BEYOND THE BALONEY FACTORY The Void Voyager roamed the newly discovered universe listening to transmissions from trillions of systems. The communications officer transmitted messages to probe the systems to see if any of them would reply to them.

One of the replies came from a nearby galaxy. After processing some material to produce radioactive fuel for the reactors, the ship sped to the galaxy and entered a system that was similar to Earth's system. One difference was that there were three planets similar to Earth. They had oceans and atmospheres and were slightly larger than Earth.

The ship headed for the larger planet that had dozens of space stations and space docks in orbit around it along with hundreds of ships that ranged in size from small personal crafts to massive starships three times larger than the Void Voyager. The ship entered the ship parking area inside one of the largest space stations.

The force field that was at the entrance was easy to penetrate. The ship was parked next to a passenger carrier that was half its size. The crew members left the ship through an exit portal that was at floor level.

What sounded like muzak was heard from speakers in the ceiling. It sounded familiar yet different. It was heavy on the strings. It sounded like music Mozart might have composed if he were alive during the 21st century.

The crew members were met by a small delegation from the station before reaching the inside entrance of the station. The man that was the head of the group spoke.

"I thought we would never see anyone from home again even though it hasn't been our people's home for over a millennium. What planet are you from?"

"Earth," said Ivor. "How did your people get here?"

"We have one of the ships in our museum. It comes from a dimension close to this one that was half a century beyond Medieval Earth. It's nice to see Earth has progressed to where we are today."

The captain of the Void Voyager said, "Actually, this ship isn't the typical Earth ship. If it weren't for more advanced dimensions like the one your ship is from we would still be no further than the moon. How long did it take for your ship to get here?"

"It was a generational ship that took nearly 300 Earth years to get here. They took chances coming to a universe that they didn't know existed. But they had faith that there was something out here. How long did it take for your ship to get here?"

"Less than a year. My team built a ship that came in third in a race around the universe. But it gave us enough money to build our ship that would have won the race if it had been built soon enough."

"How much did your team win?"

"$450 billion. The top prize was $1 trillion. Our investors took most of the money. But we had enough to buy what we needed."

A person in the delegation asked, "Did you see the glow of this universe when you were racing around the universe of our origin?"

The captain said, "That's why we're out here. We were under the impression that many people in this universe didn't think there were other universes. Then again, most people in our home universe believe the same thing. Have you encountered enemies in this universe?"

"From time to time. But this system is like an armed camp and most people that oppose us are like savages armed with bows and arrows. We rarely have battles because our enemies know better."

"We'd like to see your museum and the rest of this station," said Ivor.

"Are there any stores, restaurants, and arcades in this station?" Ivor's wife Helen asked.

"Plenty of them," said one of the women in the delegation. "If you aren't interested in history, maybe looking at our latest fashions is more your idea of having a good time."

The crew members and delegation split up and the women followed the women from the delegation to the commercial section of the station while the men headed for the museum.