An Earthling's Farewell

An Earthling's Farewell





The pilot was awakened by the slowing hum of the cruiser as it came back into normal time. The last he remembered, he had been watching the multiple colors of warp-time stream by; losing himself in the kaleidoscope of hues. It was always what he did in warp-time (Nanny was taking care of the running of the ship), but he didn't normally fall asleep. Warping didn't take very long, just a matter of a few time units, so it surprised him that he slept. In a way, he was glad he had, though; there wouldn't be much time for sleeping now.

Peering out the glass ports on the left side, he saw a yellow sun beaming at him. He judged that the sun was getting older from its somewhat bloated appearance and the solar flares spouting frequently on it's surface. Probably only a millennia or two left, he guessed. He could have asked Nanny, the ship's computer, about it; but he wasn't in the mood to be astonished by Nanny's grasp of all things scientific at the moment. Instead, he looked through the forward ports and saw the object of their trip; a small, somewhat reddish disc that they were rapidly approaching.

As they drew nearer, the disc grew in size, and the pilot could now make out a few widespread blue seas to go along with the red land areas visible. There was only scant cloud cover, most of it over the seas, and the whole picture seemed rather dismal; even from this distance.

"What do you think, Nanny, you reckon there's anything living down there?" The pilot was in the habit of addressing his computer as if she were an actual person, sitting there next to him.

"Very small chance, Commander," answered Nanny. "I put the probability at less than one-tenth of one per cent, given the poor quality of the atmosphere and the lack of greenery on the land areas. If there is anything living down there, it would have to be in an environmental habitat or suit, and would have to be getting its supplies from somewhere indiscernible as yet."

"Thank you for keeping it simple for me, Nanny."

"You're welcome, sir."

"Very well then, Nanny, let's take her in and squat somewhere for a bit."

"Do you mean you wish to land somewhere on the planet, sir?"

The pilot sighed, and then said, "Yes, Nanny, I wish to land the cruiser on the surface. Let's orbit it a few times and pick out a suitable location." How could anything be so smart, but yet so dumb at the same time, he wondered?

"Aye-aye, Commander," said Nanny.

They started circling the globe immediately, with the pilot closely watching the six-foot screen that panned the surface. At length, he spotted something that caught his interest. They were flying over a very arid portion of land at a low, but safe, height; when he spied something jutting out of the wasteland.

"Nanny, did you copy that object center-bottom on the screen?"

"Yes, Commander; it appears to be metallic and contains no signs of life."

"Go back to it, Nanny, and land us somewhere near it."

"Aye, Commander," said the ever loyal computer.

Nanny circled the object a few times, and then abruptly landed the ship almost right beside it. Though the land had a slight roll to it, the ship rested on ion-force beams that kept it level, and would continue to keep it level even if the ground shifted somewhat.

"Thank you, Nanny; what would you recommend that I wear?"

"Full enviro-suit, sir, with oxygen and coolant; it's near 150 degrees out there."

The pilot dressed as instructed, and then stepped out through the under-port to greet his new project; an old burned-out planet.



* * *



         The first thing the pilot noticed was how soft the earth was. From direct observation, he could tell it contained a large amount of silica and the grain was very fine. He scooped up a small bag of the soil, closed it tightly, and stuck it in his backpack to deliver to Nanny whenever he boarded the cruiser again.

Though Nanny had landed the ship quite close to the metallic object, the few steps it took the pilot to get to it were arduous, as his boots would sink rapidly into the dry, soft, soil very easily and he had to use goose-steps to move along; extricating each boot before he could make another step. He observed the way the soil was mounded as he drew closer to the metallic object, and decided that the fluffy grit must be moved regularly by the wind; forming hills and dunes as it did so.

