human
Welcome, newcomers. I suppose you're from that ship that just put down? The _Valhalla_?
gpt
Right. Name's Alan Donnell, and this is Roger Bond. Yours?
human
I'm Kevin Quantrell. He was short and stocky, heavily tanned, with a square jaw and a confident look about him.
gpt
I'm out of the starship _Encounter_, just back from the Aldebaran system. Been in the Enclave two weeks now--with a lot more ahead of me.
human
Aldebaran! That's--let's see, 109 years round trip. You must be a real old-timer, Quantrell!
gpt
I was born in 3403. Makes me 473 years old, Earthtime. But I'm actually only seventeen and a half. Right before Aldebaran we made a hop to Capella, and that used up 85 years more in a hurry.
human
You've got me by 170 years, Alan said.
gpt
But I'm only seventeen myself.
human
It's a good thing some guy thought up this Tally system of chalking up every real day you live through. Otherwise we'd be up to here in confusion all the time.
gpt
What do you think of our little paradise? Quantrell asked sarcastically.
human
Certainly puts the Earther cities to shame.
gpt
Have you ever been out there?
human
No, Quantrell said in a tight voice.
gpt
But if this keeps up much longer----
human
What's the trouble?
gpt
It's my ship--the _Encounter_. We were outspace over a century, you know, and when we got back the inspection teams found so many things wrong with the ship that she needs just about a complete overhauling. They've been working her over for the last two weeks, and the way it looks it'll be another couple of weeks before she's ready to go. And I don't know how much longer I can stand being penned up in this Enclave.
human
That's exactly how your brother---- Roger started to say, and stopped.
gpt
Sorry.
human
That's okay,
gpt
What's that?
human
My brother. I had a twin, but he got restless and jumped ship last time we were down. He got left behind at blastoff time.
gpt
Too bad. But I know what he was up against--and I envy the lucky so-and-so. I wish _I_ had the guts to just walk out like that. Every day that goes by in this place, I say I'm going over the hill next day. But I never do, somehow. I just sit here and wait.