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do my assignments, Mom.” Rachel looked up from her plate and saw Vivian’s expression. “Well, almost always.”
    “So, now we’re getting to what the National Border Defense System has to do with Away.” Vivian took a sip of her water. “Even though there were protests about the System, it was built anyway, right? So tell me what building the System has to do with Away.”
    Rachel pointed to her mouth; she had just taken a bite of corn bread.
    “I get it now,” she said, once she could speak again. “The Korusal threat, the whole rush construction job on the Line.”
    “Exactly!” Vivian nodded. “Come on. You don’t get off that easily; I want the history lesson here.”
    “Korusal was about to attack the U.S.,” said Rachel. “They were huge back then, but we had more advanced technology and they wanted it. So they were going to launch an attack, but somehow word got out. The U.S. only had a small section of the System left to finish, but it involved some complicated shoreline work. They didn’t think they had time to do it before Korusal attacked. So the U.S. was worried because, with the number of ground troops they had, Korusal could have really done some damage if they got in where the border was unprotected. The U.S. and Unifolle had an emergency meeting—”
    “Why Unifolle?”
    “The U.S. figured they could close their border system in time to stop the attack if they just built in a straight line to Unifolle’s system, where it shared their border. And that’s what they did. Without any real notice to people. So lots of people got stuck outside when they activated the System. And when Korusal attacked, the unprotected area—what is now Away—got blasted. To make it worse, Korusal used prohibited weapons, or at least that’s the claim. I don’t think they ever proved that, did they?”
    Vivian shook her head. “No, they didn’t ever prove it, officially. And nobody has had any real information about Away for decades. But they got really strange readings from that area for years after the blast.” She wiped the table off and tossed the cloth in the sink. “And all of your exaggerated net book stories are based on those strange readings and some unsubstantiated rumors about the Others.”
    “They can’t all be completely wrong.” Rachel turned her head so that Vivian wouldn’t see her grin. “After all, even the streamer news shows have stories about the Others—weird stuff they might be responsible for and possible sightings.”
    “But that’s my point, Rachel,” Vivian began, sputtering with frustration. “The official story—”
    “Isn’t always the true story.” Rachel laughed. “I know, I know. I’m just teasing you.”
    “You . . . brat .” Vivian charged at Rachel, who ran, giggling. Vivian chased her around the couch until they were both breathless.
    “Truce!” Rachel held up her hands.
    “Okay, truce.” Vivian collapsed on the couch, breathing hard.
    Rachel flopped down next to her.
    “Mom, what do you really think happened to them? The people who got stuck Away, I mean. The Others.”
    Vivian shrugged. “What makes you think anything happened to them? Besides being shamelessly abandoned by their own country and left to fend for themselves in a war zone? Oh, and then banished forever because of some lie about national security breaches and unknown contamination factors. Let’s not forget that.” Vivian snorted.
    “Is that really the only reason they won’t let them back in? Do you really think all the stories are just . . . stories?”
    “Who really knows, Rachel.” Vivian ruffled Rachel’s hair. She sounded tired. “Well, I think I’m off to bed. You coming soon?”
    “Pretty soon. I have to go over some notes from Ms. Moore for tomorrow. She’s going to let me try pollination.” Ms. Moore had demonstrated the technique twice now and explained how it could create a whole new kind of orchid depending on what two species were crossed. The idea