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how she offered up her story would matter every bit as much to these people as what she said. Hopefully if she repeated it often enough it would become second nature to her, and the new family name that he had given her would become so familiar that she would answer to it without hesitation.
    Heart pounding, palms sweating, she settled herself at last into the landing harness and buckled the heavy straps about her body. Symbols were blurring across the holo screen on the cabin wall, but the docking program was fully automatic, so she didn’t bother to read them. If something was wrong, the pod would let her know. Her wellseeker sensed her agitation and once more offered to correct it; after a minute she let it do so, and felt the fevered pounding in her chest slowly calm to a more normal rhythm. It was a superficial correction—the fear inside her was not to be banished so easily—but it was comforting nonetheless.
    Would they accept her story, this metroliner crew, and let her join the wealthy passengers who were sealed within the great ship? Were the funds acknowledged on her chip enough to pay for her passage? And if so ... what then?
    She couldn’t even imagine what kind of future awaited her in this place. As for what lay beyond ... that was too alien to contemplate. One day at a time, she told herself. Her hand closed tightly about the amulet with its dreamscape icon. One day at a time ...

    DATAFILE SUMMARY: JAMISIA CAPRA
ID# 093-61 -7779-8080-921 F/TERRA
BIOLOGICAL PARENTS: SEUSE CAPRA, JON STEVAR
SOCIAL PARENTS: SAME AS ABOVE
DATE OF BIRTH: 1. 11.37
PLACE Of BIRTH: SOL CITY, U.S.N.A.
GENETIC CLASSIFICATION: 18N23/1.004T/XA305/2/3.9/
40A80759-2
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    ACTIVE INFECTIOUS CONDITIONS: NONE
LATENT INFECTIOUS CONDITIONS: NONE
EXTERNAL MEDICATION: NONE
INTERNAL MEDICATION (LATENT): PDS12, PANASOL, ENDOSTIM,
CONTRA-5
GENETIC ALTERATION (INDICATE PURPOSE):
    L190 SEQUENCE CORRECTED (INSULIN REGULATOR) AN28 AND 31 CORRECTED (NEURAL DECAY PREDISPOSITION)
    PSYCHOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION: NORMAL
BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR BIOTECH CONDITIONS WHICH WOULD LIMIT OR DELAY ADAPTATION TO A LOG OR NO-G ENVIRONMENT: NONE
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    NOTES:
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    SELISE CAPRA AND JON STEVAR KILLED IN TRANSPORT ACCIDENT 3.12.53. DAUGHTER JAMISIA CAPRA WITHOUT LIVING RELATIVES ON EARTH. REQUEST TRANSPORT TO AINNIQ SO THAT SHE CAN JOIN REMAINING FAMILY ON HARMONY STATION.
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    APOLOGY FOR LACK OF CUSTOMARY PREPARATION. METROLINER IN TRANSIT AT TIME OF ACCIDENT. TRAUMA COUNSELORS CAUTION STRONGLY AGAINST WAITING FOR NEXT PASS, 6 YEARS FUTURE. WE BEG YOUR ACCOMMODATION.
    ARNEL KOHEIN, EXECUTOR
KOHEIN & SANGH, INC.
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    DEBIT CODES FOLLOW

    T here were tests, of course. There had to be.
    ... Over one hundred communicative diseases which must be weeded out at this point, so sorry miss, but you wouldn’t want to spend three years traveling to the ainniq only to have the Guild refuse you transport, would you?
    There were questions.
    ... Do your relatives know you’re coming? Will they take responsibility for you? Do you have enough funds/programs/ implants to support yourself while you search for them?
    There were memories.
    ... Must be in here somewhere, keep digging ... sixteen days now ... no, the others are dead, whole weight of the building on ’em, crushed so bad we can’t even I.D. the remains until the DNA comps come in ... not anyone left alive here, I’m sure of that ... sixteen days! ... back up the shovels, boys, we’re calling it a day....
    There were, as always, voices.
    Fucking assholes! one raged.
    ... necessary ... another cautioned.
    ... They have no right! the first insisted.
    And a wail from the hidden depths inside her, half sound and half pure agony: What now, what now WHAT NOW... ?
    â€œShut up,” she whispered, as she tried to say the right things, do the right things, be the person that her tutor’s chip had described so she could earn her way into the up-and-out. There was no time to think