"Timothy Zahn - A Coming of Age" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

The adults chuckled, and Lisa sensed a slight lowering of the child's barriers. Gavra apparently saw
it, too, and moved quickly to take advantage of the thaw. "Why don't we all go to the testing room
now?" she suggested. "After that we'll show you some of the facilities Dayspring has to offer."

"Oh, that'll be fun!" Lisa exclaimed to Jessy. "We've got a lot of neat toys and games here to play
with." She stood up and offered her hand to the child. With only a brief hesitation she took it; and
although she also kept a firm grip on her mother's hand during the short walk, Lisa decided to
consider it a victory.

When they reached the testing room, however, all remaining resistance crumbled. For a moment
Jessy stared in amazement at the array of toys set out there; then, with a sort of happy bleat, she ran
forward.

"JessyтАФ" her mother began warningly.

"It's all right," Gavra interrupted her. "The toys are there for her to play with. If you'll both just step
over here to the desk, there are some forms we have to fill out."

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 Jessy's 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 girls' living quarters. The adults seemed
impressed; Jessy's father, particularly, kept pointing out things the hives of his own youth hadn't had.

Finally, back in the testing room, Gavra invited questions. "Would it be possible for us to stay here
for a few days, until Jessy gets accustomed to the place?" Mrs. Larz asked, almost timidly. "I
understand that that's allowed."

"Well, yes," Gavra said, and Lisa prepared herself for a long lecture. One of the few official rules
Gavra was absolutely dead set against was "the lingering, painful good-bye," as she often called it.
"However, there are some aspects of that which I'd like to discuss with you," she continued. "Lisa,
would you mind showing Jessy around for a while longer?"

"Sure, Gavra." Fortunately, Lisa had long ago hit on a way to keep children occupied for long
periods of time. "Jessy, have you ever seen what Barona looks like from the sky?"


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A Coming of Age

Jessy's eyes lit up. "You meanтАФflying? But I can't do that yet."