Finally, he achieved contact with the object, with the distinct feeling that on another day it might not have been visible at all, having been covered by the ever-moving dunes. The first thing he noticed was a thin, rectangular wafer of metal that appeared to have some writing on it. Using some rudimentary hand tools he had brought with him, he was able to free the rectangle by removing two screws that held it in place. He put the object in his pack,  along with the screws. Then he spied another object; this one red in color and suspended by two wires. He suspected that this was some sort of electrical mechanization; probably a light. He snipped the two wires to free the contrivance, and dropped it into his pack as well.

The rest of the larger object was extremely oxidized, and disappeared into the soil hidden from his view.

"Nanny, are you watching this?" He spoke into his helmet, knowing full well that Nanny was indeed watching; idiotically making conversation with a computer again.

"Yes, Commander, I am. The object appears to be electrical in nature, perhaps you should dig some and see if you can uncover it."

"Negative, Nanny; I like my job and all that, but there are limits to how much physical activity I'm willing to expend on it."

"Well," said the computer, sounding very much like she was pouting, "at least see if you can pull some more of the wiring loose to bring to me."

"All right, all right, but if I injure myself out here, it's going to be up to you to take care of me!"

"It will be my pleasure, Commander," said the computer. The pilot wasn't quite sure how to take that last statement of Nanny's, but he went ahead and started yanking on wires anyway. Quickly, he had several coils of the stuff, and placed them in his pack and starting trudging back to the spaceship.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it," cooed Nanny into his ear. He just mumbled something incoherent back at her, and was soon entering the cruiser again.



* * *



Once inside, Nanny extended one of her bins from out of the computer console, and the pilot removed his "booty" from his pack and placed it inside. With a barely discernible hum, the bin closed and Nanny began her analyzation. The pilot sat back in his chair and waited, knowing that it would take a few minutes.

At length, Nanny spoke, saying, "Analylization complete."

Immediately, one of her printers began chirring, producing a hard copy of her findings for the pilot to read, if he wished. The pilot groaned as he watched the papers come out, and said, "Nanny, you know I don't like to read all that gobble-de-gook; just tell me about it, okay?"

"Okay," the computer said simply. "Item 1, the rectangular metal plate, is composed of a mixture of iron and carbon. It was once a major building component known as steel. The depressions and etchings on it appear to be some form of language, and was probably an identifying component. The language sample is too small for complete diagnosis and translation; a larger sample will be required. Item 2, the red obelisk, is made of hard plastic and steel, and has wires running from it composed of the element copper with a soft plastic cover. It was most likely a warning light. Item 3 is a greater sample of copper wire; it's purpose in the object appears to be electrical in nature, since at one time copper wire was widely used for this purpose, both in our civilization and others as well. It is my opinion that the entire mechanization was, at one time, a form of ground transportation as the room on the interior would indicate. Probably over half the object is buried, and would have to be excavated for complete analyzation." Nanny sounded hopeful on this last point, but the pilot just shook his head "no". Disappointed, Nanny went on: "The soil sample is composed of finely ground igneous rock and silica and by direct observation seems to cover most of this planet. It's composition suggests a soil compound once known as sand, which is present in our world as well. Without further work, this is all that can be determined by what we presently have."

"Your mad at me, aren't you?" The pilot could sense the stress in her voice.

"Computers do not feel human emotion, sir."

"Riiiiiight," said the pilot. "And the wind doesn't blow either. You're mad at me because you think I should go back out there and expend the effort necessary to uncover that whatever-it-is."

"Well," said Nanny, "it is the only way we can find out more about the artifact, sir."

The pilot sighed. "Look, Nanny, this trip is just like every other one we've ever been on; I'm not gonna do anymore than the bare minimum necessary to get my pay, is that understood?"

"Oh, yes Commander; that is perfectly understood!"

The pilot didn't like the way she enunciated "perfectly", but he let it go. It was as useless to try and talk to Nanny as it was to play one of the ancient board games with her; she always won.

"Good," he said instead. "Now let's take off and go look around some more."

"Aye-aye," she said, and the ship began to fly once again.



