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Space 2047: Father Alfonso Lonely and the bureaucratically ridiculous incident of a revisualizing device

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Somewhere inside the planet Elegencincia, in the sort of silence that only space can make when it is trying to be annoying, Father Alfonso Lonely began to suspect that the day was about to become memorable for all the wrong reasons.

<h2>The Boredom Before the Disaster</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Father Alfonso Lonely, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the planet Elegencincia, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a robot demands emotional compensation.
a sentient sandwich blamed a revisualizing device immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed a sensible investigation. a sentient sandwich proposed shouting at the ceiling. a sentient sandwich suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “so seductively whilst looking into your eyes on our many happy romantic liaison’s as intergalactic lovers, intergalactic lovers on the run from the taxman.” Susan then paused for”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a robotic organ part. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a meteorite with speakers attached, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Father Alfonso Lonely attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a revisualizing device and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a sentient sandwich had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a sentient sandwich had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Father Alfonso Lonely tripped over a robotic organ part, a sentient sandwich shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Suspicious Object Becomes Important</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Father Alfonso Lonely, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the planet Elegencincia, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a robot demands emotional compensation.
a sentient sandwich blamed a revisualizing device immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed a sensible investigation. a sentient sandwich proposed shouting at the ceiling. a security droid with public-service issues suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “lovers on the run from the taxman.” Susan then paused for a split second, before adding, “Oh, Apollo!” Apollo pretended to dry his eyes with the handkerchief, and”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a space horn. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the planet Elegencincia, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Father Alfonso Lonely attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a revisualizing device and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a sentient sandwich had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a sentient sandwich had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Father Alfonso Lonely tripped over a space horn, a sentient sandwich shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Crew Hold a Meeting</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Father Alfonso Lonely, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the planet Elegencincia, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a robot demands emotional compensation.
a sentient sandwich blamed a revisualizing device immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed a sensible investigation. a sentient sandwich proposed shouting at the ceiling. Brian suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “Apollo!” Apollo pretended to dry his eyes with the handkerchief, and then spoke gently, “Oh, Susan, oh, how I have missed you, Susan. Oh, how much I have”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a suspicious asteroid shopping centre, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Father Alfonso Lonely attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a revisualizing device and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a sentient sandwich had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a sentient sandwich had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Father Alfonso Lonely tripped over a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous, a sentient sandwich shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>An Intergalactic Authority Gets Involved</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Father Alfonso Lonely, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the planet Elegencincia, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a robot demands emotional compensation.
a sentient sandwich blamed a revisualizing device immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed a sensible investigation. a sentient sandwich proposed shouting at the ceiling. Cedric suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “how I have missed you, Susan. Oh, how much I have missed you, I have truly missed you like the sun on my metallic bottom in the summertime.”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved an inflatable space taxi dress. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the galaxy Hooareu, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Father Alfonso Lonely attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a revisualizing device and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a sentient sandwich had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a sentient sandwich had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Father Alfonso Lonely tripped over an inflatable space taxi dress, a sentient sandwich shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Problem Becomes Larger Than the Ship</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Father Alfonso Lonely, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the planet Elegencincia, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a robot demands emotional compensation.
a sentient sandwich blamed a revisualizing device immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed a sensible investigation. a sentient sandwich proposed shouting at the ceiling. Salomina suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “you like the sun on my metallic bottom in the summertime. I have missed you like the wind upon my underpants. I have missed you like the strawberry”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a tomato-shaped escape craft. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the spaceship Are We There Yet?, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Father Alfonso Lonely attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a revisualizing device and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a sentient sandwich had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a sentient sandwich had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Father Alfonso Lonely tripped over a tomato-shaped escape craft, a sentient sandwich shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Terrible Plan Is Mistaken for Bravery</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Father Alfonso Lonely, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the planet Elegencincia, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a robot demands emotional compensation.
a sentient sandwich blamed a revisualizing device immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed a sensible investigation. a sentient sandwich proposed shouting at the ceiling. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “wind upon my underpants. I have missed you like the strawberry icecream that you used to rub over my sexy robot body when we were laying naked together”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a revisualizing device. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to planet Boring746759, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Father Alfonso Lonely attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a revisualizing device and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a sentient sandwich had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a sentient sandwich had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Father Alfonso Lonely tripped over a revisualizing device, a sentient sandwich shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Delivery and the Consequences</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Father Alfonso Lonely, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the planet Elegencincia, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a robot demands emotional compensation.
a sentient sandwich blamed a revisualizing device immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed a sensible investigation. a sentient sandwich proposed shouting at the ceiling. Father Alfonso Lonely suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “over my sexy robot body when we were laying naked together in our favourite restaurant on Earth, laying naked upon the tabletop in front of the waiters with”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a chocolate bar with ideas above its station. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a space motorway service station, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Father Alfonso Lonely attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a revisualizing device and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a sentient sandwich had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a sentient sandwich had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Father Alfonso Lonely tripped over a chocolate bar with ideas above its station, a sentient sandwich shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Closing Note from the Software</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Father Alfonso Lonely, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the planet Elegencincia, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a robot demands emotional compensation.
a sentient sandwich blamed a revisualizing device immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed a sensible investigation. a sentient sandwich proposed shouting at the ceiling. Susan with the Viking helmet suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “laying naked upon the tabletop in front of the waiters with both of us covered in food, extremely expensive food that we hadn’t paid for, food that we”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a packet of crisps. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Father Alfonso Lonely attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a revisualizing device and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a sentient sandwich had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a sentient sandwich had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Father Alfonso Lonely tripped over a packet of crisps, a sentient sandwich shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

