During the following days, something changed. They cut back on the entertainment. They didn’t spend most of their time anymore caught up in movies and shows. Beth sensed it too. She said she wasn’t sure what had happened. When Wally commented that it was Farewell to London, Hutch shook her head. “It’s more than that.”

“What is it then?” asked Derek. “Are we all just getting bored?”

It wasn’t boredom. And it wasn’t the show. “I think,” said Ken, “just sitting on the porch looking out at Wally’s stars has set us up somehow. We hang around here and watch the tide come in, and I think it reminds us of where we are, and what’s gone missing.”

Beth agreed. “When we get home,” she said, “we’re going to discover an appreciation for the things we’ve been taking for granted over a lifetime. Instead of VR, we’ll start paying attention to real sunrises and squirrels and oak trees. And the other people in our lives.”

“And beautiful women,” said Wally. “Oh, I forgot. I guess we already do that.” He glanced sidewise at Hutch. The offer was still open.

“You know,” Ken said, “the last few mornings we mostly watched a couple of quiz shows and dance contests. Nobody’s asking to put them back on today. Do we want to do that?”

They looked at one another. “Not really,” said Beth.

“The real value of communications technology,” he continued, “is that it keeps us in contact with the rest of the world. We can fake it, but we’re seriously cut off in here.”

“Anybody want to play some pinochle?” asked Wally.

Over the next few nights they tried gaming, VR challenges that sent them on rescue missions for people trapped in barbarian lands, or in starships caught in declining orbits that were about to suck them into gas giants. They were okay, but ultimately, they found it more rewarding to spend their time on the front porch, talking about where they were and how they were reacting to it. And pointing out that they were only five days out from their target, and then four days, and how it was almost over. And how much, when they got back to Earth, they’d enjoy wandering into a bar in Alexandria or wherever. “I have a feeling,” Ken said, “that what we are really going to learn from this mission is how much we care about home. And how much we take for granted.”

•  •  •

Somewhere, Hutch heard a voice. She opened her eyes and looked up at the dark overhead. Then the bed shook.

“Captain Hutchins. Please wake.”

It was Barry. The mattress was still again. “What happened?” she asked.

“The drive unit is not performing properly.”