“Think you can keep a secret for ten more minutes, until they announce it over the radio and the loudspeakers?” “What kind of secret?” Rita asked, only half paying attention. “Daddy’s in charge of a program to develop world-walking atomic space battleships! The first one took off a couple of days ago and Daddy’s on board, it’s in orbit—” “I’m sorry,” Rita said, then paused and mentally replayed the last few seconds of Nel’s excited monologue. “What?” The four-letter word slipped out before she could bite her tongue. “What did you just say?” It was so bizarre that Rita was certain she’d
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