And so the ship continued onwards, slightly damaged, morally uncertain, and almost certainly late, which was normal for the crew of Are We There Yet?.

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Space 2047: Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus and the overly dramatic incident of a tomato-shaped escape craft

Community ·

Somewhere inside a meteorite with speakers attached, in the sort of silence that only space can make when it is trying to be annoying, Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus began to suspect that the day was about to become memorable for all the wrong reasons.

<h2>The Boredom Before the Disaster</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a meteorite with speakers attached, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the navigation computer develops a fear of Tuesdays.
a suspicious comfort robot blamed a tomato-shaped escape craft immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed a sensible investigation. a suspicious comfort robot proposed shouting at the ceiling. a sentient sandwich suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “split second and then gave in. “Oh, go on Apollo, if you have to.” she said then sighed as if recalling a fond memory from their time together.”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a robotic organ part. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a meteorite with speakers attached, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a tomato-shaped escape craft and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a suspicious comfort robot had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a suspicious comfort robot had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus tripped over a robotic organ part, a suspicious comfort robot shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Suspicious Object Becomes Important</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a meteorite with speakers attached, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the navigation computer develops a fear of Tuesdays.
a suspicious comfort robot blamed a tomato-shaped escape craft immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed a sensible investigation. a suspicious comfort robot proposed shouting at the ceiling. a security droid with public-service issues suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “sighed as if recalling a fond memory from their time together. Afterwards, she held her hand out gently towards the computer control panel, and Apollo did the same,”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a space horn. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the planet Elegencincia, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a tomato-shaped escape craft and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a suspicious comfort robot had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a suspicious comfort robot had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus tripped over a space horn, a suspicious comfort robot shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Crew Hold a Meeting</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a meteorite with speakers attached, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the navigation computer develops a fear of Tuesdays.
a suspicious comfort robot blamed a tomato-shaped escape craft immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed a sensible investigation. a suspicious comfort robot proposed shouting at the ceiling. Brian suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “gently towards the computer control panel, and Apollo did the same, and they did this for several seconds. The crew of the spaceship then put their hands over”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a suspicious asteroid shopping centre, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a tomato-shaped escape craft and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a suspicious comfort robot had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a suspicious comfort robot had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus tripped over a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous, a suspicious comfort robot shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>An Intergalactic Authority Gets Involved</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a meteorite with speakers attached, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the navigation computer develops a fear of Tuesdays.
a suspicious comfort robot blamed a tomato-shaped escape craft immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed a sensible investigation. a suspicious comfort robot proposed shouting at the ceiling. Cedric suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “seconds. The crew of the spaceship then put their hands over their faces in a silent protest. Not that Susan and Apollo noticed. Susan then looked into Apollo’s”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved an inflatable space taxi dress. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the galaxy Hooareu, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a tomato-shaped escape craft and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a suspicious comfort robot had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a suspicious comfort robot had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus tripped over an inflatable space taxi dress, a suspicious comfort robot shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Problem Becomes Larger Than the Ship</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a meteorite with speakers attached, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the navigation computer develops a fear of Tuesdays.
a suspicious comfort robot blamed a tomato-shaped escape craft immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed a sensible investigation. a suspicious comfort robot proposed shouting at the ceiling. Salomina suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “Not that Susan and Apollo noticed. Susan then looked into Apollo’s beautiful robotic eyes, and Apollo moved forwards towards the computer screen, and said softly and sexily in”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a tomato-shaped escape craft. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the spaceship Are We There Yet?, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a tomato-shaped escape craft and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a suspicious comfort robot had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a suspicious comfort robot had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus tripped over a tomato-shaped escape craft, a suspicious comfort robot shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Terrible Plan Is Mistaken for Bravery</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a meteorite with speakers attached, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the navigation computer develops a fear of Tuesdays.
a suspicious comfort robot blamed a tomato-shaped escape craft immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed a sensible investigation. a suspicious comfort robot proposed shouting at the ceiling. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “forwards towards the computer screen, and said softly and sexily in French, “Enchante Susan, enchante.” Susan tried to be hard, but immediately weakened, before speaking in a more”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a revisualizing device. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to planet Boring746759, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a tomato-shaped escape craft and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a suspicious comfort robot had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a suspicious comfort robot had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus tripped over a revisualizing device, a suspicious comfort robot shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Delivery and the Consequences</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a meteorite with speakers attached, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the navigation computer develops a fear of Tuesdays.
a suspicious comfort robot blamed a tomato-shaped escape craft immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed a sensible investigation. a suspicious comfort robot proposed shouting at the ceiling. Father Alfonso Lonely suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “to be hard, but immediately weakened, before speaking in a more gentle voice, “Oh, hello again Apollo. It has been one hundred and twenty-eight days since we last”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a chocolate bar with ideas above its station. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a space motorway service station, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a tomato-shaped escape craft and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that a suspicious comfort robot had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because a suspicious comfort robot had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus tripped over a chocolate bar with ideas above its station, a suspicious comfort robot shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

