Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors, but his more recent works are unreadable. He desperately needs an editor and desperately won't have one (it seems). For him to comment on someone else declining over time drastically lowers my opinion of him. Sorry Orson. The Memories Of Earth series (Homecoming) should have been a trilogy at best and would have worked far better as one novel. Stop whining about a nifty concept that has lasted nearly 40 years... so far.

Re sonic showers: Yeah, but compare with "the fresher" in Forbidden Planet. Not at all the same. Don't they have those little "Starfleet Officers must wash their hands before returning to the Bridge" signs in the loo?