“I must admit,” Jim Tompkins said, settling back comfortably in his cushioned seat. “This Valtorian tram is remarkable—a splendid example of alien ingenuity. Guess I’ll never learn how they’ve managed to harnass the power of the stars to fuel this thing. Stellar nuclear fusion. Well, this is just something completely amazing and well beyond my comprehension.”

“Their technology far exceeds ours in a lot of ways, doesn’t it, Dad?” Jenny leaned back in her seat, slouching lazily until her back started hurting. “It’s funny though, you know. I had half expected to see robots and other weird machines around. I mean, other than those cool spaceships and laser guns. Of...