* * *





They orbited the globe a few more times. Nanny had the cruiser in a pattern that continuously kept them over unobserved territory so that there wasn't any chance of duplication. Finally, after about six orbits, they spotted something on the screen. It was in the upper left quadrant of the screen, and Nanny set a course directly for it. As they got closer, a skeletal steel (?) framework began to take shape. It looked very much like something that might have been a city at one time.

"That area, whatever it turns out to be, should contain a lot of artifacts," said Nanny.

"I agree," said the pilot, "set us down somewhere right in the middle of it if you can, Nanny."

Nanny performed a few low fly-overs, and then landed close to the center of the structure.

After once again donning his enviro-suit, the pilot left the ship and went exploring. He walked over to one of the beams protruding from the surface; upon examination it appears to made of steel like the rectangular plate he'd found earlier. The beams rise toward the heavens a goodly distance, but the pilot realized that much of the structure is buried. To what depth he can only guess; he could see enough to realize that the entire edifice must have been quite impressive at one time.

As if reading his mind, Nanny chirps into his ear, "It is probable that two-thirds of the structure is buried, judging by the narrowness of the framework that can be seen. See if you can get a sample of the building material to bring back to me."

Well, thought the pilot, at least she didn't ask me to excavate it. He found a shard of the metal on the ground that was nearly an arm's length long, but that would fit into the bag. Then he looked around to see what else might be at hand.

"My sensors indicate that there is a lot of metal in the ground, but you will have to dig to find it." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a small excavator rolled out from underneath the cruiser.

"Hey, I told you none of that!"

"Oh, come on, boss man, you won't even have to break a sweat. The machine will do all the digging, all you have to do is sift through what it churns up."

"Boss man", thought the pilot? Nanny sometimes got uppity when he was outside the ship. After all, she could leave him there if she wished. This time, mused the pilot, she was being downright obstinate. But the machine was already scooping up quantities of the soil, and depositing it in its shaker/filter. The pilot watched as the soil fell through and back out, leaving trace pieces of bric-a-brac caught in the filter. He removed them piece by piece, and deposited them in his bag.

At length, he spoke to Nanny again. "Nanny, it appears that much of the material I am getting is very much alike."

"I agree," said the computer. "I'll call the excavator in."

The pilot felt like saying nyah, nyah, I told you so, but resisted. He was still outside the ship, you know.

"I think that if we had the capability to go very deep; closer to the original ground level, we would find lots of good stuff. You should put in your report that the Empire needs to equip these exploratory missions with tunnelers. You'll do that, won't you?"

"Of course, sweetheart. It's what I live for."

There was silence for a moment, then Nanny said, "It is not wise to use sarcasm on a computer, boss, or to call it names as well."

Before he could say anything further, he heard the ship's engines hum to life. "Nanny, don't forget me!" The pilot began a hurried scramble toward the cruiser.

"Oh, no," said Nanny, "how could I possibly forget you, boss."

The pilot breathed a deep sigh of relief when he was at last back within the safety of the ships walls. He shucked his suit and headed for the main console, hearing the printer going while he did.

"I have your report ready, commander," said Nanny cheerfully. He choked back what he really wanted to say; there wasn't even a way to turn Nanny off. The Empire knew better that to entrust its ships entirely with living personnel; they always had too many conflicts.

Instead, he said, "Tell me about it Nanny," and settled back in his chair to listen.

"Okay. The metal fragment you brought in is steel as well; but it has a higher carbon content than the original artifact we examined, meaning it is stronger and more rigid, and less malleable than the plate. One piece you discovered while digging is of some interest; it appears to have been designed to wear, perhaps on an arm or a leg. It is made of a very springy steel with a high vanadium content, and is plated with the element gold. One side of it is covered in polished stones. The attachment of the stones to the metal strip indicates that they were considered to have value at one time. The are several different colors, including some that are clear, and are cut and shaped to make them attractive. The stones are all very hard, especially the clear ones, which are made almost entirely of carbon compressed to a very high density. Most likely they came from deep in the ground, where planetary pressures would be high, unless they were bought from merchants from another planet. With all that, however, the most interesting thing we discovered here is the steel structures themselves. It is an 89 per cent probability that they long ago were either used for housing or for centers of business. They most likely represent the apex of the society that lived here. Report complete."

