She let go of the cable and pushed her weightless body across the control room to his chair.
"What's it like on Mars?" she asked breathlessly.
What does she expect me to tell her? Dudley wondered cynically. That the whole population of the colony is only about four thousand? That they still live mostly on hope, dreams, and regular rocket service? That every one of them represents such a fantastic transportation expense that the Commission only sends top-notch people?
"It's pretty tough," he said.
She hesitated over his unhelpful reply, then plunged ahead.
"How about taking me along to see for myself?"
Dudley smiled with one corner of his mouth.
"You're not going anywhere except back to Terra on the next rocket," he predicted flatly. "And I hope your father still has enough hair on his head to own a hair-brush!"
"My father is dead."
"Then your—." He paused as she shook her head. "Well, don't you have any family? Jobs on Luna are ... limited. The settlements just aren't very big. You're better off down home."