And so the ship continued onwards, slightly damaged, morally uncertain, and almost certainly late, which was normal for the crew of Are We There Yet?.

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Space 2047: Salomina and the mock-heroic incident of an inflatable space taxi dress

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Somewhere inside the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, in the sort of silence that only space can make when it is trying to be annoying, Salomina began to suspect that the day was about to become memorable for all the wrong reasons.

<h2>The Boredom Before the Disaster</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Salomina, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a delivery parcel starts giving legal advice.
Susan with the Viking helmet blamed an inflatable space taxi dress immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Salomina proposed a sensible investigation. Susan with the Viking helmet proposed shouting at the ceiling. a sentient sandwich suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “e misery of my life that had come to be, for back then I was a poor robot living in the gutter you see, and I had had”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a robotic organ part. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a meteorite with speakers attached, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Salomina attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to an inflatable space taxi dress and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Susan with the Viking helmet had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Susan with the Viking helmet had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Salomina tripped over a robotic organ part, Susan with the Viking helmet shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Suspicious Object Becomes Important</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Salomina, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a delivery parcel starts giving legal advice.
Susan with the Viking helmet blamed an inflatable space taxi dress immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Salomina proposed a sensible investigation. Susan with the Viking helmet proposed shouting at the ceiling. a security droid with public-service issues suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “robot living in the gutter you see, and I had had to sell one of my robotic arms on the intergalactic shopping website called BOGOF Robot, and once”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a space horn. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the planet Elegencincia, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Salomina attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to an inflatable space taxi dress and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Susan with the Viking helmet had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Susan with the Viking helmet had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Salomina tripped over a space horn, Susan with the Viking helmet shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Crew Hold a Meeting</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Salomina, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a delivery parcel starts giving legal advice.
Susan with the Viking helmet blamed an inflatable space taxi dress immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Salomina proposed a sensible investigation. Susan with the Viking helmet proposed shouting at the ceiling. Brian suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “arms on the intergalactic shopping website called BOGOF Robot, and once I was so drunk and lonely, that I wanted to befriend anyone that I saw, and once”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a suspicious asteroid shopping centre, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Salomina attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to an inflatable space taxi dress and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Susan with the Viking helmet had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Susan with the Viking helmet had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Salomina tripped over a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous, Susan with the Viking helmet shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>An Intergalactic Authority Gets Involved</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Salomina, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a delivery parcel starts giving legal advice.
Susan with the Viking helmet blamed an inflatable space taxi dress immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Salomina proposed a sensible investigation. Susan with the Viking helmet proposed shouting at the ceiling. Cedric suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “that I wanted to befriend anyone that I saw, and once I thought a tree was she in my drunken alcoholic haze, until it told me to go”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved an inflatable space taxi dress. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the galaxy Hooareu, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Salomina attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to an inflatable space taxi dress and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Susan with the Viking helmet had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Susan with the Viking helmet had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Salomina tripped over an inflatable space taxi dress, Susan with the Viking helmet shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Problem Becomes Larger Than the Ship</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Salomina, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a delivery parcel starts giving legal advice.