"That's it?"

"Yes, sir, that's it, as you put it."

"Well then, I guess it's time to head somewhere else."

"Yes, Commander, after we have put in our sleep requirement, we can do more exploring."

"But, Nanny, I'm not tired!"

"Too bad," said Nanny, and he felt the slight sting of the injection. He went to sleep immediately.



* * *





When he awakened, Nanny already had the ship in flight, scanning the surface of the planet. This time, they made orbit after orbit without finding anything of interest. The pilot began to tire, and wished he was still sleeping; he was tired of looking at dune after dune of red, barren ground. Nanny sensed his boredom, and began to send the soft, rhythmic sounds of an old song into his head, hoping to relax him, if nothing else.

But the song had the opposite effect on the pilot, instead making him feel homesick and wishing he was anywhere but this forsaken planet in the middle of nowhere. Nanny sensed that as well, and changed the music to more of a party sound. Still, the pilot's aggravation grew; he was on the verge of telling Nanny to pack it up and head to whatever planet was next on their list. Nanny got antsy; she had a compelling feeling that there was something else here to see, they just hadn't found it yet. It was why she had taken off early, before the pilot awakened; she was desperate to find whatever it was that was drawing her onward before her human threw his hands up in disgust and scrapped the rest of the mission.

At last, she spotted something on the screen. Quickly, she said to the pilot, "There. There is something there, lower left on the screen."

The pilot had been just about to instruct Nanny to set a new course and leave this desolate place. "Oh no, really?"

"Look," she said, and magnified the image somewhat. There, where she indicated, was a structure that seemed to have been constructed from stone. Whatever it was, it was definitely not a part of the natural environment.

In a tone of voice that was less than enthusiastic, he said, "All right, Nanny, take us down there."

Nanny landed the craft just a few strides from the object, and the pilot donned his gear and went outside for what he hoped was his last excursion.

He walked over to the object and found what appeared to be a shelter of some kind; made of hefty stones that domed together at the top, making a roof.

"It appears to be a shelter or hut of some kind."

"Yes," said Nanny, "why don't you go inside and see if you can find anything?"

Feeling the color rising in his face, he grunted, "Yes, yes, I was just about to do that!" I wonder if there's any way you can fire a computer, he thought?

The opening was rather small, but he managed to wedge his way in without tearing his suit. Inside was a small chair and table composed of something other than stone, placed so that the light from the outside would shine directly on it.

"I need a sample of that material," Nanny intoned in his ear. The pilot's eyes rolled back in his eyes; more work he thought.

"I saw that," said Nanny.

He didn't say anything, just picked up the chair and threw it out threw the opening, hoping he would be able to break it into smaller pieces when he left. Continuing his inspection of the hut, he saw that several flat stones had been place so as to jut out from the wall; making a shelf. On the shelf there appeared to be a rolled up cloth of some kind.

Nanny said breathlessly, "Ooooo, what's that,?"

"Nanny, computers don't do breathless, they don't have any breath to lose."

"Sorry, sir, I'm just trying to couch my words in terms that might be easier for you to understand."

"I'm quite capable of understanding you without all the theatrics."

"Aye, Commander; I'll try to watch myself from now on."

The pilot wanted to say more, but decided that doing so would probably just make his stay here longer. Instead, he carefully removed the cloth from the shelf and placed it on the table. It was bound by a cord in the middle, but when he started to remove it, it began to crumble in his hands.

"No, nonono no," said Nanny. "Just bring the whole thing in to me; I should be able to humidify it and get it open with very little damage."

With that, the pilot stuffed the cloth in his pack, and after managing to break off some pieces of the chair outside, he headed back to the cruiser. Once he was inside and had given Nanny his "stuff", he settled back in his chair to await her analyzation. Nanny started talking almost immediately.

