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the planet had long been in the public domain. Poor families and newly licensed kids went there.
But not Jim! With the Planet Explorer software he had installed on the ship, he could show Nancy a time that few other boys in their class could match. He hoped she would be appropriately grateful.
"Maybe we'll treat the local fauna to a display of human copulation," he said, leering at her and hoping he sounded rakish.
[Illustration]
"Oh, that sounds romantic," she said, looking at him dubiously. She couldn't maintain the look for long though, and let out a laugh. "We'll see. We don't want to be late for Jenny's party tonight." She sounded more noncommittal than he would have liked from someone that he had just treated to a planet discovery.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," he said. Nancy was okay, but she cared a little too much about the social scene at school. He always felt pressure to be "on" whenever they went places with other people, and much preferred being alone with her.
He called out for Old Bob to follow them as they walked down the corridor to the outside hatch. The robot would serve double duty as steward and protection against wild animals.
Old Bob caught up to them at the hatch. He was carrying a wicker basket, a large blanket tucked under one arm, and a vase with a dozen synthetic roses. Nancy clapped her hands, delighted at the old-fashioned picnic basket. Jim had thought it would be a hit.
They went off and had their picnic next to the lake, and much to Jim's delight, Nancy decided they had time for a "romantic interlude," as she called it. The guys at school were right: chicks loved being the first to do it on a new planet. Fortunately, there were a lot of habitable planets out there.
Two hours later they were back at the ship. "Take us to Bright's World," he instructed it.
The drive motors remained silent. "I'm sorry," said the ship's computer, "I can't calculate the Fold equations necessary to make the jump. The license for