Second Lesson

Hand-in-hand, Lisa led Lani down a path that followed a slow-running stream. Whistlestick followed the pair, carrying his staff over his right shoulder. Both gaped in awe at the vista they wandered through. Parkland was something that neither had ever experienced, yet now they found themselves walking in something that was basically one giant park. And to make it even more amazing – this park was inside what would otherwise be a barren chunk of rocky asteroid. Unable to contain herself, she found herself trying to look in every direction at once.

Lisa noticed this, and squeezed Lani's hand to get her attention. "Don't look directly up," she warned, "the Solar Tube will burn your eyes out."

" 'Solar Tube'? ," Lani wondered.

"It's part of our primary fusion reactor," Lisa explained. "Some of the plasma is redirected to a big tube that runs along the axis. It gives us light and heat, plus it helps to circulate the air."

Whistlestick trotted forwards to walk beside Lisa. "What are those?" he asked, pointing with his staff to a series of round and rectangular areas in the distance.

Lisa smiled at him. "Those are our fields," she explained. "As you can imagine, growing enough food is quite a task... particularly when we don't use many of the large machines that are common on Earth. As a matter of fact, approximately half of our population is directly involved in farming operations. We switch tasks every hundred days or so, so people don't get stuck doing one thing for their entire lives." She looked at him intently, almost evaluating him. "Would you like to try?" she offered.

Whistlestick blinked, surprised that she would make such an offer. As on OTZ Warrior, he had spent his entire life having to TAKE opportunities – never had anyone wished to GIVE him one. Once again, he found himself unable to comprehend the position he found himself in – and was unsure what he should do. The thought presented a certain appeal to him, but didn't know if he should give up his position as protector of the group. He thought about what Top Dog Jake told him about finding a place on the ship for him later – yet here was someone offering him a place. He decided that he would not pass up such an opportunity. "Yes, I would," he said to Lisa, nodding his head towards her as he did.

Lisa smiled at him. "Wonderful," she said to him, "I'll take you there in a few moments – because here we are!" She pointed to a small group of children – perhaps five or six years old – gathered in a circle around a man with grey hair and features that struck Lani as very similar to those of her father. He seemed intent on telling the children a story, because he looked at all of them while pointing his fingers at each one. The trio stopped a short distance outside of the circle, waiting to be seen.

A black-haired boy spotted them first, pointing at them. "Lisa-chan! Lisa-chan!" he called out.

The man struck his seat with the cane he carried, causing everyone to jump. "DANI!" he shouted, pointing at the boy with his cane, "Pay attention!"

The boy jumped to his feet and bowed at the man. "Gomen-nasai, Hideo-sensei," he said timidly, and promptly sat down again.

The man then looked up at the three, and thought for a moment. "Class is dismissed," he told the group. "Be here promptly at 9 tomorrow, and we'll continue." The children stood up and bowed to him. He nodded his head, and the children scattered in all directions.

Pulling Lani with her, Lisa stepped forward. As the man stood up, she also bowed to him. "Hideo-sama," she began, "please allow me to introduce Lani Miyori – daughter of Shingo."

Hideo looked at Lani for a moment, then stuck his hand out at her. She grasped it, and he shook energetically. "So you're the daughter of Shingo and Maki," he announced gleefully, "It's such a pleasure to meet you." He looked her over. "You have your mother's eyes," he noted quietly, "She has such lovely eyes."

Lani lowered her eyes with a blush. "Thank you," she said, "but how did you know that Maki is my mother? We never told you that."

Hideo brushed his chin. "I guess it's going to be story-time, then." He motioned to one of the benches where the children had been seated earlier. "Sit down, my dears, and I'll tell you everything."

"If you don't mind, Hideo-sama," Lisa interrupted, "I promised to take this gentleman to get a closer look at the fields. Please excuse us."

"Of course, of course," Hideo said with a wave, "Lani-chan might be more comfortable listening to this in private, anyway." Lisa touched Whistlestick's elbow, turning him towards the nearby path. As they started walking, Lisa turned her head to look back over her shoulder at Lani. "Have fun!" she called before turning back to look at Whistlestick again as the pair strolled away.

Hideo settled back into his chair, and motioned for Lani to sit next to him. "I take it that Shingo never told you that he had an older brother...?" he began.

"He mentioned a brother once or twice, when I was little," Lani replied, "but he never mentioned a name... just that he died before I was born. Father said that he couldn't cope with the changing weather conditions."

Hideo smiled softly at her statement. "He would say that, I suppose – Shingo was always one to make up stories in order to save face." Pausing, he pressed a finger to his lips in thought. "In a way, though, part of what he told you was true – his brother couldn't cope with life on Earth... but he didn't die. Oh, no, far from it."

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Let me tell you as story – a tale of two brothers. The younger brother was very traditional, proper, and business-oriented. The older brother, on the other hand, was a fantastic dreamer – so naturally they often clashed. The older brother loved his family a great deal – but as a scientist, he couldn't stand by and watch as conditions on Earth worsened. Often, he would try to persuade his younger brother to make different decisions... but the younger brother was chiefly concerned about his quarterly profit statement, and regarded all other considerations as irrelevant. As the environment on Earth became less and less favourable, the arguments grew more and more heated. Despite the valiant efforts of the younger brother's then-fiancee, the later arguments resulted in the two brothers very nearly coming to blows with each other. After their final fight, the older brother heard a rumour about a very risky project that was taking place in the asteroid belt, slightly beyond the orbit of Mars. He chased down the rumours, and discovered something that offered the human race a chance for salvation. It was a long shot, for sure, but he had become so disillusioned with life on Earth that he leapt at the chance to join."

" He withdrew his entire life's savings, and also cashed out his shares of his inheritance as well as his stake in the family business. This caused his brother to become even angrier, as he had to make some severe cutbacks in order to prevent his own bankruptcy."

"Father told me about that," Lani muttered, "he told us that it was due to an unexpected downturn in the stock market, and that it took him almost a decade to recover. But how do you know about that?"

"Patience, child," Hideo replied, "it will all become clear shortly. Now – where was I? Oh, yes..."

"With the small fortune he had, the group found that it had enough funds to complete the project. When the time came to depart, only the younger brother's fiancee said goodbye. She tearfully informed him that his brother wanted nothing more to do with him, considered him dead. She, however, wanted to give the older brother something to remember his family ties with..." He reached under his tunic, and pulled out an amulet that bore the symbol of a winged dragon.

"I've seen that before!" Lani gasped. "Mother has one exactly like it! That means that she... you... we...?" Her mind racing, she couldn't put anything into words.

Hideo smiled warmly at her, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Welcome to Biosphere 3, Lani-mei," he said to her, "It's good to see a member of the family again, after all this time."