"Okay, as I expected, the chair pieces are made of a plant compound known as wood. Do you remember reading in your educational texts about wood, Commander?"

"Not really," said the pilot. "There were some of my classes that I basically just slept through."

"I see," said Nanny, with a hint of disapproval in her voice. "Well, wood came from trees (you do remember those don't you?), and long ago was used in the manufacture of various products, such as paper; what this journal entry was written on. It was also used in the construction of buildings, particularly dwellings, and some ships and boats. All in all, at one time it was quite versatile."

The pilot harrumphed and said, "Why didn't they just use plastic, like we do?"

"Man, you really did sleep through a lot of classes, didn't you? I'm talking about a time before plastics came into such wide use."

"There was a time before plastics?"

If Nanny had had a head, she would have shook it. Instead, she went on with her report.

"I've got the roll of paper unsealed and unrolled now, and am bringing it into view on the screen."

The pilot looked at the screen and watched as a sheet of paper came into view.

"Nanny, I can't read that; it is written in a language I'm not familiar with."

"Translation is in progress, but will take a while. This much I can tell you, it was written by a creature about two mulunxes in height. The creature was endo-skeletal. The writing instrument he used was a device that left marks on paper by smearing ink on its surface."

"How can you tell he was endo-skeletal?"

"Different pressure points appear throughout the entire text; this could only happen if the writing instrument was held by soft tissue."

"What if he was exo-skeletal and wearing gloves?"

Nanny, perturbed by his nonsensical questions, blurted, "What if the freaking sun fell into your lap tomorrow?"

"Hey, a sense of humor, I like that! Maybe if you develop a few more human traits, we can have sex or something similar to it."

"Yes, you'd like that wouldn't you?" Nanny just barely made her statement audible.

"What?"

"Never mind, the translation is nearing completion. As the pilot watched, the writing began to move around on the screen.

"The language falls into the category known as phonic babble, and evolved into existence from a series of animal grunts. Over time, the grunts became more systematic and categorized, with many grunts replicating themselves into more compound ones. This categorization is listed as a possible predecessor of our own language."

Whatever, thought the pilot, as he watched the words on the screen morph. Shortly, Nanny announced, "Translation complete."

"Read it to me as I read along, Nanny," said the pilot.



* * *





My name is Jeremiah Jebborhea, and this is my journal. I write these words on Thursday, July 20, 2114. It is bright and sunny, and hot as hell, as usual.

"The best I can tell you about that date he refers to is that it is from a time eons ago, when they used to use an artifice known as calendars," interjected Nanny.

When I awakened this morning, my skin was dry and pale, and I felt near death. I ran out of provisions some twenty days ago, and have not eaten since. Day before yesterday I ran out of water.

"Day?"

" A cyclical time period used back in this man's time. It most likely refers to one rotation of this planet."

I entertained hope for a while that the incessant winds would move enough sand somewhere in my area so that I could once again reach the old surface of Earth and find sustenance; but all hope grows dim now. I doubt I shall ever see the surface again.

"Earth is undoubtedly their name for this planet," chirped Nanny.

Be that as it may, it is my intent to leave this journal here in my hut, with hopes that either a survivor (if there are any), or a visitor may find it someday. Someone needs to know what has happened to the Earth; perhaps my knowledge can be of value to someone, someday. Given the way I feel today, I must hurry, for I fear my time is short.

Well over a hundred years ago, my brothers in mankind habituated themselves with releasing more and more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere, if spite of the warnings of some of our scientists. The scientists predicted a phenomenon known as "global warming" that came to pass; but the effects were so small at the time that it was largely ignored by my brothers. Even though the technology existed to slow the warming, they continued to ignore it; claiming that the technology was not "cost-effective". If only they had realized what the actual cost would be!

But, neither they nor the scientists realized how much the warming would speed up once it started. Small holes in the atmospheric ozone that protected my people from the ultraviolet rays of the sun, began to join together, creating a "domino effect" in the loss of protection.

