Читать книгу Overturned - Rothilda von Rotortod - Страница 16

He still did not succeed in suppressing the ironic undertone in his voice when he said "Mrs Black". It wasn't so much the fact that his assistant had named herself after her hair colour that made him smile. After all, he too – as "Guntram Groentraed" – had named himself after a colour, albeit in a less direct way.

No, it wasn't the name itself that seemed odd to him. He just couldn't get used to the fact that everyone on Earth was fixed to a certain name. On Kadohan all inhabitants were officially registered under an insignificant number. Names could be chosen freely – and changed at any time. As a rule, nobody stayed with a particular name for too long. Most Kadohanians changed their names at regular intervals – especially when they felt that a major change had taken place in their lives.

The only important thing was to inform the others about the name in good time. This was often an opportunity to have conversations that went beyond everyday talks. The change of name was an indication of real change – and at the same time a signal that those who gave themselves a new name wanted to talk about it.

The expedition leader cringed. The thought of being "Mrs Black" a whole life long seemed terrible to him. His gaze wandered to the window and got lost in the growing twilight. It was as if he wanted to penetrate the evening fog with his eyes and fly through the cosmic darkness to his home planet. He knew that Kadohan was floating somewhere out there, safe and lost at the same time.