Greta shivered even though the sled had a good heater installed. The controls were as straight forward as the ancient cars in the history simulator she adored during her early education. The only difference was the almost Mach speeds she attained as she followed Ptrelto's caravan of official vehicles.

Even with two suns the climate changed to cold at the top of the world. Huge drifts of snow were piled on either side of the single road leading into the city. Twilight ruled, and she left her sled in the shadow of the immense official sledge carrying the world leader.

Crowds greeted them, with word of Greta's ship spreading to all corners of their unique world. The Engari trumpeted their enthusiastic approval as Greta joined Ptrelto. Her breath puffing in the chilly air, she bowed to the crowd, and let her companion speak a few words before everyone filed in through massive doors and warmth.

"What about our vehicles?" Greta asked. "Will they be alright outside?"

"We won't be here for very long." Ptrelto's son assured her.

"We want to show case the metal working facilities and the rocket assembly factories. We still need them to get into space before the interstellar motors using gamma radiation take over."

The youngster was already studying the intricacies of nuclear propulsion.

"How did you develop this fuel source?" Greta asked.

"A lucky collision in our particle accelerator." Ptredor explained. "It happened a stray particle, what you call a quark collided with a gamma ray. This formed a chain reaction which destroyed a section of the long coil."

Greta shuddered as he spoke. Isolation of quarks was an assumed possibility, not ever observed as far as she knew.

The youngster must have seen her horrified reaction. "Yes, we were lucky it only took out a section and the emergency bulkheads held."

"How did you isolate quarks?"

"My grandfather was first successful almost a century and a half ago. Gamma energy excites a quark and they steal other small particles from unstable atoms, but especially protons causing formation of new atoms, usually helium and hydrogen. Of course it's the hydrogen which was the eventual cause of the explosion, and destruction of the the facility."

"Interesting. I had no idea so much energy could be released that way."

"Believe me we didn't either." Ptredor's expression refined itself into the same closed, don't ask blank which everyone assumed when the invaders were mentioned.

Was there a cultural protective silence which came into effect when a traumatic event occurred? Greta decided it was something she wanted to delve into more deeply. The old history records might have the clues she needed. This was what she lived for. Cultural anthropological investigation was her pet hobby.

Greta wondered if she should have let Rasta take this city. The astounding size of the rockets to take them into space were simply unimaginable to her. Somewhere in early earth history, the Space X beginnings had the same sort of engineering problems.

"We have some historical data you need to read and study the data and engineering. A group called Space X started out with the idea humans needed to expand onto our moon and other planets in order to guaranty survival of the species."

"What can your beginnings help us with?" Ptredor asked.

"It's possible some of their refinements as we built orbiting refueling stations and then a further launch site on our moon. There are several thriving cities there now." Greta explained.

"Then we are where they were. We cannot build and test the propulsion systems for our interstellar ships here. The test firing of the first one left a crater almost one of your miles, deep, and swallowed most of our water."

Greta winced at his comment. "Proof you have a power source, but no way to use it without destroying everyone here. How do you distribute the water from the lake?"

"Underground water tables move a lot of it naturally, and what little precipitation we have moves the rest. The cities all have systems like the one you landed beside to purify what we use." Ptredor said.

Greta scanned the huge rockets one more time before she turned to follow her guide. They had to be at least ten times the size of the original Starship Elon Musk and his cohorts devised.

"Do you really have historical data for our kind of launches?"

"Yes, indeed, and ways to make them reusable saving so much in resources and time."

Ptredor closed the massive sliding doors and we climbed into my sled. He was still of a size which accommodated him. He was only as tall as I was.

"You would share this information with us?"

"We agree with Elon, who history has shown was correct. Planets can turn on their inhabitants. You are an example of extreme luck. Surviving and event like your culture has is admirable, but you might not be a second time." Greta said.

"Thank you, and I'm sure my mother will be equally grateful."

"Do you want to fly?" I asked as we took our seats.

"No, you do very well. Can I access those records from here?" He pointed at the standard information screen to his right.

Greta laughed. "I will have to retrieve the appropriate records from our central digital library. You will be the first to get it, but we will share with Zbera and his comrades as well."

"Of course, that is my thought as well. Knowledge must be shared otherwise it will be lost."

"Wise words, Ptredor. I agree."