'Listen to me. He stood in front of her, taking a moment to compose himself. 'You are a lovely, fantastic person. I haven't met someone I was this attracted to in years. And I think you know that.

'Well this is a—

'Funny way of showing it? No. No. That's a single person's line, not mine.

'How ridiculous, she shouted.

'Maybe you've been trying to hide from this, I don't know.

Adjusting to multiple life does take time. It isn't easy, and you're upset'

'I'm not upset, she announced haughtily.

'I have a great time with you, every time no matter where we go and what we do, and that's the problem. Think on this. You are a wonderful, healthy, strapping, girl with a huge sexual appetite. Every man's dream. And I'm always amazed and excited by how many of mes you take on when we go to bed. But not even you can physically satisfy thirty-eight male bodies every night. We've been going out all this time and there are still some of mes you haven't met, let alone had sex with yet. You get me all hot and randy, and every time you do that the majority of mes are left frustrated.

'I… Oh. Really? It was kind of obvious when he explained it like that. But he was right, it really wasn't something she wanted to think through.

'I can only take so much. Josill and the others help release the pressure you create.

Others. Again, something she didn't want to consider. This whole multiple thing was turning out to be one giant complication. She took a breath and stared at the gravel round her feet. 'I'm sorry. You're right, I didn't consider that part of it. It's been so good for me I just assumed it was the same for you. Singles thinking, huh.

'Yes. He put a hand on her shoulder. It comforted her — that whole wise and sympathetic thing still. 'But I'm hoping, really hoping we can work through this.

She gave the door a guilty glance. 'I'm not sure I can get round the idea of you having sex with her as well. Were you… no. I don't want to know.

He raised an eyebrow. Waited patiently.

Araminta sighed. 'Last night, were you having sex with both of us at the same time?

'Yes.

A particularly malicious thought crept out of her mind. 'And she could only cope with four?

'Fraid so.

'Poor girl' Her little spike of humour withered away. 'I don't know about this. I'm not sure I can cope. There would need to be so many women. That's not part of a long-term relationship.

'Listen, I said you were special right at the start, and the more I got to know you the more I know that I don't want to lose you.

'So what do you do? Get half of you neutered? I really can't… not thirty-eight.

He grinned. 'That's my Araminta, considering it even now. But there's another option, isn't there?

'What?

He didn't answer straight away. Instead his hand touched her chin, tipping her head back until she couldn't avoid staring into his eyes. Eventually she gave a defeated little nod. 'I get myself some extra bodies, she said in a quiet voice.

'I'm not going to browbeat. I couldn't do that to you, it would be wrong. The decision has to be you alone. I just want you to think about it. You've seen all the practical benefits first hand. And I reminded you about the sexual advantages again last night.

She fixed him with a firm stare. 'Tell me: if I do this, would you stop dating the other women? Would it be just you and me?

'Yes, emphatically, just you. Yous in my life, yous in my bed. Cross my hearts. I want this Araminta, I want this so much. I wish you had gaiamotes so I could show you just how serious I am. We'll just have to settle for registering it at City Hall instead.

'Ozzie! A marriage proposal and a lifestyle change in one. And it's not even half past seven yet.

'Sorry you had to run into it like this.

'Not your fault. You're right, I should have thought about this. So I'll be a big girl and think about it properly now. Don't expect an answer right away. This is a hell of a lot more than I'm used to dealing with in a day.

His arms went round her, hugging tight as if he was the one seeking reassurance. 'It's momentous. I remember. So take all the time you need.

He rode the gigantic horse for hour after hour, his young legs barely stretching over the saddle. In the distance were real mountains, their snow-capped peaks stabbing high into the glorious sapphire sky. He was leaving them behind, riding away from the forests that covered the foothills. It was wild veldt beneath the hooves now, lush tropical vegetation split by streams and small rivers. Trees from a dozen planets grew across the low slopes, their contrasting evolutions providing a marvellous clash of colour and shape. Hot air gusted against him, heavy with alien pollen.

His friends rode beside him, the six of them shouting encouragement to each other as they wove around the knolls and ridges. None of them yet adult, but now finally old enough to be trusted out on their own. It was days like this which made sense of his life, full of freedom and joy.

Then the cry went up. 'The king eagles, the king eagles are here.

He scoured the brilliant sky, seeing the black dots above the rumpled horizon. Then he too was yelling in welcome, his heart pounding with excitement. The horse ran faster as the noble lords of this world's sky grew larger and larger.

Red lights flashed across the heavens. The king eagles elongated, black lines curving and twisting to form a grey rectangular shape. His horse had vanished, leaving him lying flat on his back. The red lights turned violet-blue and began to retreat as the top of the medical chamber opened. A face slid into view, peering down. He blinked it into focus. Very pretty and heavily freckled, with a mass of dark red hair tied back.

'You okay? Corrie-Lyn asked.

'Urrgh, Aaron told her.

'Here drink this. A plastic straw was eased into his mouth. He sucked some welcoming cool liquid down his sore throat.

'What? he mumbled.

'What?

'What happened?

'You've been in the ship's medical chamber for a couple of days.

He winced as he tried to move his arms. His whole left side was stiff, as if the skin had shrunk. 'A moment, he told her. His u-shadow flipped medical records into his exovision. He skipped the details, concentrating on the major repairs. The damage had been more extensive that he expected. The projectile entry wounds combined with firewire mutilation and toxin contamination meant the medical chamber had to cut and extract a lot of ruined tissue and bone from his chest. Foreign meat had been inserted, neutral-function cells which could have their pre-active DNA switched to mould the cell into whatever organ, bone, or muscle function they were replacing. He spotted a supplementary file, and opened it. The foreign meat stored in the chamber actually wasn't so foreign, the DNA was his; it also had full-complement biononic organelles.

The repairs had been woven into his body by the chamber and his existing biononics. They were still integrating which was why he felt so awful. Estimated time for the biononics to complete the binding and the cells to acclimatize to their new function was a further seventy-two hours.

'Could have been better, could have been worse, he decided.

'I was worried, she said. 'Your wound was huge. The blood… Her face paled, even the freckles faded.

Aaron slowly shifted his arms back along the chamber padding, propping himself up. At which point he realized he didn't have any clothes on. 'Thank you.

She gave him a blank look.

'I should be thanking you, shouldn't I? What happened? The last thing I remember was you hitting Ruth Stol.

'That little princess bitch.

'So? What came next? Aaron swung his feet over the lip of the capsule; his inner ears seemed to take a lot longer to register the movement. Bulkheads spun round him, then twisted back. The starship's cabin was in its lounge mode, with long couches extending out from the bulkhead walls. He hobbled over to the closest one as the medical chamber withdrew into the floor. Sitting down he tentatively poked his chest with a forefinger. Half of his torso was a nasty salmon pink, covered with some glistening protective membrane.