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"Well, Jerry," the officer concluded,
"that's all I have on the humans' ice
mining operation. But now, maybe the class
would like to see where you came from
originally, and what it's like on your
planet?" A chorus of squeaks voted to
affirm this proposal. The officer punched
a few buttons, and the main screen shifted
to a view of the Moon, followed by footage
of some of the larger space stations in
Earth orbit, and finally views of the
Earth itself.
"Where did you live, Jerry?" The
officer asked.
"In Uspa, on the East Coast," I replied.
The screen zoomed in on North America.
There were clouds over much of the
mid-Atlantic seaboard. "Can't see much now,
not Jersey anyway."
"Well, we will have to make the clouds
back up," said the officer. "This is what
it looked like an hour ago." The clouds on
the screen shifted subtly, but New Jersey
was still invisible. He backed it up more
than a full day, and finally most of New
Jersey showed through. He zoomed in 'til
the screen showed territory from
Connecticut to Cape Henlopen. "Take the
laser pointer, Jerry, and show us where
you lived."
As I pointed, the projection zoomed in
even closer until the resolution was about
the same as from an airplane 30,000 feet
up. The main highways, towns and rivers
were clearly visible. I pointed the laser
carefully. "My parents' home is right
there. As far as I know they may be there
at this moment."