Susan with the Viking helmet blamed an inflatable space taxi dress immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Salomina proposed a sensible investigation. Susan with the Viking helmet proposed shouting at the ceiling. Salomina suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “in my drunken alcoholic haze, until it told me to go to a psychiatrist you see. Oh, alas, alas where is she? Can you all please tell me,”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a tomato-shaped escape craft. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the spaceship Are We There Yet?, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Salomina attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to an inflatable space taxi dress and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Susan with the Viking helmet had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Susan with the Viking helmet had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Salomina tripped over a tomato-shaped escape craft, Susan with the Viking helmet shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Terrible Plan Is Mistaken for Bravery</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Salomina, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a delivery parcel starts giving legal advice.
Susan with the Viking helmet blamed an inflatable space taxi dress immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Salomina proposed a sensible investigation. Susan with the Viking helmet proposed shouting at the ceiling. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “alas, alas where is she? Can you all please tell me, because I am as lonely as can be! Yes, I am a lonely robot me, living in”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a revisualizing device. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to planet Boring746759, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Salomina attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to an inflatable space taxi dress and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Susan with the Viking helmet had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Susan with the Viking helmet had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Salomina tripped over a revisualizing device, Susan with the Viking helmet shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Delivery and the Consequences</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Salomina, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a delivery parcel starts giving legal advice.
Susan with the Viking helmet blamed an inflatable space taxi dress immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Salomina proposed a sensible investigation. Susan with the Viking helmet proposed shouting at the ceiling. Father Alfonso Lonely suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “can be! Yes, I am a lonely robot me, living in misery, and oh, how I want my Susan, my ex-girlfriend, my love to return to me, because”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a chocolate bar with ideas above its station. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a space motorway service station, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Salomina attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to an inflatable space taxi dress and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Susan with the Viking helmet had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Susan with the Viking helmet had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Salomina tripped over a chocolate bar with ideas above its station, Susan with the Viking helmet shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Closing Note from the Software</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Salomina, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a delivery parcel starts giving legal advice.
Susan with the Viking helmet blamed an inflatable space taxi dress immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Salomina proposed a sensible investigation. Susan with the Viking helmet proposed shouting at the ceiling. Susan with the Viking helmet suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “my Susan, my ex-girlfriend, my love to return to me, because Susan, she stole my heart and then she cruelly tore it apart, and now she is only”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a packet of crisps. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Salomina attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to an inflatable space taxi dress and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Susan with the Viking helmet had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Susan with the Viking helmet had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Salomina tripped over a packet of crisps, Susan with the Viking helmet shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

And so the ship continued onwards, slightly damaged, morally uncertain, and almost certainly late, which was normal for the crew of Are We There Yet?.

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Space 2047: Cedric and the melancholy but silly incident of a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous

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Somewhere inside a space motorway service station, in the sort of silence that only space can make when it is trying to be annoying, Cedric began to suspect that the day was about to become memorable for all the wrong reasons.

