Then I spotted a girl Angel and I both knew. “Belle? Belle Richardson!” Pas called me over.

We ran around a crowd, mostly diplomats, who smiled. “Molly! Angel! I didn't know y'all were here!” Group hug, and all of us talked at once! She was 12, like us, and used to live in Marietta. Went to Marietta Middle when Angel and I were there last year. I still look 12, but I’m 2 inches taller!

Angel lost the happy smile. “Oh, I’m so glad I don’t have to go to school any more! Belle, you need a tutor, like I have! Pas got my gasroenterologist’s report and I had ulcers! He cured it. You need him to see you!”

Belle startled. “I'm stressed out, too. I'm behind in my new school. We moved to Cabbagetown last month. Everybody's got a group of friends, and I—“ She looked back at her mom, who was talking to Pas. Whispered, “have a bunch of bullies who threaten to beat me up! I wore the wrong color to school my first day. I don't know what the right color is! Mom had to get a second job to get school uniforms. She’s tried to get ‘em on eBay, but they didn’t have the right kind. Just my hair ribbon set everyone off. It had white, green and orange like the Irish flag.” She has deep red, straight, hair like a curtain. Not orange like mine! Her mom’s is that color but waves.

Pas hugged Angel. “Could she ne have a tutor? All of you?” He shared memories of the Earthan Colony on Ye~ in that other future. Most people who brought kids to it decided to let them have a tutor instead of remote classes from Earth. All of them wanted tutors. They could study things their friends liked together, eat lunch together, it’s not like our over-scheduled, hurry-up lives here!

“A Zheien tutor lets a young one choose what interests them, and teaches, or brings one to teach who knows the subject. Learning must be enjoyable. One can observe someone who works, to see if he or she would enjoy that work. You would call it hands-on learning.”

Belle looked relieved. “Could I start tomorrow?”

“Ea.”

Tan Links ported to us. “Pirad could create clones of you. Surely one might choose to go to your school. He could give this clone skills similar to yours, but make things easier. Pirad can create one in two hours. You would need to share memories to a cylinder, which is painful, but pain ends after sharing. They learned with Gierdre, who also had no husband to help her, that singles can share, but they have a bad headache afterwards.”

Belle jumped for joy! “I want to do that. I can stand a headache to get a twin! School just stresses me out, especially since—” She leaned close to me. “Mom and Dad got a divorce, and Dad's been trying to break into our house! We had to rent a room in Cabbagetown and he's selling our house.

“My new dad, Luc'vel, he's from Oesmen. Mom's going to pull me out of school tomorrow.” Maura looked shocked when she said ‘new dad’. Belle knows things they don’t! They’ve been here an hour.

Tan frowned. “You cannot leave the ship! Slavers watch you. Luc’vel’s enemies followed him from Oesmen!”

Luc’vel? I looked at the athletic fella with Maura-- Poor thing’s really upset. They went on a camping trip as a dry run for living in their van! They’re all thinking about how Belle got lost in the woods. Part of a tree almost fell on my friend! If Adia hadn’t sent Ao~ there, that limb would have hurt Luc’vel. I tried to heal him after the Yeff went to slavers. He, Maura, and Belle were with ‘em.

Belle looked up. Startled.

A couple gasped. George, but younger. Deci, but a very normal looking body, because she hasn’t had that car accident yet. He shuddered and hugged her.

“It’s all right, George! It won’t happen now.” I touched his arm, but I think I just confused him. Deci died and Belle married him, to save his life! They were in slavery with the Yeff. I trembled. Those memories were awful, and I saw 'em all!

He nodded but a healer ran to him. Geo, his cousin from that memory. “You need rest, now! Deci, come.” When Geo picked him up, yellow sparkles made a cloud. Ishah shouldn’t sweat, like Zheien shouldn’t sweat. They die! His tri-fingered hands shook like lasagna.

“Is he all right?” Her green eyes followed them into a room.

I listened to Geo's healing. “He's all right. Don't worry.” George already got Pirad’s healing for his damaged heart, which is gradual. They’re talking about Leiea Prov on Elshar Zheiea, where a lot of his Ishah relatives and friends are moving. Deci’s sister is in love with Ea’Sar already and he’s teaching her trading. They want to live there. He’s George’s bestie.

Belle married him when Deci died, but he was so injured, she just took care of him. She loved him, but he wasn’t able to return it. Pas married them because he thought she was Deci and linked with her mind. Deci woke up long enough to tell him to do it, but he was so overcome with grief and all the probing, he just sat and stared. Belle took care of him and raised their daughter Cara, at 17.

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I hugged her. Nobody’ll live on Alb Seer because the subcolonies I had in those memories will be on the worlds orbiting Alb.

