Alita quickly ascended the last few steps to the "wreck" room 
and knocked on the door. A noise from inside, inarticulate 
through the woodwork, told her that Shumira had heard her 
knock and was coming. A moment later the door opened and 
Shumira, in paint-splattered overalls and a baseball cap, peeked 
out.

"ALIIITA!"

"Hi, Shumira." She leaned forwarded and half-embraced 
Shumira, delicately, hoping that the girl didn't have any wet 
paint on her. "Am I interrupting you? I brought you a little 
something."

"Domo, domo." Shumira eagerly reached for Alita's gift as she 
led the way inside. Ido had had the building they lived in 
extended, and part of that extension (he had stipulated) was 
for a studio for Shumira. What she lacked in basic training she 
more than made up for in enthusiasm. There were at least a 
dozen works of art in various stages of mid-completion. They 
ranged from a blank canvas with Shumira's signature in the 
lower corner to some bent metal pieces arranged on a table 
frame that were only in need of some solder and glue to be 
called "finished". Shumira looked closely at her latest 
acquisition. "'Dan Fogelburg Sings the Greats'--Alita not like? 
No scratchies."

Alita shook her head. "No, it isn't scratched, but it won't work 
either. I think it got erased somehow, I can't find a CD player 
that'll play it. I figured you could work it into a collage or 
something. You know, a 'found object'?"

Shumira laughed loudly, and pulled Alita towards a pile of food 
wrappers and books, evidently where she had been sitting before 
Alita's arrival. They sat down side by side and Shumira grabbed 
the top book in the stack. She thumbed through a few pages, 
then ecstatically threw the book open, shrieking, "LOOK!"

The photo was of a urinal. Shumira pointed to the caption, 
"Fountain". "SOMEONE THINK A PISSER A FOUNTAIN? 
Dummy!"

"Maybe he was playing a joke...you know, there was a 
competition for a fountain design, and he entered the urinal to 
make fun of the judges."

"Alita! How you say that?" Shumira was mildly shocked, and 
drew away from her friend. "Art ART. Pisser pisser. Different. 
Dummy no baka."

Alita sighed, and let the matter drop. At least she's staying true 
to a principle.. She looked over Shumira's shoulder, and the 
two of them admired their image in the surface of the compact 
disc. Shumira tilted the disc in the light, and the iridescent bands 
that crossed it danced, crossing again and again. They seemed to 
be two bonds that held the two young women, framed in the 
circular edge, as tightly as their friendship and community did. 
The two faces were softly aglow in the reflection.

"Koyomi..." Alita said. "I wish Koyomi was here, maybe she 
could fit in too. We need three."

"Hai!!" Shumira jumped to her feet, never seeming to fail for 
energy. "We walk to Kansas, and find Koyomi-chan, and all be 
together, and then Gonzu-san..."

Alita let herself be towed along. She looked once again at her 
reflection...

...something that had been there before...
--
"ONE-TWO-CHEESE!!!!!"

The flash of light was the only real indication that 
the timer had gone off, the air was far too thin for 
the sound to travel. The three Kinder broke their 
pose and half-rolled, half-padded over the 
photo as it developed.

Taylor turned so that his back was to Phobos, and 
hoped that the additional light would develop the 
picture faster. "I don't get it, shouldn't the 
atmosphere screw with it developing?"

"I don't think so," Yoko replied. "It's just silver 
crystals being exposed to light. Oxygen 
concentration and air pressure shouldn't affect it."

"It's coming out...yeah, looks pretty good!" Taylor 
handed the photo to Knight. "You're expression's 
kind of dippy."

"What, 19 years of taking pictures of my beautiful 
face, statistics say it was bound to happen sooner or 
later."

Yoko lurched into him, deliberately trying to throw 
him off balance. "I think it looks just fine."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, my dear." Knight 
smirked as Yoko's punch went wild, and he caught 
her second jab. "Hey, Taylor, you think we should 
take one more?"

"All right...think fast!" He sprang backward, 
cleaving the space between the two and snapped 
the photo before either could react. The photo 
would show his face and two heads of hair on 
either side. "Think I'll send this one home to 
Mom..."