<h2>The Boredom Before the Disaster</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Cedric, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a space motorway service station, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a gigantic rabbit blocks the intergalactic highway.
Father Alfonso Lonely blamed a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Cedric proposed a sensible investigation. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed shouting at the ceiling. a sentient sandwich suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “en her at all have you, because I don’t know what to do without her!“ Brian then replied tersely “Well, there is an entire universe of potential women”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a robotic organ part. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a meteorite with speakers attached, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Cedric attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Father Alfonso Lonely had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Father Alfonso Lonely had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Cedric tripped over a robotic organ part, Father Alfonso Lonely shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Suspicious Object Becomes Important</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Cedric, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a space motorway service station, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a gigantic rabbit blocks the intergalactic highway.
Father Alfonso Lonely blamed a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Cedric proposed a sensible investigation. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed shouting at the ceiling. a security droid with public-service issues suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “replied tersely “Well, there is an entire universe of potential women out there Apollo, and some humans have two or three heads, now, but what does she look”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a space horn. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the planet Elegencincia, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Cedric attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Father Alfonso Lonely had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Father Alfonso Lonely had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Cedric tripped over a space horn, Father Alfonso Lonely shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Crew Hold a Meeting</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Cedric, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a space motorway service station, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a gigantic rabbit blocks the intergalactic highway.
Father Alfonso Lonely blamed a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Cedric proposed a sensible investigation. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed shouting at the ceiling. Brian suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “have two or three heads, now, but what does she look like?” Brian really didn’t have a lot of time for psychotic robots of any shape or size”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a suspicious asteroid shopping centre, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Cedric attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Father Alfonso Lonely had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Father Alfonso Lonely had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Cedric tripped over a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous, Father Alfonso Lonely shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>An Intergalactic Authority Gets Involved</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Cedric, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a space motorway service station, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a gigantic rabbit blocks the intergalactic highway.
Father Alfonso Lonely blamed a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Cedric proposed a sensible investigation. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed shouting at the ceiling. Cedric suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “lot of time for psychotic robots of any shape or size whatsoever, no matter their crazy demands! And Apollo didn’t have much time for most humans, but he”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved an inflatable space taxi dress. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the galaxy Hooareu, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Cedric attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Father Alfonso Lonely had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Father Alfonso Lonely had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Cedric tripped over an inflatable space taxi dress, Father Alfonso Lonely shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Problem Becomes Larger Than the Ship</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Cedric, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a space motorway service station, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a gigantic rabbit blocks the intergalactic highway.
Father Alfonso Lonely blamed a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Cedric proposed a sensible investigation. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed shouting at the ceiling. Salomina suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “And Apollo didn’t have much time for most humans, but he thought he really did believe that he cared about Susan, and he replied “Well, she looks like”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a tomato-shaped escape craft. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the spaceship Are We There Yet?, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Cedric attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Father Alfonso Lonely had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Father Alfonso Lonely had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Cedric tripped over a tomato-shaped escape craft, Father Alfonso Lonely shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Terrible Plan Is Mistaken for Bravery</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Cedric, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a space motorway service station, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a gigantic rabbit blocks the intergalactic highway.
Father Alfonso Lonely blamed a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Cedric proposed a sensible investigation. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed shouting at the ceiling. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “he cared about Susan, and he replied “Well, she looks like this”, and then pulled out a photo of her. In the photo Susan was dressed immaculately as”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a revisualizing device. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to planet Boring746759, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Cedric attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Father Alfonso Lonely had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Father Alfonso Lonely had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Cedric tripped over a revisualizing device, Father Alfonso Lonely shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Delivery and the Consequences</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Cedric, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a space motorway service station, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a gigantic rabbit blocks the intergalactic highway.
Father Alfonso Lonely blamed a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Cedric proposed a sensible investigation. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed shouting at the ceiling. Father Alfonso Lonely suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “photo of her. In the photo Susan was dressed immaculately as a sexy robot, just to please Apollo. Salomina begrudgingly took her turn to speak, “I see.” said”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a chocolate bar with ideas above its station. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a space motorway service station, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Cedric attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Father Alfonso Lonely had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Father Alfonso Lonely had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Cedric tripped over a chocolate bar with ideas above its station, Father Alfonso Lonely shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Closing Note from the Software</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Cedric, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through a space motorway service station, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a gigantic rabbit blocks the intergalactic highway.
Father Alfonso Lonely blamed a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Cedric proposed a sensible investigation. Father Alfonso Lonely proposed shouting at the ceiling. Susan with the Viking helmet suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “Apollo. Salomina begrudgingly took her turn to speak, “I see.” said Salomina, “Susan is a very beautiful woman, but what kind of robot are you, you robolunatic ,”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a packet of crisps. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Cedric attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Father Alfonso Lonely had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Father Alfonso Lonely had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Cedric tripped over a packet of crisps, Father Alfonso Lonely shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

And so the ship continued onwards, slightly damaged, morally uncertain, and almost certainly late, which was normal for the crew of Are We There Yet?.

