Snapshots
#6
== Six Months Later ==

"Ooh, Mama, what's that?"

Robin had her face pressed up against the large viewport as she stared wide-eyed at the multicolor nebula coming into view. The passenger ship was rotating as it prepared for docking. This was their last stop before Iota Tau, the passenger and refueling station Gennethe 4 Highport. Below the brilliant blue of the mostly water planet turned slowly. A hurricane was churning in the northern hemisphere. She paid little attention to it, her eyes fixed on the brilliant stellar remnant.

"That's the Helix Nebula, dear. Don't you remember it? We can see it from our home."

The purple-haired six-year-old shook her head. "Nope. But it's really pretty. I wanna go there."

Her father approached the two, drinks in each hand. "You can see it any time you want, child. Just look up." Karlos Mayfair had no time or interest in such things. He was a man of the land and disliked space travel. Now that his daughter was cured of her Turean's Syndrome he hoped to never set foot on a spaceship ever again. He paid little attention to the nebula when he was on his home planet, but then few did. It was visible in the sky and could easily be seen with the naked eye, but the sight wasn't nearly as impressive as it was here. On this station it filled fully half the viewport.

"Oh. OK." There was a note of disappointment in her voice. "What's that dot in the center?" The question was aimed at her mother. Sonjia smiled indulgently. Since the completion of Robin's enhancements the girl had been a bundle of questions, asking about everything she saw. She'd learned not to ask her father, who generally provided short and unsatisfying answers.

"A white dwarf. The remains of a really old star."

"Oooh!" Robin said, and took the PADD out her travel bag. "Cm'puter, tell me about white dwarfs." The screen filled with information and the small Augment plopped down on a bench to start reading.

Her mother gave a light chuckle. "Computer, seventh-grade reading level." The article reloaded, adding details and increased explanations.

Robin's reading level was already well beyond her age range, but she still lacked a lot of basic education. Sonjia had filled in as best she could and had tutored her daughter, but the truth was that the child had a lot of ground to make up. She absorbed knowledge like a sponge and could repeat it back almost verbatim. Since the week-long return voyage had begin she had spent much of the voyage staring out of the viewports, bombarding her parents with questions about everything she saw, and each answer set her off on another round of research.

Her mother had been a schoolteacher, but she was feeling a bit overwhelmed. It was like she couldn't teach her daughter fast enough. Before the procedures Robin had had no memory. Things she learned escaped like water pouring out of a broken pipe, and the girl had been increasingly frustrated as her mind slowly degenerated. Now it was just the opposite. She wanted to know everything.

"What's that word, Mama?"

"Parsec, dear. About three and a quarter light years." Sonjia sat down next to her. "When you get back, Robin, you're going to start school. They'll teach you everything to want to know."

The girl paused and looked up at her mother. Her gemstone eyes met Sonjia's. "I can't wait, Mama!"

== To be continued ==
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Messages In This Thread
Snapshots - by Tyra Crawford - 08-04-2025, 12:32 AM
RE: Snapshots - by Robin Mayfair - 08-05-2025, 02:06 AM
RE: Snapshots - by Robin Mayfair - 08-05-2025, 09:49 PM
RE: Snapshots - by Robin Mayfair - 08-16-2025, 11:41 PM
RE: Snapshots - by Robin Mayfair - 08-22-2025, 11:44 PM
RE: Snapshots - by Robin Mayfair - 08-28-2025, 11:38 PM

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