A Deepness in the Sky
by Vernor Vinge
Contents
Twenty-Three
Overview
Ezr watches the revived “Children’s Hour” as it pivots into a public debate over Sherkaner Underhill’s out‑of‑phase children. Anne Reynolt stages a live translation with Focused talent, including Trixia and Zinmin Broute. Xopi Reung renders a Church envoy likely tied to the Kindred. The broadcast’s outcome threatens both Spider politics and the humans’ fragile morale.
Summary
Ezr returns from off‑Watch to find “The Children’s Hour of Science” transformed into a live spectacle that disgusts him. Benny’s bar, now the social hub, even tracks Spider dates. The program, once comforting, has become a circus that showcases Focused translators, despite Qiwi’s past assurances to protect Trixia.
Backstory spills out among patrons: the show’s child cast oddly trended younger, exposing Underhill’s out‑of‑phase family and triggering a ban. Now stations announce a debate between a Church of the Dark representative and Sherkaner Underhill. For colonists denied families, the show is a balm; its fate matters. Trud Silipan promises the translators are ready.
On cue, Anne Reynolt parades the Focused team at Hammerfest—Trixia among them—while Zinmin Broute becomes the Spider host, Rappaport Digby. Ezr recoils at the spectacle yet notes Pham Trinli’s quiet competence and secret knowledge of localizers as Pham and Trud confer apart from the crowd.
The live translation shifts into Spider POV: Underhill brings his children—including Jirlib, Brent, Gokna, Victory Junior, and two babies—to Princeton Radio, planning to confront outrage with visibility. Manager Madame Subtrime gushes over ratings, and engineer Didire Ultmot readies the controls, needling about the Church envoy’s exotic, light‑absorbing shawl.
Trud’s comp flags the Honored Pedure as likely Kindred-backed. Xopi Reung, the newly on‑Watch translator, renders Pedure’s sanctimony awkwardly yet intensely as Pedure denounces “corruption” and the broadcast’s “perversion.” She surges, then stalls, while Broute-as-Digby frames stakes: public reaction will decide the show’s survival, leaving both Spider politics and human watchers braced for consequences.
Who Appears
- Ezr VinhReturns from off‑Watch; watches the live show in Benny’s; anguished over Trixia’s exploitation; notes Pham’s hidden savvy.
- TrixiaFocused translator on display; performs live for the debate broadcast; lost in midlevel language transduction.
- Anne ReynoltEmergent Director for Human Resources; efficiently stages and manages the Focused translators for the live show.
- Trud SilipanEmergent fixer; fronts the event to the crowd; analyzes the Church envoy’s likely Kindred ties.
- Pham TrinliOld spacer; quietly confers with Trud; Ezr recognizes his deep knowledge of localizers and cunning.
- Zinmin BrouteFocused translator playing Rappaport Digby; delivers smooth host narration that anchors the broadcast.
- Xopi ReungNewly on‑Watch Focused linguist; renders the Honored Pedure’s speech with awkward intensity.
- Honored PedureChurch of the Dark envoy; likely Kindred agent; opens by condemning Underhill’s ‘perversion’ on air.
- Sherkaner UnderhillSpider scientist and father; brings his out‑of‑phase children to the station to confront tradition publicly.
- Madame SubtrimePrinceton Radio manager; effusive, profit‑driven; thrilled by audience and sponsors for the debate.
- Didire UltmotPrinceton Radio chief technician; runs the board; acerbic commentary on the Church envoy; history with Jirlib.
- BennyBar owner at L1; hosts the watch parties; his place is the social hub with the Watch Chart.
- Rappaport DigbySpider host of ‘The Children’s Hour’; introduces the debate and stakes within the broadcast.
- GoknaUnderhill child; attends the station; one of the out‑of‑phase voices added to the show.
- Victory JuniorUnderhill child; attends the station; shares the wonder and nerves before the debate.
- Jau XinEmergent academic; watches anxiously; struggles with moral dissonance over Focus and the show.
- Rita LiaoXin’s partner; emotionally invested in the show; presses Trud for status as the broadcast begins.