His tone was almost pleading. Saxon nodded inarticulately, followed them towards the farmhouse. His hands were shaking.
The interior of the house was—dimensionless.
For a moment Saxon thought he was still outside. A silver brook tinkled through the mossy carpet that was the floor. The south wall was a golden vista of ripe wheat rippling in the warm breeze that ruffled his hair. Birds twittered in the sun-flecked foliage overhead.
"Nice house," Saxon said numbly.
Lang's smile was different. "A bit pretentious, I'm afraid. Grandfather built it right after the landing. We've been too lazy to do much remodeling. A remarkable man, Grandfather."
That explained it, Saxon thought in relief. One titan in an infant colony, warping it into a Utopian mold, passing on the heritage of his genius. How long, he wondered coldly, before they built starships and returned to demolish the Earth which had exiled them?
"It must be wonderful to be a rover," Veena said wistfully. "Lang, can I go with him when he leaves?"
"You haven't completed Basic Ecology. Mentor's waiting for your afternoon session."
Veena pouted and went outside to her robot. Lang grinned. "The precocious brat's beginning to ask him questions he can't answer. Soon I'll have to install a few more circuits."
Saxon shivered. Regardless of scientific attainment, any culture is vulnerable to inhibition.