"Give me that excrement camera, Taylor."

"It was your idea."

"Boys, boys, boys, do I have to separate you two?"

"No."

"Yes.--OOF!"

"Now IF you gentlemen can calm yourselves, 
maybe we can have a NICE PLEASANT evening 
together." Yoko smiled at her two best friends. She 
didn't mind that they gave her crap, she was always 
more than welcome to give it in return. She also 
knew that all her friends--not just Taylor and 
Knight, but also Ikagami and Hollifeld and 
everyone--really cared about her. They didn't need 
to tell her, in fact she kind of preferred it that way. 
It was another facet of their mutual teasing--you 
took it for granted that you couldn't take anyone 
for granted.

As Taylor opened his mouth to speak, there was a 
bright flash of light behind them. They turned, and 
watched agape with wonder at the fireworks up 
above them. Bright white and yellow cascades of 
sparks lit up the night, casting capricious shadows 
all around them. Each allowed their gossamer 
spirits to slip free, remembering the times past, or 
perhaps letting the fancy forms spark their 
imaginations. For a few minutes they regained 
their innocence as their eyes wandered the 
pyrotechnic playground.

The show ended, and the three friends found 
themselves sitting clustered up on top of the 
gymnasium on the Argyre base. Taylor leaned over 
to Knight. "Herr Knight! Would you give us a 
speech to welcome in the new year?"

"Yes, please, Herr Knight!"

He rolled his eyes and pretended to consider it for a 
moment, then eagerly scrambled to his feet. He 
stood facing them, down a pace along the slope of 
the roof. "Lady and gentleman...I am proud to 
welcome you all to our New Year's celebration. 
This year we proudly commemorate the 
anniversary of..."

"The WHATTH anniversary?" asked Taylor.

Knight performed some intricate mathematical 
calculations and swept on. "...the ANNUAL 
anniversary of the first NASA-ESA mission to our 
fair planet. For the record, one of my relatives was 
here to greet them. On this day we commemorate 
the notion that man AND womankind is free to 
live on any planet they choose, as long as the 
Earthlings make their 15% profit margin. To that 
end..." he held an imaginary glass at arm's length, 
"...to the new year!"

"To the new year!" the others chorused. In unison, 
all downed imaginary beverages. Not only was 
hoarding food against the rules of Das Haus, but 
anything but a 50-50 mix of ethanol and water 
would have frozen in the night air.

"My New Years resolution," said Knight, "is to 
plant a guy's ass on the canvas using a two-leg lock 
once for every year I've been alive. To make it 
tricky, I'll count in Terran years. Bastards, they still 
have control of the clocks."

"A TWO-LEG LOCK? Do a handstand in a sparring 
match and they'll know immediately what you're 
going for, how'll you make that goal?" Taylor 
laughed. "I think I'll keep it simple. I resolve to 
make a total fool of myself as usual."

"You've got that one set away already," Yoko 
replied. "I resolve...OK, if another gynamorph 
comes in, I resolve--by myself, thank you, I don't 
need you guys--I resolve to get her to think we 
have to wear chastity belts." As their laughter 
petered, she continued. "And I also resolve to be 
more equant."

"'Like a horse'?"

"No, to have more equanimity."

Knight sat down at her feet. "What's that mean?"

"I'm not sure. It's something sensei mentioned one 
time, and I've been thinking about it. I read 
through a couple of books in the library that talk 
about it." She crossed her arms around her knees 
and went on. "It's like, things don't really bother 
you. Somebody is rude, somebody is nice, you 
behave appropriately, but you don't let your 
inner feelings be swayed. You treat them both the
same."

"Um, Yoko, there's a war going on." Knight 
pointed up to the sky, indicating the direction 
invaders would come from. "Somewhere up there, 
there's battalions and legions of THEM. If we don't 
kill Them, They'll kill us. Now, all that crap about 
'honorable death' aside, our job--the reason we're 
here--is to learn how to kill Them, and how to lead 
other people into killing Them. I can't treat one of 
Them...even like I'd treat a mass murderer here." 
He inched up the roof to rejoin his friends. 
"C'mon, we're not even supposed to mention 
Them by name. It's a psychological trick to get us to 
think of Them as just animated things, not 
thinking sentient beings. Das Haus doesn't want 
that kind of thought from us."

