I told him. I was getting good at telling this tale. Constant repetition cements memories. I told it straight leaving out all speculation. When I fini...hed he looked shell-shocked."But how come no one knew where you were? Didn't Ann check? I assumed the first thing she'd do would be to go to the hotel and check you were there and when you left. You mean she didn't check?" No," I replied, "at least not widely enough. Why should anyone check a Newcastle Hospital? There's no way she could have. .. practise now. I suppose I should have got you some contraceptives as well as clothes." Karen and Billy looked at each other in their knowing way and smiled."Actually, Eileen, it's a bit late for that..."It didn't take that long for Karen to recover completely, but she and Billy discovered that they were in no hurry to return to their previous lifestyle. They still had each other, but Eileen had quickly become the parental-figure that Billy had never known and Karen had long since forgotten.. The station spins on its axis so as to provide .75 G on the interior surface of the segments graduating to Zero G at the central core. Segment walls are 10 meters thick and the outer rim is 30 meters thick. Each segment is also capable of being sealed off so as to prevent a major loss of atmosphere. The station has anti-asteroid missile and laser batteries as well as sweeper tugs to keep the area clear and reduce the chances of an asteroid strike. It is a beautiful piece of engineering and my. Both jobs required a strong back and a weak mind. On better days, the pod was allowed yard time. Usually an hour in the fresh air and sunshine. That is unless it was raining. Then we got a poncho made from a garbage bag. But any time outside was fine. It gave you a break from the noise of the jailhouse. Which was constant, loud, and vulgar.I was sitting in the common room of the pod watching an incomprehensible tv show. It seemed to be about various groups of people arguing about the parentage.