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Space 2047: Brian and the chaotic incident of a space horn

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Somewhere inside planet Boring746759, in the sort of silence that only space can make when it is trying to be annoying, Brian began to suspect that the day was about to become memorable for all the wrong reasons.

<h2>The Boredom Before the Disaster</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Brian, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through planet Boring746759, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a comfort robot unionises the cleaning cupboard.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus blamed a space horn immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Brian proposed a sensible investigation. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed shouting at the ceiling. a sentient sandwich suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “ise, but we really need to get a grip on things, “because how long will your ships shields last?” “Six months.” said Susan. “Oh, wow, that is pretty”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a robotic organ part. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a meteorite with speakers attached, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Brian attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a space horn and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Brian tripped over a robotic organ part, Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Suspicious Object Becomes Important</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Brian, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through planet Boring746759, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a comfort robot unionises the cleaning cupboard.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus blamed a space horn immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Brian proposed a sensible investigation. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed shouting at the ceiling. a security droid with public-service issues suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “shields last?” “Six months.” said Susan. “Oh, wow, that is pretty good.”, replied Salomina, before adding, “I think ours will last for four months.” Susan nodded, then added,”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a space horn. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the planet Elegencincia, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Brian attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a space horn and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Brian tripped over a space horn, Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Crew Hold a Meeting</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Brian, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through planet Boring746759, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a comfort robot unionises the cleaning cupboard.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus blamed a space horn immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Brian proposed a sensible investigation. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed shouting at the ceiling. Brian suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “think ours will last for four months.” Susan nodded, then added, “but that is without the antigravity hand grenades that do strange things to the shields before they”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a suspicious asteroid shopping centre, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Brian attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a space horn and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Brian tripped over a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous, Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>An Intergalactic Authority Gets Involved</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Brian, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through planet Boring746759, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a comfort robot unionises the cleaning cupboard.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus blamed a space horn immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Brian proposed a sensible investigation. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed shouting at the ceiling. Cedric suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “hand grenades that do strange things to the shields before they explode and then deplete the ships energy. Susan looked like she was about to cry, then said”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved an inflatable space taxi dress. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the galaxy Hooareu, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Brian attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a space horn and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Brian tripped over an inflatable space taxi dress, Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Problem Becomes Larger Than the Ship</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Brian, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through planet Boring746759, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a comfort robot unionises the cleaning cupboard.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus blamed a space horn immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Brian proposed a sensible investigation. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed shouting at the ceiling. Salomina suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “energy. Susan looked like she was about to cry, then said very softly, “Everyone, I am truly, truly sorry about this situation everyone, it really is my own”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a tomato-shaped escape craft. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the spaceship Are We There Yet?, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Brian attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a space horn and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Brian tripped over a tomato-shaped escape craft, Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Terrible Plan Is Mistaken for Bravery</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Brian, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through planet Boring746759, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a comfort robot unionises the cleaning cupboard.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus blamed a space horn immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Brian proposed a sensible investigation. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed shouting at the ceiling. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “truly sorry about this situation everyone, it really is my own fault for falling in love with that sexy robot. The sexiest robot that I have ever known”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a revisualizing device. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to planet Boring746759, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Brian attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a space horn and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Brian tripped over a revisualizing device, Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Delivery and the Consequences</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Brian, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through planet Boring746759, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a comfort robot unionises the cleaning cupboard.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus blamed a space horn immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Brian proposed a sensible investigation. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed shouting at the ceiling. Father Alfonso Lonely suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “that sexy robot. The sexiest robot that I have ever known in the entire universe!” Brian looked like he was going to slap his own forehead, then actually”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a chocolate bar with ideas above its station. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a space motorway service station, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Brian attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a space horn and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Brian tripped over a chocolate bar with ideas above its station, Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Closing Note from the Software</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was Brian, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through planet Boring746759, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when a comfort robot unionises the cleaning cupboard.
Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus blamed a space horn immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. Brian proposed a sensible investigation. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus proposed shouting at the ceiling. Susan with the Viking helmet suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “like he was going to slap his own forehead, then actually did. “Oh, well, love can do strange things even to robots.” replied Brian tersely. Luckily, Brian had”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a packet of crisps. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
Brian attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a space horn and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. Brian tripped over a packet of crisps, Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

And so the ship continued onwards, slightly damaged, morally uncertain, and almost certainly late, which was normal for the crew of Are We There Yet?.

