Aurinel shook his head. ‘All right, but don't tell her I said anything. This one is really crazy. She said that Earth was going to be destroyed.’

He waited for Insigna to laugh.

She did not. Instead, she exploded. ‘What? What made her say that?’

‘I don't know, Dr Insigna. She's a very bright kid, you know, but she gets these funny ideas. Or she may have been putting me on.’

Insigna cut in. ‘She may have been doing exactly that. She has a strange sense of humor. So listen, I don't want you to repeat this to anyone else. I don't want silly stories to get started. Do you understand?’

‘Certainly, ma'am.’

‘I'm serious. Not a word.’

Aurinel nodded briskly.

‘But thanks for telling me, Aurinel. It was important to do so. I'll speak to Marlene and find out what's bothering her - and I won't let her know you told me.’

‘Thank you,’ said Aurinel. ‘But just one thing, ma'am.’

‘What's that?’

‘Is Earth going to be destroyed?’

Insigna stared at him, then forced a laugh. ‘Of course not! You may go now.’

Insigna looked after him and wished earnestly that she could have managed a more convincing denial.

Janus Pitt made an impressive appearance, which had helped him in his rise to power as Commissioner of Rotor. In the early days of the formation of the Settlements, there had been a push for people of no more than average height. There had been thoughts of having a smaller per capita requirement for room and resources. Eventually, the caution had been deemed unnecessary and had been abandoned, but the bias was still there in the genes of the early Settlements and the average Rotorian remained a centimeter or two shorter than the average citizens of later Settlements.

Pitt was tall, though, with iron gray hair, and a long face, and deep blue eyes, and a body that was still in good shape, despite the fact that he was fifty-six.