"Maybe," Yoko shrugged. "Then why did sensei 
mention it?"

Taylor smiled. "No guff, Yoko, but Stentor-sensei's 
a bit of a weirdo, even by the standards of the 
faculty. I respect him as much as anyone but you 
can, and I think he's done a heckuva lot for Das 
Haus, but still...he goes around in rags, he only 
takes foot intracorporeally, and he just pops up in 
the weirdest places at the weirdest times. Cordoba-
sensei, my sensei? He says he's the living 
equivalent of a Zen koan."

"That's a good description of him," Yoko agreed 
heartily. She was very proud of her sensei, even 
though--sometimes because--of his otherworldly 
behavior. "But think about the analogy. A koan 
seems paradoxical, but that paradox always has a 
purpose behind it. Often, it conceals a truth about 
the real state of being, not the illusion that we call 
reality."

"So...nobody's answered your question. That's kind 
of a pity, I'd like to know the answer. But it won't 
be tonight." Knight stood, and brushed himself off. 
"Agbula-sensei's coming to see me at 0900, so I've 
got to get some shuteye before then. I think you 
should come along, if the two of you want 
someone to let you back inside."

"Aw, poot. You're no fun." Yoko took his hand and 
clambered up. "Let me have my picture."

"You gonna put it up in your room?"

"For a while. There's enough space on the walls." 
Whether by tacit encouragement or fear of the 
consequences, Stentor's austerity had rubbed off on 
Yoko. Her quarter was essentially devoid of 
ornamentation, and her personal belongings were 
kept in vacuum storage. But she held the photo 
earnestly in one hand as the three crossed the roof 
to the service door.
--
Yoko entered the dormitory and closed the airlock 
behind her. She pressed the top red button, and 
nitrox atmospheric gasses flooded the chamber. She 
pressed the blue button and a cable unraveled from 
the ceiling. She discreetly turned her chest to the 
wall, unbuttoned the third button on her jumpsuit, 
and attached the cable to the interface. With a 
hissing noise her third lung was sealed; her two 
lungs designed to operate in a simTerran 
atmosphere began rhythmically inflating and 
deflating. She pressed the yellow button and a 
second cable took the place of the first. She touched 
it to her voice box, adjusting it for the change in air 
pressure. Finally, she pressed the green button and 
emerged into the dormitory proper.

Alfred Nobel Memorial Dormitory, known as 
"MD", was reserved for those in their final years in 
Das Haus, with one exception. According to the 
official version, Yoko had been given a single room 
in the senior dormitory by virtue of a paperwork 
error, but it was plain that it was no coincidence 
where she was. She had speculated often what the 
primary reason was, whether fear for her well-
being, some remnant sexism, or what. At one point 
she had been firmly convinced that her instructors 
assumed that she was too docile to require the 
humiliation that a barracks lifestyle would burn 
into her spirit.

She had set most of her musings on that subject 
aside and become concerned with other things. By 
virtue of the fact that she had spent most of her 
existence around men older--though progressively 
less older--than herself, Yoko had been graced with 
a different perspective on her training, indeed her 
whole lot in life, than had the other students her 
own age. Although a good deal of the 
MagnumKinder's time was spent in physical 
training, proportionally more was spent in the 
classroom. Most of the subjects that they studied, 
such as psychology and biology, were obviously 
pertinent to the war effort; but all were required to 
take a certain amount of comparative religious 
studies as well. Yoko had been perplexed by this 
question most of all--why religion? Wouldn't a 
subject like sociology have given the Kinder greater 
insight into their enemy's mindsets?

