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all she had. Clothing was not simply made available to anyone in her position. They were dressed as needed, for the patrons. If she hadn’t been given the outfit to wear for one of her visitors, she would’ve had to have escaped in her bed sheet.
    She saw, once she had them on that the clothes did nothing to chase off the chill, not really surprising since the top covered nothing but her breasts and very little of her back, and the skirt had been designed to ride low on her hips. It was long, reaching to her ankles, but slit up both sides to the tops of her thighs.
    She smoothed the wrinkles from the clothes the best she could and followed the woman, whom she’d discovered was a mechanic named Luci, down to the lower docking bay.
    She found a seat on a crate out of the way of the crew members prepping the lander. After a time, Luci summoned Jana with a wave of her hand. Curious, Jana climbed down and crossed the vast, echoing chamber.
    “I thought you might want to get a look at Orleans.”
    For the first time since she’d decided to escape, Jana felt a thrill of anticipation. She’d made it! She really had escaped! She smiled happily. “Oh, yes! I’d like that very much!”
    Luci reached the bulkhead first, slamming her hand against a button on the wall. A panel slid open and Jana felt as if her stomach had suddenly become weightless as she stared out at a glowing blue and green ball surrounded by infinite blackness. She gasped. “Why … it’s beautiful!”
    Luci laughed. “They’re all beautiful from this far away. Looks a lot like Earth, though, doesn’t it?”
    Jana had no way of knowing. She hadn’t seen Earth from space, but she nodded happily.
    “It’s a hell of a lot different though, from what I hear.”
    Jana felt her stomach contract. “It is? How?”
    Luci shrugged. “Primitive.”
    That sounded a little threatening. To Jana’s surprise, the definition came to her and she realized the data sessions while she’d slept must have actually helped. She knew things she’d never been taught before. The temporary enjoyment vanished, however, as she realized Luci was talking about her new home. “But … it’s a Confederation colony, isn’t it? I mean, I suppose it’s hard to get everything out here like on Earth, but still….”
    Luci shrugged. “Thing is, it isn’t allowed.”
    Jana looked at her blankly. “I don’t think I understand.”
    “You know, the Confederation law they passed after what happened at that other colony. They said we’d given the natives too much technology too fast. They didn’t really understand it--blew the whole planet to hell, from what I heard.”
    Jana gasped, horrified. “Blew up the planet? But … but wouldn’t that cause all sorts of gravitational disasters?”
    Luci laughed. “I didn’t mean literally. The planet’s still there, just uninhabitable now--kinda glows if you know what I mean.”
    Jana didn’t, but despite the horrible story, she was far more interested in her current situation. “So—you’re saying it wasn’t allowed here.”
    “Nope. Law says, if the planet’s population is above 25% and/or advanced past metal age technology, no tampering.”
    “So—what is it like on Orleans?”
    Luci shrugged, slammed her hand against the button again, and the shield closed. “Don’t know. Never been here myself. Guess we’ll find out.”
    The lander cloaked as they entered the atmosphere. Since it was necessary to cloak, the shields were, of necessity closed. Jana didn’t get her first close view of Orleans until the ship landed and the ramp was lowered.
    More than half afraid of what she would find, Jana moved to the gangplank and peered out at the new world.
    ***
    They had landed in a field surrounded tightly by trees. Jana stared, confused, disbelieving. She knew, of course, what plants were. She’d spent her life within a city, most of it within a building, but she did know these were some species of trees and plants. What mystified