" "I assume you've got a flight schedule already laid out?" David nodded." "I assume you've got a flight schedule already laid out?" David nodded. "I'm going to Terra next. I know Pendor's attitude about marriage and commitment is casual, but my parents aren't going to be so easy to convince. They were first-generation Neorats and their Patrons were Conservative Jews. I don't know quite how that happened, but they were raised very well, and absorbed some of their Patron's views. I think they mean marriage as a lifetime commitment." Shardik's puzzlement returned. "As I recall, Jews are not especially sanctioned against divorce or polygamy. Maybe I'm wrong." "I wouldn't really know," David admitted. "But I intend on going down there and asking them for permission. I know it'll be hard; Jewish Orthodoxy had many strong objections to my parents' being given the right to say Mitzvah." "No surprise there," Shardik said. "As the religion grows smaller, it becomes more desperate to solidify its position and make itself look like the right answer. How many Jews are there on Terra right now?" "One point four percent," David said. "Last time I checked." Shardik scratched his chin. "Fourteen million people is nothing to sneeze at. I assume that's by a process of self-identification?" David nodded. "Ken?" the voice of the AI interrupted their conversation. "I just rang the dinner bell. People will be congregating up here for dinner soon. Please stand away from the table." "Right. Okay, everybody move towards the crosswalk." Shardik stood up and led the way down the catwalk. The table lifted itself from it's current position, and David had trouble telling if it floated or walked towards the large grassy quadrant of the Castle ceiling. |