Yoko's mind was far from these subjects as she 
climbed the stairs to the third floor, where she 
lived. If anything, she was thinking of her friend 
Hollifeld, who had been precluded from joining 
the group of three that evening. Hollifeld had 
arrived in MD on the same day that Yoko had; 
even though they were there under very different 
circumstances, they had become very tight friends. 
Hollifeld was a naturally slow learner, by the 
standards of Das Haus, but had a superhuman 
retention level; he could recite a conversation from 
two months before verbatim, even mimicking 
tonal inflections. Hence, he was the ideal person to 
help her adjust to her new home; he could relate to 
almost everything she could, describing her 
sentiments in almost perfect detail, and he had the 
patience to listen and to advise her on a peer level 
because of the limitations in his own learning 
speed.

Hollifeld had been in Das Haus longer than usual, 
but was expected to be promoted to Warrior at any 
day. It was simply a matter of waiting for the Test. 
There were two kinds of review procedures, 
Examinations and Tests. Examinations were given 
to the Kinder with a few days' notice, and could 
involve anything, including recitations, verbal 
examination, written examination and athletic 
demonstration. Passing or failing was reported, 
though usually no reason was given; that was 
invariably the most difficult part of the 
Examination. Tests were different. They were 
carefully designed and executed so that the subject 
would not know that they were being Tested, so 
that their actions would be as sincere as possible. A 
successful Test was a precursor to a promotion in 
rank. Warrior was the highest rank: once the Kine 
achieved this rank, they would be sent to the front 
lines for the tours of duty that would repay Das 
Haus the cost of the education. However, 
graduation was entirely different. Graduation was 
necessary to become a sensei within the Haus, but 
no-one would reveal what it was.

Yoko had been perplexed by the aura of mystery 
and the silence of her instructors, and she had 
fallen in with a group of people who shared her 
confusion. Answers to their questions were rare, 
and more often than not proved to be incorrect 
with time and more information. One thing had 
clearly emerged from their discussions: Das Haus 
was not analogous to any military camp in Terran 
or extra-Terran history. This, of course, hindered 
their hunts for its truth.

Thus, as she walked down the hallway to her cell, 
her mind was empty, in a state of unfocus, 
unwilling to concentrate on one subject. She 
swiped the magnetic lock on the yellow door and 
enter the room.

The room was a little more than half again as long 
as it was wide, and twice and a half as high. It was 
covered in dark gray ceramic tiles, each 45 
centimeters on a side. A vermilion-red band ran 
around the room, 10 centimeters thick. On one side 
of the room was her bed, gray metal, with gray and 
vermilion sheets on the mattress. Across from it 
was a black clock/intercom. And that had been all 
when she left it.

In addition, now there was a man, seated in a 
folding chair next to the intercom. He was dressed 
in rags that had never been washed and were caked 
with the brown Martian dust. His shins and knees 
were protected with tight boots, his hands were 
protected by thick rubber gloves. The remainder of 
his body was scraped and scarred, telling tales of 
days spent walking the desert and living in 
seclusion. He had perfectly black sensors in place of 
eyes, he had gauze-covered holes in place of ears. In 
place of a mouth he had a single large speaker that 
jutted through the back of his head. Around him 
was an aura that seemed to bend space and time, 
and to shear reality across its seams. Her sensei had 
come for a visit.

Yoko snapped to attention, joints locked, finger to 
forehead. "At ease, Adept Yoko," he said. His voice 
was like a river; it could be the rushing of water or 
the clattering of granite pebbles, depending what 
qualities you listened for. "I apologize for my 
intrusion, I didn't know when you would return. 
May I retroactively receive permission to enter?"

"Yes, yes." Yoko sat on the ground at her sensei's 
feet. She had learned well. Withdrawing to her bed 
would have communicated a feeling of 
intimidation and a need for security, while 
remaining standing would have been far too 
formal. Sitting cross-legged gave the needed 
measure of respect and attention without the self-
humiliation that kneeling would have. "A Happy 
New Year, sensei."

"And also to you, Kine. What have you been 
doing?"

"I snuck up on top of the gymnasium to watch the 
fireworks with two of my friends, sensei."

"Whom?"

"I'd prefer not to say, sensei. It isn't relevant to this 
situation; and furthermore, I was aware of the 
punitive consequences of my actions when I 
undertook to sneak up there. I will accept full 
responsibility for my being in a place that is off-
limits to unauthorized personelle."

