Conditional Reality

Turquoise Panda loved nothing better than manipulating the massive mirrors in the telescopes atop Kitt Peak to collect the light of the cosmos. She studied the data from the telescopes the way genealogists pore over birth records and ship manifests, spending up to eighteen hours a day on the task. Her colleagues recognized Turquoise’s devotion to the light as something special. On cloudy days she phoned her widowed mother who usually asked if Turquoise had seen her father anywhere up in the stars. Not yet, said Turquoise, but I’m looking, Mom, and I’ll let you know the minute I do.