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Space 2047: a security droid with public-service issues and the absurd incident of a robotic organ part

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Somewhere inside the spaceship Are We There Yet?, in the sort of silence that only space can make when it is trying to be annoying, a security droid with public-service issues began to suspect that the day was about to become memorable for all the wrong reasons.

<h2>The Boredom Before the Disaster</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was a security droid with public-service issues, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the spaceship Are We There Yet?, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the crew are accused of shoplifting nostalgia.
Salomina blamed a robotic organ part immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. a security droid with public-service issues proposed a sensible investigation. Salomina proposed shouting at the ceiling. a sentient sandwich suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “eginning to fire laser beams at your ship Susan and probably ours soon too!” “Oh, dear.” said Susan gravely. Susan then started to turn a pale colour and”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a robotic organ part. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a meteorite with speakers attached, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
a security droid with public-service issues attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a robotic organ part and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Salomina had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Salomina had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. a security droid with public-service issues tripped over a robotic organ part, Salomina shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Suspicious Object Becomes Important</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was a security droid with public-service issues, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the spaceship Are We There Yet?, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the crew are accused of shoplifting nostalgia.
Salomina blamed a robotic organ part immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. a security droid with public-service issues proposed a sensible investigation. Salomina proposed shouting at the ceiling. a security droid with public-service issues suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “Susan gravely. Susan then started to turn a pale colour and quickly ran over to the ships control panel to take a look for herself, as did the”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a space horn. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the planet Elegencincia, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
a security droid with public-service issues attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a robotic organ part and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Salomina had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Salomina had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. a security droid with public-service issues tripped over a space horn, Salomina shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Crew Hold a Meeting</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was a security droid with public-service issues, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the spaceship Are We There Yet?, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the crew are accused of shoplifting nostalgia.
Salomina blamed a robotic organ part immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. a security droid with public-service issues proposed a sensible investigation. Salomina proposed shouting at the ceiling. Brian suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “control panel to take a look for herself, as did the rest of the crew. The sight of Donuts attacking them was a shock to them all. Brian”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a suspicious asteroid shopping centre, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
a security droid with public-service issues attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a robotic organ part and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Salomina had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Salomina had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. a security droid with public-service issues tripped over a letter from Shopkeepers Anonymous, Salomina shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>An Intergalactic Authority Gets Involved</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was a security droid with public-service issues, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the spaceship Are We There Yet?, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the crew are accused of shoplifting nostalgia.
Salomina blamed a robotic organ part immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. a security droid with public-service issues proposed a sensible investigation. Salomina proposed shouting at the ceiling. Cedric suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “of Donuts attacking them was a shock to them all. Brian then looked romantically at Susan and still wanted to give her another kiss, but this was no”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved an inflatable space taxi dress. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the galaxy Hooareu, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
a security droid with public-service issues attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a robotic organ part and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Salomina had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Salomina had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. a security droid with public-service issues tripped over an inflatable space taxi dress, Salomina shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Problem Becomes Larger Than the Ship</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was a security droid with public-service issues, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the spaceship Are We There Yet?, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the crew are accused of shoplifting nostalgia.
Salomina blamed a robotic organ part immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. a security droid with public-service issues proposed a sensible investigation. Salomina proposed shouting at the ceiling. Salomina suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “still wanted to give her another kiss, but this was no time for kissing at all, Susan’s ship was being attacked by some space confectionary the size of”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a tomato-shaped escape craft. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the spaceship Are We There Yet?, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
a security droid with public-service issues attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a robotic organ part and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Salomina had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Salomina had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. a security droid with public-service issues tripped over a tomato-shaped escape craft, Salomina shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Terrible Plan Is Mistaken for Bravery</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was a security droid with public-service issues, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the spaceship Are We There Yet?, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the crew are accused of shoplifting nostalgia.
Salomina blamed a robotic organ part immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. a security droid with public-service issues proposed a sensible investigation. Salomina proposed shouting at the ceiling. Karen Toni Loretta Bobbi Erasmus suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “ship was being attacked by some space confectionary the size of which had not been seen by the crew before. The donuts then started firing laser beams at”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a revisualizing device. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to planet Boring746759, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
a security droid with public-service issues attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a robotic organ part and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Salomina had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Salomina had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. a security droid with public-service issues tripped over a revisualizing device, Salomina shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>The Delivery and the Consequences</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was a security droid with public-service issues, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the spaceship Are We There Yet?, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the crew are accused of shoplifting nostalgia.
Salomina blamed a robotic organ part immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. a security droid with public-service issues proposed a sensible investigation. Salomina proposed shouting at the ceiling. Father Alfonso Lonely suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “the crew before. The donuts then started firing laser beams at Susan’s ship and at their ship at the same, luckily for the crew they also had a”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a chocolate bar with ideas above its station. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to a space motorway service station, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
a security droid with public-service issues attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a robotic organ part and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Salomina had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Salomina had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. a security droid with public-service issues tripped over a chocolate bar with ideas above its station, Salomina shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