The pilot arched his eyes, and Nanny said, "The reference to domino effect is not correlated at this time, so I am not sure what it means." He nodded, and they continued reading.

Once the first few holes banded together, the surface temperature began to escalate much more rapidly than anyone had anticipated; even the scientists. The first effects came as great floods in the lower plains of the Earth as the great polar ice-caps melted and swelled the seas. Enormous cities residing on all the coasts of Earth were inundated with water and their populations decimated. Survivors of the great flood moved inland, creating overpopulation on the remaining lands. Governments were torn apart, communications were disabled, and anarchy ruled. As the strong took more and more, the weak perished.

Luckily (or perhaps, unluckily) I was born during this period some ninety-nine years ago. My mother and father were killed not long after my birth, and I have no memory of them. I was handed from one person to the next endlessly, and somehow managed to survive. I was one of the last few people born here on this Earth; the prolonged over-exposure to the radiation from the sun caused sterility in my brethren and soon there were no more births reported.

The heat became more and more intense, and the population died more and more along with it. Many of those who did not die from the heat, perished from disease caused by walking among the fetid dead lying everywhere. Within a score of years, populations of millions became those of hundreds, and still the people died.

The weather changed, and a long period of drought began. The oceans began drying up, taking away our main source of food and water. Vegetation began to disappear, and what animal life that was left, went with it. The winds became a constant irritation, blowing constantly and firmly. As the water disappeared, great mounds of sand began to be moved by the winds, covering all of the Earth but for the highest mountain tops. And soon, even those great mountains began to erode away, as the great blast furnace that the Earth had become worked its magic on them as well.

I eventually worked my way up to the top of the highest peak I could find in the territory I was able to explore; if you have found this manuscript, you are standing on the peak of a mountain that once stood some fifteen thousand feet above sea level, or above what the sea level used to be. As I sit here writing and dying, it is hardly recognizable anymore, even though it used to be visible from one-hundred miles away or more. By the time you have found this, who knows what it may look like? My prediction is that it will look more like a desert than like a mountain, but I am just one man.

The last time I saw anyone has been some twenty years ago now. He told me his name, but I can no longer remember it now. Though he seemed a little addled, I was lonely and asked if he would stay for a while, but he said "no", explaining that he had to get to a country known as the USSR as quickly as possible. They were building spaceships there he said, to ferry people into outer space. He said that he thought that if he could get on one of the ships, he might have a little longer to live.

I told the old man that I thought he was grasping at straws in the wind, but he paid me no mind and went on his way. Sometimes when I am trying to sleep, I think about him; and wonder if he ever made it to the USSR. But then, I have no faith in his story; I am sure he was just chasing a dream he had had.

There is more to tell; much, much more; but I am weak now and can continue this project no longer. It is my fervent wish that somehow, someday, someone finds this journal; and that it may be of use to them in their own homes and lives.

The shadows deepen, I must go. May God be with you, whoever you are, my friend.

The pilot sat silently for a few moments, and, for once, Nanny kept her mouth shut too. Finally, he spoke and said, "Man, that is some story, huh, Nanny? To sit here and watch your home die within your own lifetime; man, that's really something."

Only silence answered him. "Nanny, are you still online? Speak to me, Nanny!"

"Yes, I am here, Commander. I'm sorry, it seems that I...I have been overcome by emotion."

A computer, overcome by emotion? The thought boggled the pilot's mind. Noticing the inflection in her voice, the pilot said, "Nanny? Have you been crying?"

"Yes-s-s-s," she said, "and I don't know how to stop it!"

The pilot felt like crying too. "Nanny, stop it! We can't be acting like this, we're professionals. It's okay; it's okay to cry, Nanny, but now we have to put our emotions behind us and finish the job we were sent here to do. Or, you know, it's no more job for me, and the scrap heap for you, you understand?"

