When he learned that Merry had designed the ship's automated damage control system he held a private meeting with us."What's going on here? I don't li...ke being sandbagged." It's simple, really. We both were given the progeric treatment while teens as partial payment for our inventions. I designed the CAD work-up and the bill-of-materials for the Typhon as well." Holy shit. And you invented the star drive?" Not quite. Do you remember the Io incident?" Vaguely. It was a long time ago." The guys. Her major domo was an old salty British infantry man, and they sparred every now and again. What she had learned from Ian told her was that the last thing she wanted to do was let Texas Apone get anywhere near grabbing range. If you couldn't shoot an opponent, cut him with a knife, stab him with a bayonet or bop him with a rifle butt, you were to get as close to him as possible and rip him limb from limb. In the course of doing so, you used every dirty trick in the book: face attacks, eye. " "We don't have to clear this through a central authority or...?" "We are highly autonomous at the regional level, Cathy. We're more like a cause or a grass roots movement than a society. I could explain our global structure, but..." I wait and she leaves the end of her sentence hanging. The message is clear. 'Need to know' does not exist for me. At least not yet. I know only that sisters in her position, regional Red Circle leaders, and sisters in Kyra's position, regional financial wizards. " I am happy to be with the girls because I am a girl inside." What do you mean love?" I don't feel like a boy, I want to be a girl. I want to be a girl for therest of my life. I am scared that I am going to start changing soon. Idon't want to get big and hairy, with big muscles and a deep voice. I canlook like a girl now but soon it will be too late." What do you mean that you can look like a girl?" Sometimes when I am round at Jenny's place, I dress up in her clothes. Itis so nice, I can be a.