with a sort of happy bleat, she ran forward.
âJessyââ her mother began warningly.
âItâs all right,â Gavra interrupted her. âThe toys are there for her to play with. If youâll both just step over here to the desk, there are some forms we have to fill out.â
The adults disappeared into a corner together as Lisa went over to where Jessy was shaking a clear plastic ball full of colorful butterflies, each of which rang like a small bell when it moved. Lisa showed her how she could use her budding teekay ability to move them individually inside their ball and make a tune. From her delighted reaction it was clear Jessy had never thought about teeking through solid objects before, and she instantly went on a grand tour of the testing room trying out her new trick on everything imaginable. It only worked when she could see through the outer object to the one she wanted to move, of course, but there were enough toys like that scattered around to keep her from becoming discouraged. By the time Gavra was ready to begin the tests, Jessy was chattering away nonstop.
The standard series of teekay tests, designed to look as much like play as possible, did nothing to bruise Jessyâs new cheerfulness. Afterward, Gavra led them all on the promised tour of the game and play rooms, the dining room, and a section of the younger girlsâ living quarters. The adults seemed impressed; Jessyâs father, particularly, kept pointing out things the hives of his own youth hadnât had.
Finally, back in the testing room, Gavra invited questions. âWould it be possible for us to stay here for a few days, until Jessy gets accustomed to the place?â Mrs. Larz asked, almost timidly. âI understand that thatâs allowed.â
âWell, yes,â Gavra said, and Lisa prepared herself for a long lecture. One of the few official rules Gavra was absolutely dead set against was âthe lingering, painful good-bye,â as she often called it. âHowever, there are some aspects of that which Iâd like to discuss with you,â she continued. âLisa, would you mind showing Jessy around for a while longer?â
âSure, Gavra.â Fortunately, Lisa had long ago hit on a way to keep children occupied for long periods of time. âJessy, have you ever seen what Barona looks like from the sky?â
Jessyâs eyes lit up. âYou meanâflying? But I canât do that yet.â
âYou donât need to, âcause Iâll be carrying you. Come on; youâre going to love it.â
And love it she did. From her gasp of wonder at takeoff to their first wet pass through a low-lying cloud, the little girl was entranced, alternately looking around in awed silence and excitedly pointing out brand-new discoveries. For her part, Lisa found herself caught up in the childâs fascination, able to see with some of her same delight things that she had stopped noticing years ago. It was like being a child again herself.
They flew around over Barona for a long time, until the rush of Jessyâs excitement began to wane a bit. Then, dropping to just above the cityâs tallest buildings, Lisa unobtrusively began Jessyâs first lessons in aerial navigation. âOkay, now the first thing youâll need to recognize is the hiveâitâs that building there, the one with two towers and the fenced-in area behind it. Over there is the city buildingâthatâs where the mayor works and where the police are; that star near the top always means police. Right below us is the shopping area where youâll get to go sometimesânot by yourself, but with another preteen. See?âif you fly straight toward the city building from the hive youâll come right here.â
âUh-huh.â Jessy squirmed abruptly in Lisaâs arms, a sure sign that she was getting restless. That posed no physical danger, of course; Lisaâs teekay