‘Marlene. My daughter. Somehow she knows.’

‘Knows what?’

‘About Nemesis and the Solar System.’

‘How could she know? Unless you've told her?’

Insigna spread her arms helplessly. ‘Of course I didn't tell her, but I don't have to. I don't know how it is, but somehow Marlene seems to hear and see everything. And from the little things she hears and sees, she works things out. She's always been able to do it, but in the last year it's grown much worse.’

‘Well then, she guesses, and sometimes she makes lucky guesses. Tell her she's wrong, and see that she doesn't talk about it.’

‘But she's already told a young man, who came to tell me. That's how I know. Aurinel Pampas. He's a friend of the family.’

‘Ah yes. I'm aware of him - somewhat. Simply tell him not to listen to fantasies made up by a little girl.’

‘She's not a little girl. She's fifteen.’

‘To him, she's a little girl, I assure you. I said I'm aware of the young man. I'm under the impression he's pushing adulthood very hard and I remember, when I was his age, that fifteen-year-old girls were beneath contempt, especially if they were-’

Insigna said bitterly, ‘I understand. Especially if they are short, plump, and plain. Does it matter that she's highly intelligent?’

‘To you and to me? Certainly. To Aurinel, certainly not. If necessary, I'll talk to the boy. You talk to Marlene. Tell her the idea is ridiculous, that it isn't true, and that she must not spread disturbing fairy tales.’

‘But what if it is true?’

‘That's beside the point. Look, Eugenia, you and I have concealed this possibility for years, and it would be better if we continued to conceal it. If it gets around, it will be exaggerated, and there will be rising sentiment about the matter - useless sentiment. It will only distract us from the job that has occupied our time ever since we left the Solar System, and which will continue to occupy us for generations, perhaps.’