Floyd took off gentler than before, hovered a bit before climbing the sky up to the ocean. Valerie seemed less tense, and he could actually see the ghost of a smile, so he must be doing something right.
He picked a spot where there seemed to be no wildlife to interfere, though it was still difficult to tell in this light no brighter than dusk. He had hardly finished the thought when a forest of phosphorescence lit up. Valerie gasped. She had just finished screwing the cap back on after taking her sample when she noticed the bright blue jellyfish just below the surface.
“I could stay and watch this all day.” She whispered. “But you should know, I’d rather save these sights for after we’ve put the ocean back in… where it should be. My point is, you said we didn’t have time.”
“I did.” Floyd reached back to take the water sample from her. “It doesn’t mean there aren’t moments I wish could stay and watch.”
Floyd cleared his throat. It must have sounded odd, because Valerie looked concerned.
“Now, you can hold on to me like you have been. But you should know, space travel is a little different.”
“Right. Don’t think I realized that til you just said it.”
“Just hold on, and it takes about 5 seconds for the wormhole to form. The destination is already programmed, and you won’t be in danger of being lost. But you’ll feel disoriented when you first arrive, so you just hold on as tight as you need to.”
“Okay.” Valerie sucked in a breath, and shut her eyes.
“Actually, you should breathe out right before we enter, because you will definitely want to breathe in by the time you reach the other side.”
Valerie nodded, and tried to do as he said.
“Trust your pilot, Valerie, and become an astronaut.” Floyd heard her breathe out right before he flew in.
Valerie tried to gasp as quietly as she could. Not only was the air a shock to her lungs, but the sight in front of her seemed like something out of the future. Which, she supposed it was. There had to be some way that they were holding in the atmosphere, but even with the storefront lights all clamoring for attention, the contrast of the night sky was still obvious.
“You know, the reason I live in the country is because of views like this.” Valerie was quiet, but Floyd seemed to hear her anyway.
“These aren’t the stars you’ve seen before.” Floyd looked straight up at the sky with her. “And this isn’t technically night. It’s all artificially heated, and lit up. Part of their shop window method.”
“You said dinosaurs, though. Do they have any here?”
“Not really. Not the big ones. Feeding livestock in addition to creating this storefront is just too expensive.”
Livestock. He called the dinosaurs “livestock”. Like a triceratops was no different from a Texas Longhorn!
“From what I’ve read, it’s not a good idea to stare.” Floyd interrupted her thoughts.
“At what?” She asked.
“Anything. Apparently, staring at people causes violence. At least for humans, and you’ll be dealing with mostly humans.”
“It’s mostly about the way that you stare.” Valerie tried to educate him a little on human behavior. “But you’re right. As a general rule, don’t stare.”
Floyd tried to help her down as best he could. Valerie didn’t know if the failure of this method was due to physics or lack of practice. Either way, she hit the hard concrete butt-first. She got back up quickly enough, but until that fall, it really hadn’t occurred to her what she was doing here. She was about to negotiate the price of a replacement moon for her whole planet. Or maybe there was a sticker price.
Valerie was stiff as she started to follow Floyd to the storefront marked ‘Plan-Mart’. She must have seemed like an easy target.
“Miss, would you like to buy a moon?” A stranger opened half of his oversized jacket to reveal images of moons available for purchase. The blue light of the projections startled her. “I can give you a better deal than you’ll find in there.” He jerked his thumb toward Plan-Mart. “Guaranteed.”
“I’m still shopping around.” Valerie backed up half a step, pretending she was standing back to consider the whole array of options available to her.
“Do you have a card?”
“A card?” The man blinked at her. Maybe they didn’t use cards anymore.
“Something with your name or address so I can find you later.” She hoped that was how they still did things.
“Ah, like a register, miss?” The man pulled out what looked like a skinny smartphone.
Valerie looked over at Floyd. He nodded. And the stranger was staring at her. Expecting… something she couldn’t figure out.
“Yes, please.” She stared back at him. Floyd nickered, and came forward.
He raised his left leg, and shook his feathers to the side to reveal what looked like a smart watch. The man tapped the watch with his device, and tipped his hat in Valerie’s direction before setting off to find another customer.
“What year is this?” Valerie could have kicked herself for not asking earlier.
“What planet is this?”
“7832, and it’s a commercial moon, not a planet.”
“Commercial moon? Please tell me that doesn’t refer to zoning restrictions.” Valerie snorted.
“That’s exactly what it refers to. Planets are not allowed to conduct business with each other, because wars were happening too frequently. Now the disputes are resolved by the equivalent of an thumb war, and businesses are owned and run by at least 5 separate planetary representatives. They’re not allowed to represent the interests of more than one business, so companies diversify instead of splitting, which makes it tougher to find competitors that inspire improvement.”
“Does that mean more law and order, or less?” Valerie tried to take in everything around her, but there was too much to understand right now.
“More or less.” Floyd walked off in the direction of the big sign. She jogged to keep up with his ridiculously long stride.
“Which one? More, or Less?”
“Yes.” Floyd picked up the pace just a little, and now Valerie had to concentrate on her breathing. She could clarify later. Trying to keep up with Floyd and looking nonchalant about it was just not possible. By the time Floyd reached the storefront, and the automatic doors had slid open, Valerie was bent over, with her hands on her knees. She saw him look back at her, and she held up a finger. Hopefully, he would know that meant she’d be along in a minute. Or five.
When buying a moon, one should, presumably, look one’s best. Valerie had no idea if her appearance had improved since that episode in Orson’s hallway, and the brief reflection in the sliding doors didn’t give her much reassurance either way. But she would not be out of breath, appearing desperate. It was probably like buying a car. Or a horse. You have to be able to walk away. Or at least look the part. Floyd was watching the various boards displaying availability when she finally caught up with him.
“Better?” He asked. He might have winked, but Valerie could only see this side of his face.
“Just a minute!” Valerie stepped in front of him, arms akimbo, trying to look her most intimidating. And Floyd DID take a step back. And Valerie put her arms down and breathe. She was still tired from her run. “7832? You never told me we’d be traveling in time!”
