Cherry Blossom Snow

Peace Between Worlds

"Fascinating," said Henry. "Ruby, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I wasn't payin' attention," Ruby replied.

"I could repeat myself if you'd like," said Nathan.

"Will I have to remember any of it?"

"It might help to know about the Nokiqyl and the Ayaixt, but otherwise, no, not really."

"Good," said Ruby. "Tell me if it comes up. Now, Henry, what were you thinkin'?"

"I was thinking maybe we could try creating some sort of forum for peaceful relations between worlds," said Henry. "Does that sound like it would be worth trying?"

"I think it would be fun," said Ruby.

"Splendid," said Nathan. "I was going to wait until you humans were all dead, but I figure if you're looking for something to do, I should at least mention that I've been passively working on ideas for something of the sort. Besides, getting it started and built up seems like a lot of work I don't really want to do, so if you do most of the work instead, we all win."

"You're such a dick," said Ruby. "Still, I like the idea. But whatever you're plannin', I know Henry can come up with better."

Planning would begin almost immediately upon returning to Mars. Soon, they would be departing again for another adventure, which would involve visiting every known civilization in the galaxy.

"You two sure you want to do this?" Nathan asked Ruby and Henry one final time as he readied the ship for takeoff. "It could be dangerous."

"Indeed," said Henry.

"Yup," said Ruby.

"No one asked me," said Olivia. "But of course, I wanna go."

"We won't be back for quite a while," said Nathan. "We have over nine hundred stops to make on this trip. The closest civilized world is Owasema, sixteen light-years away. I visited Owasema in the past and I'm quite fond of the people who reside there. The Nokiqyl are nearly identical to humans. Seriously, on a genetic level, they're close enough that you could probably interbreed with them if you wanted to."

"How is that even possible?" asked Henry. "Humans can't even interbreed with other primates, much less any other creatures from the same planet that at least have some biological connection."

"I don't know the odds of it developing so similarly across billions of years of independent evolution," Nathan replied. "Actually, I don't even know that it has been entirely independent, nor do I really care. Anyway, they can communicate telepathically and manipulate the physical world with their minds, so that makes them better than you pathetic humans. I'm looking forward to returning there. Is everybody ready?"

By the time Nathan, Ruby, Henry, Olivia, Ja, Io, and Ur arrived at Owasema, they could see from orbit that something was wrong, and they wanted to help if possible. The entire planet was in ruins, and dangerously radioactive. An exhaustive scan of Owasema failed to detect signs of life. Nathan, Ruby, Henry, Olivia, Ja, Io, and Ur were feeling upset about Owasema, incorrectly believing that the native Nokiqyl people were extinct, but decided to move forward. Beilufa was the next stop.

"We're off to a bad start, but it will get better," said Nathan.

Beilufa was the only planet orbiting its sun, a white dwarf star four hundred light-years from Earth. Beilufa was slightly smaller than Earth, and its atmosphere was similar in composition but denser and much colder, and it also had a significantly stronger magnetic field. After arriving, Nathan brought the ship down for a landing in one of the planet's few open fields, which was near some lights, indicating there was probably a settlement nearby. The planet, now covered with evergreen forests, was quite different from what Nathan remembered, but it was obviously still inhabited. Ruby, Henry, and Olivia donned thick clothing for insulation, followed by snowshoes.