Journal Entry 218 / 0164 I sat down in the driver's seat of the car painfully, laying my head against the steering wheel.Journal Entry 218 / 0164 I sat down in the driver's seat of the car painfully, laying my head against the steering wheel. "Oh, rings, have I got a headache." "I take it we lost?" K'meh asked. "By a lot," I mumbled, still unmoving. I thought about it for a moment. "Still, that's not a bad thing... As a species, they're immature when it comes to their own collective reproductive destiny. It's probably for the best that they have more time to think about the offer." She smiled. "You think they're immature. They think you're imperial and fascist, you know." "I know," I said, sitting back in my chair, patting the letter from Professor King, still in my pocket, which echoed my thoughts exactly. I punched the radio to the Pendor Embassy in Geneva. "Hera?" "I'm here, Ken. Whatcha need?" "Clearance to ORD-US." "I'll put it through. You'll want customs?" "As per," I said. There was a delay of several minutes until Hera said "Done," and I lifted the small four-person vehicle into the air and we set off across the Atlantic, doing Mach 3 for most of it. We arrived in Chicago three hours later. My passport identified me as a junior staff member of the Pendorian Embassy To The United Nations. Customs treated us as such. As I pulled out onto the freeway, K'meh laughed sharply. "They never knew who you were!" "Illusionware is great, isn't it?" I said, smiling and considering my course of action. I plotted a course to New Hampshire and settled back for the long drive, letting the computer drive. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. But K'meh interrupted me. "Can I ask you a question?" "Depends," I sighed, not opening my eyes. "Why do you want to buy Earth?" I opened my eyes and looked at her, smiling. "Because I think it's a museum." "Huh?" I turned my head to look at her, also watching the beautiful scenery go by outside. |