Metafire

"Yea." He started to think again, and he decided she was there for awhile. The offer could wait. "Yea. Yea. And getting back pictures of neat moons and planets are just pretty pictures. Nobody really gets worried about that. What about that comet that hit Jupiter. Jez, the explosion was the size of the Earth!"

"Yea." She liked they way they could say 'yea' to each other. It felt safe. "Yea, but you know, I think everybody figures that it's like a submarine. If you are gonna die, you are gonna die, but the astronomers are watching out. And we've got nuclear weapons we can send up to explode comets and asteroids before they hit us, and things like that."

"I guess its hopeless. The President would just sound like a fool if he said we had to get off the planet."

"Yea," she said.

"Look, I heard there was a neat new Mexican Restaurant down on First." He looked at the hair right where it met her forehead. "It's supposed to be really authentic. You wanna go tonight?"

"Sure. Right after work?"

"Five fifteen, right here."