62 Warm PlanetFlash was relieved to be alive, and thrilled to be able to interact with these ice age mammals.  The bitter wind picked up and his hands and feet were going numb. He knew he could not survive much longer out here. Still, he found it difficult to pull himself away. 

He had always envisioned Earth’s prehistoric ages as violent and barbaric. But perhaps there was more to the story. Of course prey had to be killed for the survival of predators. That was still true, and man had become the most ruthless killer of all.  But Flash had also seen friendship between species.  Cats and dogs curled up in a ball together on couches, and even kindness between cats and birds.  Perhaps those relationships had their roots in a history like this one.  He walked back toward his ship with one hand on the withers of a saber toothed tiger, and the other grasped by the prehensile trunk of a wooly mammoth. 

Upon reaching the TNI2, Flash stooped to say goodbye to his other-worldly companions. He opened the hatch and boarded the ship. The beasts looked on as the door closed. 

The interior of the ship was warm, and Flash leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. He pulled off his boots and gloves, and his hands and feet burned. The pain was excruciating, and all Flash could do was to wait it out. 

Flash awoke to darkness. The control panel glowed softly, filling the cockpit with green light.  The pain had all but subsided.  The entire landscape was enveloped in blackness, so Flash turned on the exterior lights. 

There in the yellow glow, he saw a ring of mammoths forming a circle around him, protecting him as he slept. 

For all the bitter cold, this had proved to be a very warm planet.

 He had slept soundly, shielded from unknown danger by a ring of mammoth hearts.  

The ship lifted off, and Flash gazed down on them, wanting to repay their kindness. 

He called upon the table of elements and ordered a large shipment of lettuce, which dropped from the hatch on the underside of the ship. He would just have to find a green planet where he could replenish the molecules. 

With that, Flash Meridian headed up, up, up until the stars burned brightly, unencumbered by atmosphere.

The homing device drew him directly to the mother ship, and Flash was home. 

During his time away, the ship’s computer had mapped the entire planet and stored the information for eventual transmission back to Earth. 

For Flash, returning home was always the best part of any trip. He had everything he needed right here, but he had begun to feel that even the most inhospitable place could feel like home.