Belle feels really awkward—she was 17.

Luc asked her how to help her mom, telepathically. His worry for her made her feel loved.

Tan explained Alb to Maura and she didn’t want to stay on Earth! I heard his loud thoughts that they don’t want anyone to go back home once they come to the ship! Some people came because they got a terminal from a friend. They’re worried about people who decided they wanted to do stuff on Earth before leaving! “Ry’nao wants all of you to get on a ship to Alb tonight.”

There was a huge crowd, and diplomats from all the worlds waved up holos of that world and gathered interested people to answer questions. There were maybe a hundred around MarKu, and about that many around Ye~! Not nearly as many gathered for other worlds.

Angel sighed. “I always wanted a big family, but Mom almost died carrying me. We've been talking about adopting. But now we can have clones.” She wiped a tear. “That’s nothing compared to what poor Molly’s been dealing with!”

Belle looked confused. “You have problems at home, too, Molly?!” I told her about my troubles with Mom in Rainbow, to help her cope with an argument she had with her mom. Her mom’s a good mom, but they’re coping with Belle’s dad’s abuse. They went through a lot of stuff on Oesmen when they went back!

I showed her. She thought about how her dad used to beat them up! Suggested they talk to Suma. “Didja see Pas?”

“Yes. Oh, I think Pas wanted you.”

Pas looked worried. “Molly, can you explain ‘rent’?”

I laughed. “Oh, they don’t charge any rent! No deposits. You can move in now, and by the way, you get meals, crafts, you can have pets, clothes, and school! I’m learning to be a healer.”

Goe explained all this when he talked about MarKu. Convinced me to go there to live and Ben loves the idea! All the Zheien colonies do this! Belle already had a green cube. Luc’s got a job on Ye~ with the Science Council now!

Tan created rooms for them. Maura didn’t want Belle to go to hers.

I looked beside her. Maura, with light green eyes who's from Ireland but she's a US citizen. Luc'vel, he's from Oesmen but looks like us. Short red hair like a mane around his face. He looked a lot like them. Nice coincidence! They have green eyes but his are sky blue. So relieved to see him walking around! When I knew him--

He put his arms around her.

Belle’s mom sobbed. “I feel close to you, and I shouldn’t. I don’t know why—”

Adia moved closer. “I think I know. Would you like to see?” She held out a twin-fingered hand.

Maura took it. Did I look like that, when I heard Adia's memories? Staring into another universe, with a blank look? But it wasn't a stupid look. I relaxed.

Angel stared at them. “What’s going on?”

“Telepathy. They’ll get it, too.”

“Really?”

Ben waved up a padded bench and sat on it with us. “Fa and Mea go with us to MarKu. We were thinking of joining Alb Mah, but MarKu is better! All of us are eager to see our history, for we came from MarKu, in our fathers. But all worlds of Alb are only a 4 minute port.”

I laughed, and Ben got his puzzled look. “Well, isn’t Mah ‘bad’?”

He roared. “Mah has many meanings! One is, ‘to leave difficulty’, so Alb Mah is a solution to our overcrowding. It nae means that he is a bad world!”

“Oh, I’m sorry! The King Of Alb Mah would probably get his feelings hurt.” I felt my face go red.

Ben laughed. “He is Penahaman, and hear you his amusement? Molly, I think you nae ever offended anyone!”

“A few slavers, but that was on purpose. They’re rude anyway!” I waved a hand down.

I heard M’Naga laugh. He’s Ryonne~’s master trader, and he’s dealt with quite a few slavers today, helping them route slaves to the Alb System.

Luc’vel encouraged Belle and Maura to go find out about Alb worlds. Ryee had a group explaining things. They went.

Pas spent a long time on Luc’vel’s points. Sighed. “My son, you had many injuries, poorly healed! I am happy you will have easier work!”

He startled. “Pas, I am healthy. I could not climb trees and fight off vicious animals, if I was not!”

“Your eyes lost their color changes. This tells me you had many severe unwells. Oesmen’s healers use slaver herbs to increase strength at harm of intelligence. Your ship’s doctor gave you much false healing.”

He paled. “I never thought of us as Elshar, because none but the ruling class has color changes! Scientists are nearly treated as servants. When Ryonne~ offered me housing and food, I am still shocked!”

“You should all eat, then I will bring Pirad to heal you.” Pas waved up his food menu.

His sky blue eyes filled. “I think the House Of Oesmen Council does not eat as this!”

“What did you eat here?”

“I tasted an apple this morning. We have nothing like it on Oesmen! I saved half for tomorrow.”

“My son, surely you ate more than this?” Pas got upset.