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"I'm glad you said that, Jim. OK."

So, Jim Edenfield stayed behind. Scooter and the group moved perishable supplies, extra air, water, and food, into the Bluebird. Scooter gave Jim his virtual reality system for entertainment. Every tool they had on the tug was moved to the Bluebird, just in case someone did come up with a way to disarm the bomb.

It took Scooter almost four hours to reach his cavern. It was attached to one of the larger colonies, known in New Boston as the Boston Bay Colony. No one seemed to know how many capsules and caverns made up Boston Bay, but the number seemed in excess of one hundred. Almost three hundred people lived there.

Erisa and Jack spent their first hours cruising around the Bay Colony. 'Colony cruising' was a common activity, like the old Sunday afternoon drive. People could visit one another, since travelling through a colony necessitated travelling through each other's living spaces.

When Erisa first encountered the space babies, she was particularly impressed. She and Jack were talking with a couple that had kids. While talking about how it was to raise a family in space, she watched three kids, all about about one and a half years of age, being watched over by another of the moms. They would move about their home cavern like a small school of fish, changing direction and bouncing. When their mom moved to a new location, they would follow.


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