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approval from Solar Council to launch seeder probes to other star systems,” Roth said.  “I'd love to stand on Tian as soon as I can, but to spread life among all the stars of the galaxy – that's a dream that I can't abandon.”
    Matt subvocaled,  “Meaning, you're going to wait until all the hard work is done and the planet is terraformed.”
    Athena smiled at Matt.  Matt glared back.  At least, Ivan surmised that their facial muscle configurations corresponded to a smile versus a glare.  But the exchange made little sense to him whether or not that was true.
    “So have you two been to Neural Archiving yet?” Roth asked.
    “That's where we're heading now,” John Jackson replied.
    “I won't keep you then.”  He extended his hand and shook with both of them.  As they started off, however, he called, “Matt.  I assume your mother has been in contact with you.”
    Matt suppressed a scowl.  It was one of the largest scowls Ivan had ever observed, hidden or otherwise.
    “She sent me a message.  Just general stuff.”
    “That's all?”
    “I haven't reviewed all of it.  Anyway, it's kind of personal, you know.”
    For just a brief moment, Roth's micro-expression appeared genuine, manifesting confusion.  That was replaced almost instantly by an expression of studied concern. 
    “Oh,” Roth said.  “Well, then, bon voyage to you both.”
    John Jackson waved and they headed toward the elevator.  Inside the compartment, Matt's father said, “He's the Project boss, you know.  You might try being nicer to him.”
    “Does it matter?” Matt asked.  “I'm not going to see him for another fifty years, at least.”
    “Forty-plus of those years will be in suspended animation, so they don't count.  At any rate, if there's anything I've learned in being over a hundred years old, it's that eternity passes quickly.”
    Matt subvocaled so that only Ivan could hear,  “Please don't go into another lecture about how people used to die of old age.”
    “Why, I remember when – oh, we're here.”
    They stepped into a long corridor with evenly-spaced doors.  With a nod from his father, Matt went on to the Medical Section.  A hologram directed Matt into a  room and Matt sat on the exam table, swinging his legs like he did the first time here when he was thirteen and couldn't wait to go to the stars.  Finally the human doctor and a multi-armed robot assistant arrived.  
    The doctor punched a virtual tablet that floated in their shared augmented-vision environment.
    "'Mattimeo Jackson,'" he read.   "I know your father.  I was wondering when he was going to leave Management and finally go off to Alpha Colony."
    Ivan had to consult the Earth Internet.  'Alpha Colony' was an old name for Tian. 
    “I'm going today,” Matt said.  “He's going next month, but he'll be traveling slightly faster so he'll get there sooner and be waiting for me.”
    “I see.  So that you won't be out of his sight.”
    The robot had Matt stand and passed a scanner array up and down, front and back.  Matt winced with each hiss of the nanosensor injector gun, though Ivan was blocking any physical pain sensation.   
    "And he was married once to Sheila Nakamura.  Your mother?"
    "Yes."
    "What is she doing these days?"
    "She's Director of Oort Tracking, Sector Five."
    "A very capable and dedicated person.  I was surprised when she left the Project.  Did she ever say why?"
    There was something in the doctor's tone that made Matt stir.  After a pause, he answered, "No."
    "We worked together on the Colonial Pre-Planning Committee.  Well, that was before the launch system was big enough to send humans at optimal velocity, so really it was your mother's template at the time.”
    “Yes,” Matt said.  Ivan registered a considerable amount of emotion being suppressed by his host. 
    “To tell you the truth, looking back, the times I spent on the Project with both, it's hard for me to see much difference between the template