" The ocean was made up of an organo-fluorine compound, but they could not tell exactly which one without taking a sample for analysis. This was too d...ngerous, so the Earthers just skipped it.There were only two detected cities on the planet, but both appeared to cover approximately one-third the land mass. There were no very tall buildings, but there might be extensive structures below ground. Again, there was no way to be sure at this distance.The FB spaceship docked at a synchronous. In places, as we went, there were larger piles of it, and he seemed to mourn each of these as we passed, always saying in a single word what the pile of ash had been in life. Oak, ash tree, bear, horse, deer… At length we came upon a large expanse of what seemed to be gray pudding by it’s look and consistency. ‘This was Crystalmist Lake,’ he intoned. His sadness grew more and more evident as we traveled. ‘Oh, what have I done? May the gods be merciful on my soul.’ Skirting the edge of the new. That big Air Tractor ten feet off the ground, that’s a rush ... Of course, I AM degreed ... Maybe the military ... F-15’s ... Nahhhhh!“No, ma’am,” I answered. “I’m happily employed as, well, an engineer. A physicist. And I do a lot of flying for our company.”“Eighteen...” she repeated.“Yes, ma’am. I sort of pushed ahead of the normal timeline.”“Must be nice,” she said.“I like it. It’s all fun.”She smiled. “Well, do what you got to do. I’ve got accounting to get to.”I went across the room,. She smiled at me and casually closed the bathroom door.Later when we were sitting in the living room watching a movie Mom asked, “Did you get a good look at me in the bathroom…or do you need more?”I knew that my pecker was standing at attention shouting, “More, more, Damn it.”Mom looked down and said, “I can see the answer. Now if I do this you must promise never to tell your father about it.” Then as an after thought she added, “Or anyone else either. Do you understand?”I nodded my head. Mom.