human
Big news! said Brent.
gpt
They're building a big new ship of new design--almost half as big as the Platform. With concreted metal they can do it in weeks.
human
What's it for?
gpt
It'll be a human base on the Moon, said Brent relievedly.
human
An expedition will start in six weeks, according to plan. As long as we're the only American base in space, we're going to be shot at. But a base on the Moon will be invulnerable. So they're going ahead with it.
gpt
Any orders for me to join it?
human
We're to be loaded up with supplies for the Moon expedition. We're to be ready to take a robot ship every round. Actually, they can't hope to send us more than two a day for a while, but even that'll be eighty tons of supplies to be stored away.
gpt
They're going to the Moon--and leave us here to do stevedore stuff? His tone was odd. He looked at a letter he'd been reading and gave up pretense. He said self-consciously:
human
Listen, you guys.... My tribe's got all excited. I just got a letter from the council. They've been having an argument about me. Wanna hear?
gpt
Let's have it,
human
You know--us Mohawks are kinda proud. We got something to be proud of. We were one of the Five Nations, when that was a sort of United Nations and all Europe was dog-eat-dog. My tribe had a big pow-wow about me. There's a tribe member that's a professor of anthropology out in Chicago. He was there. And a couple of guys that do electronic research, and doctors and farmers and all sorts of guys. All Mohawks. They got together in tribal council.
gpt
I wouldn't tell you, only you guys are in on it.