Gramps and Adam stood side by side, motionless, like statues. 

     Their minds were, quite literally, elsewhere. 

​     They were, both of them, in direct communication with the Azure. 

     The baby was in a crib Janet provided. 

     He looked like a normal, content infant. 

     They were all in Janet's kitchen. It's where the family had a tendency to congregate.

     "Think he's hungry?" Skip asked.

     "Who knows what he is?" Alison asked.

     "He's not fussing," Abby said.

     "What are we going to feed him?"

     "Dreams?" Kathy suggested.  

     "Janet will come up with something, I'm sure," Abby said.  

     Then, 

​     Gramps fell to his knees, as if he had no more strength than to do exactly that.

     Adam went into a series of spasms like he got hit by lightning bolt after lightning bolt. He dropped to the floor and continued to twitch. 

     Adam's family ran to him, like there was anything they could do. 

    "He'll be okay," Gramps muttered. "Give him a second. We just had a very tough meeting with the Azure." 

     It took Adam several minutes to come out of it, but, when he finally did, he rose to his feet, took a deep breath, then said, "That did not go well. They are not thrilled with my child ​at all."

     Everyone just naturally looked at the infant then. He kicked his tiny feet and waved his tiny arms like he was, indeed, trying them out for the first time.

     "So what now?" Abby asked. "What's the plan?" 

     "They're evenly divided," Adam said. "Half of them want to kill Galatea outright."

     "Is that his name? Galatea?" 

     "I don't know what his name it. Nobody does." 

     "But everyone should have a name, shouldn't they?" 

     "They're giving us a year," Gramps said. 

     "Well, yeah, but..." Adam made a motion with his hand like the subject confused him. "For the Azure, time is like...a year can seem like a single hour to...anyway, yeah, in about a year they'll decide whether Galatea should be allowed to exist or..." 

     "And what if they want to kill him?" Alison asked. "Are you okay with that?" 

     Adam and Gramps exchanged looks, but then Adam replied, "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it." 

     "They'll be staying with us," Gramps said. "You mind, Abby?" 

     "Of course not. It'll be nice to have a baby around the house again."

     "This is not normal baby."

     "A baby's a baby, and these are not normal times."

     "And where's that going to be?" Kathy asked. "We're going to stay here on Janet?"

     "We can live back on Earth," Gramps replied. "Whatever you like, really."

     Kathy smiled. Abby's eyes filled with tears at the thought of returning to Earth to have a real home in a real house.

     Skip never took his eyes off his phone. He was in the middle of a game.

     "How does that sound to you?" Gramps asked his granddaughter, Alison.

     "We'll see," Alison replied, but her eyes filled with tears, as well.

                                                   CONTINUE