Babe had superbly landed the New Hope without incident. She was proud of the beneficial knowledge she had gained just by observing her skillful mate. She and the other occupants of the ship were safely shielded from the radiation, the searing heat, and also the electronics failures. All were secure aboard the great ship. She already knew of Abe's safety, but she had had the strangest experience, almost as if she had heard him say, "I love you, Babe." She guessed that probably the phrase was only what her heart desperately wanted to hear and dismissed the incident as psychosomatic. Her evaluation of the computer stocking analysis informed her that Abe had adequate provisions on the ship, and coupled with his enormous intellect, could cope admirably with his situation, regardless cf the adversity. She thankfully deemed the major crisis as alleviated.

Babe left the control center to feed the zoo animals and fish. Her patient little doves were hungry, also. She had forgotten to feed them while the crucial incident transpired. Silently, she scolded herself for being so absent while she apologized to the birds. Abe had been ever present on her mind during the previous ordeal.

After a short water period for the plants, she hurried to the "children's room" as she called it. Babe justified the title since she and Abe were directly responsible for the successful conceptions, even though it was a scientific "test tube" procedure. As fate had prescribed, that particular method proved to instill a safety factor concerning genetics. A sexual conception from their own eggs and sperms would likely result in production of an inferior hybrid genetically inclined to be handicapped or deformed in areas associated with inbreeding. Neither of them could bear that thought. They would always be protected by the wonders of modern contraceptive technology.

The "children" were visibly growing faster than normal for this stage of their development. Babe's calculations could isolate no reason for the increase other than a possible link with the weightless environment of space travel. The master computer offered no feasible hypothesis, either.

The children had already grown to the physical equivalent of twelve years old! Babe wished Abe was there to witness the strange phenomenon, even though the unknown education factor always disturbed him deeply. He would be pleased with the progress the growth chambers had made possible, regardless of the freak acceleration rate. Babe would have liked to increase the oxygen level inside the New Hope, only since it was so easy to breathe on Hydrocryst, but she believed the act might have detrimental effects on the children. She would not alter the current specifications without Abe's wisdom.

Babe had figured correctly in relation to the radiation reduction. She monitored the readings daily since she thought Abe had no means to measure it himself. She prayed he would not miscalculate the deadly force. At that same moment, Abe was devising a primitive geiger counter, so he could rejoin her at the earliest possible opportunity. His deductive intellect had become bored with his confining predicament, and he searched for a remedy. He would love to arrange an early appearance at the New Hope and surprise her.

Abe had been checking on Babe every few hours, since he had proven her unique theory. He loved her even more for discovering the fact before he chanced upon it. Sometimes, he secretly wondered if she was smarter than he, even though they both had received precisely the same "education" during their growth stage. If so, it mattered none to him. They would both benefit, regardless. The time would not be long before Abe realized that he and his mate were complete equals, each harboring latent assets in their own respective gender. The only true difference between them resided in the fact that Abe was endowed with strong masculine traits, and Babe exerted prolific femininity. They had definitely been blessed with the perfect union. Absolutely no competition or hostilities existed in their genetic relationship. Love and harmony abounded.

The separated couple was coping with their individual situations as necessity depicted. Babe was on her way back to the control center, planning to check the radiation scans, while back on Hydrocryst, Abe prepared to make the final connections on his crude geiger counter. Once soldered and activated, the device registered a substantial, but not dangerous, level of radiation for his location. He would wisely bide his time and be patient. Abe was grateful they had escaped deep enough toward the core to be sufficiently shielded.

By this time, hunger had returned, and exhaustion was silently creeping into Abe's body. He decided to share the last of Babe's fried chicken with his companions. The great raptorial birds enjoyed the change so much that he almost felt guilty for not dividing it during the first meal.

Abe thought they could all benefit from some restful sleep and promptly turned out the cabin lights. Sleep would also provide an efficient means to alleviate the excess time. He would check the radiation again upon waking.