“Somebody commits a murder and the detective tries to find out who it was.”

“What’s a murder?”

“When someone kills someone else.”

“He does it deliberately?” She looked surprised.

“Yes.”

“How is it different from fantasy fiction?”

Beth was not immediately sure what she meant. “Don’t you guys have any murders?”

“Not that I know about.”

“I’m beginning to realize, Kwylla, your people may not have aircraft, but I think your level of development is way ahead of ours. Barry, would you be willing to read a novel for Kwylla, translating it for her?”

“Of course.” Unfortunately, the AI had no command of the written Volarian language, which would have allowed him to create a version she could read.

“Which novel would you like to hear, Kwylla?”

“Wait.” Kwylla shook her head. “Translating is not helpful. Do it in original form.”

“I understand,” said Barry. He started to read titles.

“Wait, Barry,” she said. “Stop. Beth, I will tell you the kind of novel I would like so maybe you could recommend something.”

“Sure. That’ll work.”

“Good. Something funny. Lighthearted.”

“Barry,” said Beth, “can you show me a list of whatever comic novels we have?”

“I’m sorry, but the novels are not divided by category.”

“Okay, put the entire inventory on display, okay?”

Beth needed a few minutes but eventually found one she’d read several times. Probably the only book in her life she’d read more than once. “And what is that?” asked Kwylla.

“Lucky Jim,” she said. “It’s by Kingsley Amis. It’s hysterical.”

“I’m not sure I want something that would drive me to hysteria.”

•  •  •

On the fourth day, Arin joined Kwylla in dismissing Barry’s translations altogether. “It’s too easy that way,” he said. “And I don’t learn anything.”

He and Kwylla remained fascinated by the display capabilities in the passenger cabin. Eventually, they asked what else was available, other than the Earth Catalog.

Then, as Derek put it, they took them to the stars. They sat on the front porch as if it were floating in space, and looked at a sun up close, and an approaching comet that made everyone duck. They cruised past the red giant the Eiferman had visited on the way out. They floated under the Saturnian rings, and enjoyed a Photoshopped image of a Mars that had never existed, with water-filled canals glittering beneath the stars. They visited archeological sites on several worlds, which intrigued Kwylla and Arin. “What happened to the inhabitants?” they asked.

Sometimes there were explanations. Sometimes not.

Meanwhile, Beth ran tests on the Volarian food and concluded that terrestrial edibles would probably supply appropriate nutrients, although she couldn’t be certain. “No way to know for sure,” she said. “I don’t really have adequate equipment to settle every issue, and I’m not exactly an expert in the field.”