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Destination Earth
Dawn of the planet of the robots.
Everything was proceeding as expected. The Ursa Minor interstellar cruise vessel, the Salty Dog, was on course down the wormhole that connected the fourth planet orbiting Polaris to Saturn in the Sol system. The long-standing 17 day Earth vacation boasted epic views of the surrounding planets as well as fantastic port calls at New Los Angeles, Highland Hong Kong, and the sun-drenched beaches of Iceland.
Ursa Minor gnomes weren’t exactly warmly welcomed as most of the population of Earth had died or left the planet long ago. However, the epic skyscraper remains of both New L.A. and Highland H.K. were archeological sites to see. The gnomes had kept a colony in Iceland for more than five thousand years. By Earth’s human calendar the current year was 3127.
The Salty Dog was just 7 meters long with five decks: an engine room below, three decks of staterooms, and the bridge on top. It was constructed from clear compressed diamond plating over old growth Polaris redwood. In truth, it resembled a slick four-person 1950s wooden speedboat. With a top cruising velocity about 1/60th the speed of light, it got the job done in style.
Ursa Minor gnomes, because of their extremely small size, had always traveled to Earth incognito.