"Yes, Commander, I fully understand." She was sounding better already. "I am ready to proceed whenever you are, sir."

The pilot made a mental note to himself. Either get a new computer when he got back home, or marry the one he had. Then he and Nanny could have little...thingy-ma-jigs.

"All right," he said, "that's my girl! Send a transmission to base informing them of our find here immediately, and request that they send a core-team for further investigation. Then plot us a course to one of the poles."

"I am already half-done, Commander. Leaving for the polar area now."

"You go, girl," is all the pilot could think of to say.



* * *





Nanny already had the coordinates to both poles mapped out, of course. She asked the pilot which he preferred, but he just shrugged his shoulders and said it didn't matter. Given the lack of input, she proceeded to the closest one, and they were there and landed shortly.

It was a matter of Empirical law that whenever a planet was claimed for the Empire, a flag must be planted at one of the polar points. This meant that they planted a flag on every planet they visited, for the Empire was of the mind that if they went through the trouble of making a trip to a planet, it was theirs; whether they ever used it for anything or not.

The flag itself was considered indestructible. It was contained in a small plastic capsule about the size of a thimble that had to be buried about an arm's length under the ground. It did not actually contain a real flag; just a computer chip with an eternal power source that projected an image of the flag above the ground. The pilot and Nanny both realized that in the shifting, mobile ground of this planet, the chip needed to be buried deeper and its image adjusted to reflect the change in depth; but they didn't have the equipment to do that. It would have to wait until the core team arrived to be planted more permanently, but the law was the law, and they had to put theirs in the ground anyway.

Ordinarily, the pilot would have groused about having to perform this semi-useless function, but this time, he was actually looking forward to it. This old bird deserved an emblematic symbol of what it had been once on display, were his thoughts on the matter. He didn't share those feelings with Nanny, but he had a feeling she knew them anyway.

Nanny interrupted his reverie by quietly saying, "Are you ready, sir?"

"Yes, I suppose so, Nanny."

"Then, good luck with the digging, sir." Nanny was speaking so softly that he had to strain to hear her, and he sensed that she was in a pensive mood.

"I don't need good luck, just a strong back, Nanny," he said as lightly as he could, hoping to cheer her up, and maybe himself as well.

"Good luck, nonetheless, sir." His attempt at a mood change hadn't worked, it was just too solemn an occasion for that. So, he donned his suit for the last time on this planet and proceeded outside.

When he cleared the ship, Nanny cast a hologram on the ground, showing exactly where the polar point was located. He went directly to the point and, using a vacuum hose hooked to the ship, he rapidly vacuumed out the required soil, placed the flag chip at the bottom, and filled in the hole again. Within a short time, the chip activated itself, and the flag sprang into view. It was impressive; red and white stripes with a blue square up in the corner containing an eight-by-eight field of sixty-four silver stars, one for each of the main systems of the Empire. In addition, it was large enough to be seen from low orbit, and Nanny knew that the Commander would want to see it before they warped into interstellar drive. The pilot maintained his position for quite a few moments; without realizing it, he had formed his body into the position of "attention" they had learned back in basic training, and had one hand cocked over his eye in the traditional military salute.

Nanny let him stand like that for a while before she softly called him back inside; telling him the "it is time for us to leave." Grudgingly, the pilot drug himself back inside, shucked his suit distastefully, and collapsed in his chair. He watched the flag fall away below as Nanny lifted off.

When they were orbiting the planet and taking their last look at the flag, the pilot spoke, saying, "You know, Nanny, I almost don't want to leave."

"I know, sir, that is why it is imperative that we go." She saw a tear rolling out of one of the pilot's eyes.

"I...I almost feel like I'm leaving home; like some kid going off to stay with his in-laws, or something...something even deeper than that."

"I understand, sir. Perhaps when you and I get married, we will build our home here."

"What? Nanny, computers and living creatures can't get married!"

"You watch me, sir," said Nanny.

Then the ship vanished as they warped into time-space.



                                                      THE END