Podkayne -

"You’re staring again, Poddy," Clark said without looking up. His voice was flat, devoid of the childlike wonder that usually occupied eleven-year-olds. "The trajectory hasn't changed in the last forty minutes. We are still falling toward Venus at exactly the planned acceleration."

Behind her, the gentle clicking of a pocket computer signaled that her younger brother, Clark, was being brilliant, anti-social, or most likely, both. podkayne

Podkayne whipped around, her red hair catching the harsh glare of the dome's artificial lights. "Babies need individual attention, Clark! Just because you were born with a block of ice where your heart should be doesn't mean the rest of the galaxy is like that." "You’re staring again, Poddy," Clark said without looking