Saturn

He smiled dazzlingly. And thought, This ought to make Morgenthau happy: the trappings of authority, a whole department to lord it over. It should keep her busy enough to stay out of my way.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

BULLETIN

TO: All Residents.

FROM: M. Eberly, Director Human Resources Department.

SUBJECT: Naming Contests.

You, the people of this habitat, will decide the names to be given to the five villages, the various work complexes, and the natural areas (farms, orchards, woodlands, lakes, etc.) by participating in contests to select such names.

Residents of each village will select the name for the village in which they reside. Workers in each factory, processing plant, farm, aquaculture complex, etc., will select the names for such centers. If desired, individual buildings may be given specific names.

Each contest will consist of three phases. In the first phase, all citizens will decide on the categories from which names will be eventually chosen. For example, residents will decide whether they wish to name the villages after national heroes, or cities on Earth, or great artists or scientists, etc.

In the second phase, specific names from each chosen category will be nominated and discussed. The list of names for each specific site will be shortened to five, using a secret ballot.

In the third and final phase, permanent names will be chosen from the short lists of five nominees, again by secret ballot.

The Human Resources Department will manage the various contests. The Human Resources Department may appoint one or more panels of citizens to serve as judges, researchers, or in other capacities, as needed.

A public meeting will be convened at 22:00 hours Thursday in the cafeteria to discuss this activity. All residents are urged to attend.

MEMORANDUM

TO: All Habitat Perso

FROM: R. Morgenthau, Acting Director, Human Resources.

SUBJECT: Medical Prophylaxis.

As a proactive measure to prevent the outbreak of airborne infectious diseases, every individual’s living quarters will be treated with a disinfectant antibiotic spray over the course of the next four weeks.

Each individual will be notified when her or his building is to be treated. Such treatment will be done during normal working hours; it is neither necessary nor desirable for individuals to remain in their quarters during the spraying procedure.

R. Morgenthau.

Acting Director.

Human Resources.

THE FIRST RALLY

Although there were two full-service restaurants in the village, virtually everyone ate in the big, noisy cafeteria almost every day. The restaurants were small, intimate, run by harried entrepreneurs who obtained their foods directly from the people who ran the farms and the fish tanks. Just as the nutritionists of Selene had learned, aquaculture produced more protein per unit of input energy than barnyard meat animals could. Before leaving the Earth/Moon region, several farmers had suggested bringing rabbits or chickens aboard for their meat. Wilmot had sternly rejected the idea, citing horror stories from Australia of runaway rabbit overpopulation and the diseases that cooped-up birds caused.

So the habitat’s residents got their protein from fish, frogs, soy derivatives, and the processed products of the food factory, popularly known as “McGlop.” When they did not make their own meals in their quarters, they usually ate in the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was the biggest enclosed space in the habitat, and between meals it often served as a makeshift theater or auditorium. It was after the habitat had cleared the Asteroid Belt and started on the leg of its flight that would take it to Jupiter, that Eberly called a public meeting there.

The meeting was set for 22:00 hours, and there were still a few people finishing their di

Eberly stood frowning impatiently at the far end of the room, next to the little stage on which he pla

Ruth Morgenthau sca

“Not many others, though,” said Sammi Vyborg.

Colonel Kananga smiled thinly. “This is all being vidded. I’ll have the names and dossiers of everyone here.”

“It’s the names of those who are not here that I want,” Eberly growled.

“A simple matter of subtraction,” said Kananga. And he smiled as if amused by some inside joke.

Once the last of the diners had gotten up and their tables were shoved out of the way, Morgenthau climbed heavily the three steps of the speaker’s platform and spread her arms for silence. The muted buzz of the crowd’s many separate conversations slowly stopped and everyone turned toward her expectantly.

Holly had been positioned by the main door, which opened out into the village’s central green. Her duty, Eberly had told her, was to encourage anyone outside to come in, and to discourage anyone inside from leaving. He had given her two rather large, muscular young men from the security department to help her in the latter task. She felt disappointed that so few people had turned out for Eberly’s speech. There was no other public entertainment on the agenda for this evening; she had made certain of that before scheduling his appearance. With ten thousand people in the habitat, she had expected more than a couple of hundred to show up.

At least Dr. Cardenas had come in, giving Holly a cheerful hello as she strode through the open door. But where’s everybody else? Holly wondered.

Still, Morgenthau smiled jovially at the audience as if everyone this side of Calcutta had crowded the cafeteria floor. She thanked the people for coming and promised them an evening “of the greatest importance since we started this long journey into a bright and glorious future.”

Holly watched the faces of the onlookers. They appeared more curious than anything else; hardly fired with enthusiasm for a glorious future.

Then Eberly climbed up onto the stage and stepped to the podium. He nodded curtly to Morgenthau who, still smiling, stepped to the back of the stage.

Why doesn’t she get off the stage? Holly wondered. She’s distracting people’s attention from Malcolm.

For several long moments Eberly simply stood at the podium, gripping its sides, staring out at the audience in cold silence. The crowd begin to stir uneasily. Holly heard muttering.

At last Eberly began to speak. “Each of you has received an a

“I didn’t get an a

Eberly smiled at the heckler, though. “The a

The man looked startled by the two security officers now standing on each side of him in their black coveralls.

Eberly resumed, “This is your habitat. It is your right to choose the names you want for its natural and man-made features. Besides, these contests will be fun! You will enjoy them, I promise you.”