"Hello, father," they said breathlessly as they tore into the house behind him.
"Hello, kids. What's new?" Jonathan asked automatically as he always did.
Lanya screwed up her courage. Here was one last opportunity to have someone stop their running away.
"We're all set to take off for Earth tomorrow."
"Oh? That's fine. Wasn't that a rocket launching rig I saw out in the hollow?"
"Yes. That's where we take off at 0900 tomorrow. We'll probably be gone for months and months. Maybe years!"
Jonathan switched on the telescreen. "Is that so? Well, well. Ummm! These blasted commercials!" He snapped the screen off angrily, then turned it back on to the government-sponsored channels.
Lanya looked at her brother and shrugged hopelessly. It was out of their hands now. They had made every reasonable effort to halt the thing—now it would just go ahead on its own momentum.
At 0830 Lanya trotted beside her brother with determination across the scorching sand to the ship nestled in the launching tower.