Guest Night on Union Station Read Free Page A

that you wanted to come, but when we called for an InstaSitter, all they had left were spies.”
    “Or reporters,” Shaina added, before blowing him a goodbye kiss.
    Daniel wasn’t sure exactly what to tell the lift tube after he got in, but then he remembered that Joe had referred to the new attraction as the “Physics Ride,” so he tried that. The capsule moved off smoothly.
    “Libby?” Daniel asked out loud.
    “Yes, Daniel,” the station librarian responded.
    “Any messages related to CoSHC this morning?”
    “There were some late booth requests for the trade show which I forwarded to Donna for processing. Two of the new communities you’re bringing in had questions about travel reimbursement from EarthCent Intelligence, which I sent on to Blythe. And there was a request from the Mayor of Floaters to arrange a press conference if possible. He’s bringing a prototype of a two-man sports floater to the conference and they’re hoping to get some free publicity, so I passed that on to Chastity.”
    “I’m beginning to think that Donna and her girls basically run things for the humans around here,” the junior consul observed.
    The lift tube capsule came to a halt and the door opened without a confirmation or denial from Libby about Daniel’s hypothesis. The deck area was crowded with young humans and aliens, most of them wearing, or in the process of donning, a tight wrap-around over-garment. The unmistakable sound of a fairground organ assaulted his ears, and the white puffs of steam rising from its pipes drew his eyes. He walked over to investigate.
    “Morning, Joe,” Daniel yelled over the din. “Where on Earth did you find this thing?”
    The owner of Mac’s Bones motioned for the new arrival to step closer. When Daniel came within arm’s reach of Joe, the sound faded into the distance, and the junior consul realized he had entered a personal acoustic suppression field.
    “Could you repeat the question?” Joe asked.
    “I wondered where on Earth you found this thing.”
    “Ohio. Kelly’s parents have taken to antiquing in their old age. Her dad spotted this circus calliope in a barn and thought I might enjoy fixing it up. It took a year’s worth of over-sized diplomatic pouches to get all the parts to us, but the Stryx were good sports about it.”
    “They fit the boiler in a diplomatic pouch?”
    “These organs are a chore to tune, so I went modern on the boiler to make sure the steam always comes out at the same temperature. That and a few other modifications should keep it happy for weeks at a time.”
    “If you say so,” Daniel replied, steeling himself to exit the audio suppression field. “Does it have to be so loud?”
    “That’s the whole point of the thing. When they played these at fairs or carnivals back on Earth, you could hear them for miles.”
    “Well, it’s a show stopper. I see it even makes its own confetti.”
    “Damnation!” Joe swore, diving for the emergency kill switch. An alignment spacer had slipped out of place and the paper roll which acted as a mechanical program for the music was in the process of shredding itself. “You’re in luck,” the frustrated mechanic told the junior consul. “It’s going to take a few hours to modify the feed so this can’t happen again. Tell Paul to have Libby play something.”
    “Will do,” Daniel said, setting off to find Paul and Jeeves in the crowd.
    “Over here,” Paul yelled, when he spotted Daniel. The proud co-creator of the new theme park attraction was standing on a small platform with Aisha, who carried their recently adopted girl in a baby sling. The baby wore a cute pair of pink ear protectors with a prominently displayed rating of 140 decibels over her little head.
    “Hi, Aisha. Paul. Quite a crowd you’ve got here.”
    “We’re almost at capacity, but I stashed a levitation suit for you,” Paul said. “Are you ready for the ride of your life?”
    “How come you aren’t suiting up?” Daniel asked,