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"I a into wo erly for us to arrive So I will er old man of sixty and bear him babies and then he will die I' man to marry You will be a treasure"

"My uterus will, you ht, that's exactly what they're thinking I bet they took practically any healthy female who applied"

"We fairies are always healthy"

It was true enough--Alessandra had nothat time when Mother insisted they would eat supper from a street vendor's cart at the end of a very hot day

"So they're sending a herd of women, like cows"

"You're only a cow if you choose to be," said Mother "The only question I have to decide nohether ant to sleep through the voyage and wake up just before landing, or stay awake for the two years, receiving training and acquiring skills so we're ready to be productive in the first wave of colonists"

Alessandra was impressed "You actually read the documentation?"

"This is theAlessa I a extraordinarily careful"

"If only you had read the bills from the power company"

"They were not interesting They only spoke of our poverty Now I see that God was preparing us for a world without air-conditioning and vids and nets A world of nature We were born for nature, we elvish folk You will corace you will char's son will dance with you until he is so in love his heart will break for you Then it will be for you to decide if he's the one for you"

"I doubt there'll be a king"

"But there'll be a governor And other high officials And young men with prospects I will help you choose"

"You will certainly not help me choose"

"It's as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor one"

"As if you'd know"