THE BARN SAT AT THE EDGE OF A LEVEL<br >meadow， facing the broad， rich fields， its back to the hill，<br > house， and landing pad. It was a long， wide building with<br > huge doors at either end and a roof pitched and curved<br > at seeming random; during the day its roof and walls of<br > flexible solar panels darkened as they soaked in the light，<br > and throughout the night it glowed gently in the reflection<br > of a million stars. Within， a series of lofts and balconies<br > rose above the cavernous main floor， connecte6 by sway-<br >herin children scampered and swung in pursuit of their<br >intricate， carefully plotted games. Mish Kennerin had<br >seen them as tiny， luminous figures darting through the<br >dim reaches of the barn， so far from her that the sound of<br >their voices and the padding of their feet muted with dis-<br >tahoe， becoming small， almost subliminal whisperings in<br >the still air. At those times Mish paused， almost breath-<br >less， her usual resentment of the excessively large building<br >replaced by a confusion of loss， a sense that the structure<br >breathed a dark magic which was slowly and certainly<br >taking her children from her. Uneasy and baffled， she<br >would blink in the dimness before turning away， often<br >forgetting why and for what she had come， and stand<br >leaning at the monstrous doors， caught halfway between<br >the darkness and the light.<br > Even now the barn seemed to absorb the crowd of ref-<br >ugees， accepting them into a segregated corner and re-<br >serving its distances for darkness and quiet. Mish stood at<br >the edge of a third-level balcony， her arms full of blan-<br >kets， and looked down at the bright corner of light. What<br >seemed chaos was in reality an almost shapeless order.<br >The refugees lined up for the stew and bread which<br >Quilla and Jes ladled from the steaming caldron or<br >popped from large， cloth-covered baskets; the few bowls<br >and plates were quickly emptied and handed to those still<br >in line. Children ran shouting through the crowd， adults<br >called out over their bobbing heads， babies wailed. It<br >seemed to Mish that the barn floor below her boiled with<br >an excess of emotion， a tide of relief. She remembered<br >her own landing on Terra so many years and lightyears<br >before， stumbling from the crowded belly of the ship into<br >a winter of inspectors and hard-faced guards， herded si-<br >lently through examinations and searches， separated with-<br >Altacostas， the group to the Karlovs， the group to the<br > Kennerins. But the contrast did not lighten her mood， nor<br > quell her foreboding. There were too many of them， too<br >many arms and legs and mouths and feet~so many<br >flesh and unknown souls that she shivered unwillingly<br >before moving down the swaying rope ladder， blankets<br > piled on her shoulders， a smaU frown between her brows.<br > They had reeled from the shuttles onto alien ground，<br > more tJaan two hundred of them， plucked by Jason<br >Kennerin from a world gone suddenly sour， a world soon<br >clutched to their bodies， bringing memories of persecution<br > and snow. Their world was dying， their leaders had abdi-<br >cated to the realms of insanity; this much Mish knew， had<br >known when Jason left on Captain Hetch s silver shuttle，<br >gone to rescue those he could， gone to make one family s<br >paltry gesture of help. They had expected no more than<br >fifty people， sixty at the very most; one shuttle s worth of<br >refugees， one winter s surplus of food and. clothing， no<br >more--most importantly， only fifty new faces， new bodies，<br >new minds. Enough to handle， enough to understand. Af-<br >ter twelve years alone on Aerie， just Mish and Jason，<br >Laur and the three children， and the calm， marsupial na-<br >tive kasirene， Mish s memories of other humans had<br >blurred， until the crowds of her childhood took on Ken-<br >nerin faces， and although she fought against the impres-<br >sion as false， as dangerous， she had not been able to<br >shake it. The refugees would not be uniformly brown，<br >Mongol-eyed， thin people. They would be---what? Stran-<br >gers. Immigrants. Aliens. <br ><br >