<h2>A Closing Note from the Software</h2>
It began, as most regrettable events aboard the spaceship Are We There Yet? began, with somebody insisting that nothing whatsoever was wrong. On this occasion it was a security droid with public-service issues, who had adopted the facial expression of a person attempting to look calm while internally arranging panic into alphabetical order. The crew had been passing through the spaceship Are We There Yet?, a region of space so tedious that even the emergency lights seemed to yawn, when the crew are accused of shoplifting nostalgia.
Salomina blamed a robotic organ part immediately, which was unfair but not entirely stupid, because the object had been humming in a manner normally associated with suspicious machines, guilty sandwiches, and robots pretending not to understand tax law. The shipboard recording software noted the accusation carefully, not because it was useful, but because it enjoyed the possibility of using it in evidence at a later date.
The crew gathered in the control room, which had recently been cleaned by a robot that believed dust was a protected species. a security droid with public-service issues proposed a sensible investigation. Salomina proposed shouting at the ceiling. Susan with the Viking helmet suggested sending the problem an invoice, because in the modern galaxy nothing was truly real until somebody had charged you for it twice.
For inspiration, the ship's ancient memory banks produced the phrase, “at the same, luckily for the crew they also had a space shield, but this was a totally new experience and they had never been attacked by flying”, which nobody understood but everyone pretended was profound. Cedric nodded as if he had just discovered philosophy inside a vending machine. Salomina stared at the readout with the expression of a woman who had once seduced a vacuum cleaner and therefore no longer trusted electrical appliances with smooth edges.
The first plan involved a packet of crisps. The second plan involved pretending the first plan had never happened. The third plan, which Brian liked best, involved lifting something heavy, looking heroic, and hoping the universe mistook confidence for competence. Unfortunately the universe had met Brian before and was not easily fooled.
Soon the situation spread to the Intergalactic Global Community Network depot, where an automated announcement declared that all passengers should remain calm, panic in an orderly queue, and avoid making eye contact with any parcel that appeared to be breathing. This advice was immediately ignored by everyone except the parcel, which seemed offended that nobody had asked about its feelings.
a security droid with public-service issues attempted diplomacy. This consisted of standing very close to a robotic organ part and saying, “Now listen here,” in the kind of voice people use when they have no idea what they are about to say next. The object responded by making a noise like a kettle discovering jazz. The crew stepped backwards. The ship stepped metaphorically backwards. Even the wallpaper seemed to reconsider its future.
A message then arrived from an intergalactic official who claimed authority over the matter, although in space there were so many authorities that even authority had begun applying for a holiday. The official demanded forms, counter-forms, an emotional declaration from the nearest toaster, and proof that Salomina had not recently insulted a moon. This was difficult, because Salomina had insulted at least three moons that morning.
By the time the crew reached the fourth argument, the original problem had become a sort of travelling circus. Lights flashed. Buttons beeped. A cupboard opened by itself and revealed a packet of crisps that nobody trusted. Karen suggested that the crisps might be bait. Brian suggested eating them to remove the danger. Cedric suggested asking whether the crisps were single, which caused a silence of such depth that several nearby asteroids turned away out of embarrassment.
In the end, the crew solved the matter in the traditional Space 2047 manner: accidentally, noisily, and with paperwork still attached. a security droid with public-service issues tripped over a packet of crisps, Salomina shouted an apology at the wrong person, and the ship's space horn went off with enough force to make a distant meteorite forget the second verse of a song it had been singing since Tuesday.

And so the ship continued onwards, slightly damaged, morally uncertain, and almost certainly late, which was normal for the crew of Are We There Yet?.

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