-directed the clutch to the fabric of his red T-shirt. Claire was picked to be the very first natural mother of us,Tony went on proudly. Me and four other girls, Claire corrected modestly.
    Claire used to be in Welding and Joining too, but she can't do Outside work any more, Tony explained.
    She's been in Housekeeping, Nutrition Technology, and Hydroponics since Andy was born.
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    Dr. Yei said I was a very important experiment, to see which sorts of productivity were least compromised by my taking care of Andy at the same time,explained Claire. I sort of miss going Outsid e—it was exciting—but I like this, too. More variety.
    GalacTech re-invents Women's Work? thought Leo bemusedly. Are we about to put an R D group to work on the applications of fire, too? But oh, you are certainly an experiment. . . . His thought was unrefl ected in his bland, closed face. Happy to meet you, Claire, he said gravely.
    Claire nudged Tony, and nodded toward her blonde co-worker, who had drifted over to join the group.
    Oh—and this is Silver, Tony went on obediently. She works in Hydroponics most of the time.Silver nodded. Her medium-short hair drifted in soft platinum waves, and Leo wondered if it was the source of her nickname. She had the sort of strong facial bones that are sharp and unhappily awkward at thirteen, a rrestingly elegant at thirty-five, now not quite halfway through their transition. Her blue gaze was cooler and less shy than the busy Claire's, who was already distracted by some new demand from Andy. Claire retrieved the baby and re-attached his safety line.
    Good afternoon, Mr. Van Atta,Silver added particularly. She pirouetted in air, with eyes that cried silently, Notice me! Leo noticed that all twenty of her manicured fingernails were lacquered pink.
    Van Atta's answering smile was secretive and smug. Afternoon, Silver. How's it going?
    We have one more tube to plant after this one. We'll be finished ahead of shift change, Silver offered.
    Fine,fine, said Van Atta jovially. Ah—do try to remember to arrange yourself right-side up when you're talking to a downsider, Sugarplum.
    Silver inverted herself hastily to match Van Atta's orientation. Since the room was