"You defend your comrades. Very good, Yoko." 
Stentor nodded his approval. "However, you 
would be wise not to have a photograph of them 
on your person if you defend them in that 
manner."

"Oops." Yoko laughed, and handed the picture to 
her sensei.

He looked at it  with extreme care before returning 
it. "Young Herr Knight has a dour expression."

"We gave him the best picture with him in it. 
Taylor has the other three."

"I see. Now then, how did you really come by these 
photos?"

"I'd prefer not to say."

"Tell me, Yoko. It is your duty to tell the truth to 
your sensei."

Yoko bit her tongue, then stood at attention and 
said, "We were up on the bleachers by the softball 
diamond, sitting behind a group of Jumps. Knight 
and Taylor will tell you the same story." She 
paused for a moment and continued. "We took the 
pictures ourselves because we didn't want to 
disturb them, and we wished to keep our 
celebrations as self-contained as possible under the 
public circumstances. The bright light in the 
background is from the ornithopter landing strip 
and is not Phobos, which would have been at a 
different angle from the bleachers. Had this been an 
actual abduction and torture situation I most likely 
would have divulged the first datum of my own 
free will or during self-induced torture, the second 
under physical pain, threat of mutilation, or 
exposure humiliation. The actual truth of the 
situation would have emerged under psychological 
torture or violation humiliation--that is, 
humiliation of the victim with tormentor-victim 
contact."

"Excellent, Yoko. I won't disturb you much longer." 
He stood and folded the chair, then leaned it 
against the wall. "I wanted to tell you personally--
Hollifeld has passed his Test. His family has been 
notified, and he will be going home with them in 
less than a Terran week for some recuperation 
before he joins the Navy."

"That's wonderful! I'll be sure and congratulate 
him tomorrow." Yoko hugged her sensei. "Oh, I 
should have asked--what have you been doing to 
celebrate, sensei?"

"I was composing my annual newsletter to my 
friends and colleagues," he replied. "So, 
unfortunately, I wasn't anywhere near the 
gymnasium or the softball diamond. But I could 
have been, Yoko. You should have asked me. 
Even if it meant compromising the excuse you and 
your friends had concocted, and possibly 
compromising them in the process; you would 
have been free if you had convinced me, and no 
harm done. If I was trying to kidnap or assassinate 
you, you wouldn't have that luxury; but I'm your 
teacher and your sensei, so it is not only 
appropriate, but to your advantage, to ask."

"Yeah. Thanks, sensei." She yawned. "Request 
permission to drift off to slumberland."

"Granted." He left, taking the chair with him.
--
Gonzu was so shocked he almost dropped his beer. 
The formerly blank canvas had become covered in 
paint and plain old junk. In the center was a 
compact disk, surrounded by the legend "THE EYE 
SEES ALL!" Above and to the left was Zalem, 
formed from yarn glued into the shape of the City 
in the Clouds. To the right were a group of 
Deckmen in caricature--10 had lips big enough to 
scrub a floor with, 12's smile wrapped all around 
his head, and so on. Along the sides Shumira had 
(for once!) taken the time to paint people 
realistically, Factory workers walking to and fro. 
Along the bottom was a cityscape in charcoal, from 
the point above and at an angle to them. Its realism 
was muted by about half a dozen red and green 
Koyomi hand prints.

"So whaddaya think?" asked Alita.

"Alita-chan design most, and Shumira paint, and 
Alita paint, and Koyomi help paint...FUN FUN 
FUN!!!"

"It's kind of freaky, really. But I like it. Nice job you 
guys." Gonzu chuckled. "You are the best. We 
wouldn't have fun without you."

"THANK YOU!!!" said Shumira, throwing her 
arms around Gonzu and giving him a big kiss on 
the cheek. Alita's thanks was a little more sedate, 
and slow in coming. For some reason, she thought 
he had said, "He passed the test. He couldn't have 
done it without you."
--
Copyright 1997 Daniel Snyder. Permission granted 
to distribute in any digital/binary/e-mail form; 
however, any physical printout is prohibited. Based 
on characters created by Yukito Kishiro. Any 
resemblance to persons living or dead is purely 
coincidental.