”“So what you did was vital, it put the idea into his head.”“True, but at an awful cost. I don’t think it had crossed his mind that either o... us would grow old, not in a visceral way. Seeing the older me, when the day before he’d had an afternoon of the most amazing sex with the young me... It was all too much. It put the idea into his head that his time was short. It drove him to work harder, made him more reclusive.“When I came back from that conference he was never the same. I never knew why. “What’s wrong, Grim?” asked Kelly.“Hmmm?”“What’s wrong? You look surprised or something.”I hung up the phone and scratched my head. How to answer that one? I gave her an amused look. “Remember what you were suggesting this morning, for us?” Kelly blushed and swatted my arm. I pointed at the phone. “I think Dad was getting frisky!”“Oh, my God!” groaned Jack.Bobbie Joe added, “I think I’m going to be sick!”Kelly grinned at me. “You think so?”“If Mom and Dad are holding hands when they come home,. Instead, she asked, ‘He does like girls? I mean he’s not…?’ ‘Homosexual? No, nothing like that but, as I said, he’s so shy around girls and has gone out so little, and a is a very serious student with a long road ahead of him. Once he has his degree, I predict he’ll be very successful. He researched various professions and found a large demand for chemical engineers with advanced degrees. So, he chose that field.’ ‘He sounds fascinating. I’d like to meet him sometime,’ Sue commented – trying. Ships with personal slaves will be allowed to keep them, as long as they stay on board while in port.”“What about other ships?”“Advise them of the two hundred mile limit and our general rules. Then allow them to choose whether to turn back or come to our current ports of entry.”“Broadsword, this is Cutlass. I hated to interrupt, but I thought it would help to know that I have the civil leaders of Boston here listening to the conversation and they’re with us a hundred percent. They wanted to.