“The boy’s run off.”
“So get him.”
“He’s not my responsibility.”
Jeri sighed, grabbed the ShooBox, and hit the button. Moments later an energetic youth appeared over a nearby hill, yelping with every step. Jeri hit the button again, and though the yelps stopped, the youth continued bounding toward the fire.
“You’ve gotta stay close.” Jeri warned.
“But it’s so incredible!” The young man said, beckoning to the artificial shapes on the horizon. “I mean, we’re on an alien planet!”
“That’s why you’ve gotta stay close. Some are still dangerous.”
“But there’s nothing out there! Everything here’s been empty for tens of thousands of years. There’s no harm in exploring.”
“And nothing to be gained.” Jeri said. “All that’s left are empty shells… Mortar and concrete and stone. Sometimes other material too, but mostly it’s just the buildings. There aren’t any documents, aren’t any treasures, all the technology’s rotted away-“
“-But archeologists found The Bruman Treasure on a planet like this!” The young man interrupted. “And the Cornii’va Story of Creation was found etched deep on stone tablets, just five miles away from a truck stop like this!”
Jeri sighed after looking up at his partner, who was giving him a large, condescending grin.
“Those treasures might still exist out there, fine.” Jeri agreed. “But many people spend their whole lives searching for them… And to what end?”
“To learn about the civilizations that made them!”
“To learn about extinct races who no longer exist.” Jeri corrected. “They waste their whole lives learning about peoples who died off long before we took our first tepid steps into the cosmos. Their bones, or whatever the hell they had instead of bones, had long-since turned to dust before we colonized our first planet. I know it seems interesting, but I’m tellin’ ya’ kid, damned near every terrestrial world is the same…Ruins, ruins, ruins. Nothing alive, at least nothin’ that wants to make your acquaintance, and miles upon miles of sprawling stone ruins. Our route’s got what… Nine more stops?”
“Eight.”
“Eight.” Jeri nodded. “And they all just blend together. Maybe if we had a time machine I’d be with you, but we’ve discovered more lost societies than there are humans to study them all. The fact of the matter is the universe’s golden age has long since passed, and we’re the vermin that managed to survive long enough to watch the old tombs turn to dust.”