Kwylla and Arin might have settled the issue themselves when they discovered a genuine appetite for ham, turkey, and pork roll. And, of course, everybody got a huge laugh the night they brought out the pizza. Their guests couldn’t get enough.

Kwylla had a difficult time getting away from Lucky Jim. Comedy, which had baffled their guests earlier, now kept her laughing constantly while Barry read the original version. Periodically, she stopped him so she could repeat lines for whoever was nearby. At one point, she turned to Beth. “You know, I had no idea you people were so funny.”

When she finished it, she asked whether the author was still alive.

“Kingsley Amis?” said Beth. “No, he’s been gone a long time.”

“That’s a pity. I’d have enjoyed meeting him.”

Hutch was sitting alongside her at the time: “I’m pretty sure he’d have enjoyed meeting you too, Kwylla.”

•  •  •

As Kwylla and Arin grew more familiar with the language, and probably also with the culture of their friends, the comedy shows began to work. They sat and laughed with the others as Alex Brightman exaggerated his deep-space experiences in fruitless efforts to bed girlfriends. “Oh, wait until you get to do it without gravity.” And Minnie Blanchard, who did dazzling impersonations of President Proctor in White House Blues. Wally asked whether she was a relative of Derek’s. “I wish she was,” he said.

Hutch and Beth tended to use the workout area at the same time. They invited Kwylla to join them. After some initial reluctance, she did.

They talked about how enjoyable life on the starship could be, the probable reception they’d receive when they arrived at Union Station, what they were reading, and whichever movie they had watched the previous evening.

They were well into the second week of the flight. Kwylla had not yet arrived for her workout when Beth got up from the mat on which she was doing push-ups, took a quick look through the open door, walked over beside Hutch, who was lifting weights, and lowered her voice: “You know, I hope we get a chance to do a biological analysis of them.” She was referring to their passengers.

“Why’s that? You worried they might be carrying a disease?”

“No, I’m not very much concerned about that. I think if it were an issue, we’d have seen it manifested by now.” Those hazel eyes sparkled. “But I’d love to know how their systems work. Do they have problems with epidemics? How are their brains different from ours? How do their reproductive systems work? How long is their life span? I think most of all, I’d love to find out if their DNA operates like ours.”

“Maybe they don’t even have DNA.”