After eating the cookie, Galaxy Girl launched into her favorite topic, which was Dogs In Space.





“From earliest civilization,” she began, “dogs have had a special relationship with humans. It was the inherent intelligence and curiosity of both species that drew us together. But until man was able to understand the nuance of our speech, we were not given proper credit for our abilities. Laica was a pioneer, being the first dog in space. Had she been given proper training and control over her ship, she would have been able to return to earth.”







“She was a hero,” Flash agreed.

The friends talked for quite a long time before Galaxy Girl had to return to the Procyon. They shared a hug and Flash closed the door on the transporter. She was dematerialized and transmitted back to her own ship as a coded message or energy pattern to be reconfigured as flesh upon arrival.

The black hair she left on the chair would replace some of the molecules she and her crew had consumed. Her visit had left Flash with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

MEANWHILE:



Reception from the Nomicon party was terrible. Other than a few seconds of garbled video and sound, the feed from the sub-Martian tunnel was lost.

Flash decided to continue to send messages that Nomicon might pick up later, while he monitored the windstorm, which was still raging.

It dawned on Flash that he hadn’t eaten anything for a long time. This thought suddenly made him feel very hungry. Checking the pantry, he only found two boxes of cereal. These, he had brought aboard himself because it was one of his favorite snacks.

“What do I do about food?” he asked the K.D. Head.

“Just tell me what you’d like to eat, or input it into the table of elements yourself.”

“What are the choices?” he asked.



“Anything known to man.”

“No kidding?” Flash said the first thing that came to his mind. “How about Szechuan-Style Stir Fry with Shrimp and Asian Style Potstickers?”



“Certainly.”