I’ve been told Earth used to be a water world. Now only the oceans and a few scattered irradiated lakes remain. We used to have 70% of the planet’s surface covered in water. Today it’s closer to 50%. We are working on that. Ice is being mined from across the solar system to replenish what was lost. We are already up from when I was a kid.

  Andamus though, that’s a real water world. They have no continents. Just thousands of islands dotted all around their world. Phibians developed underwater initially and came on land to have a safe place from predators. From there, fire was discovered, and the rest is history. Now I’m in a boat heading to some kind of temple that's almost as old as mankind itself. Really puts things in perspective.

  This boat is relatively small but extremely fast. It has a luxurious central room that has full climate control. For me the real luxury is on the top deck. That sea air is impossible to replicate. Fresh yet salty and stretching on for eternity. Planets are something special. We can survive in space, even thrive in it. Everything we need is cheap and easy to produce. What we want, however, can be harder to come by. Many habitation stations have gardens and parks and even bioactive lakes. You almost can’t tell the difference from the real thing. Oceans, those are a whole different ball game. We’d need a station bigger than a planet itself to even attempt to replicate what planets already do better. It’s always good to enjoy this while you can. Sagaci certainly agrees. They are the only other person up here with me. They are enjoying the air even more than I am.

  “Having a good time?”

  “Yesss. We havvve been tolled our home worrrld was muuuch like thiiis. It speaaaks to us deeeep in our heeearts.”

  “I just realized, I don’t really know much about you Sagaci.”

  “Jussst as innntendeeed.”

  Keep your secrets then. Besides, we’re here. This Temple is something alright. It looks thousands of years old. In a good way. The kind of place where any random nail in any random wall has more of a history then your traceable entire bloodline. It’s built next to an active volcano. Don’t worry, it hasn’t erupted in the last six hundred years. The Phibians won’t let it. I’m sure this won’t be the month all those shield and gravity systems fail and I get to experience Pompeii up close.

  “Announcement: Departure shall begin in five minutes and 37 seconds. I suggest preparing for deceleration.”

  “Thanks Deed. We’ll be fine.”

  Good thing Deed is finally back in one piece. All this water would have been a nightmare for him even a few hours ago. The boat slows and we follow Deed to the exit ramp. There is a small crowd. This Temple is extremely exclusive. Usually only holds about fifty guests when full. We got the whole place to ourselves so it's even more empty than usual. It’s just the staff here to greet us. Still, quite the greeting. The bulk of the staff are Dyna. Makes sense. The Males and Females traditionally did the hard rolls. War, labor, science, all that. The Dyna are responsible for most of their culture. From raising babies to writing operas. Most of the rolls here fit their wheelhouse. Cooking, cleaning, entertaining, all the parts of living that make life worth it. As long as someone else is doing it, far as I’m concerned.

  The one in charge is a Female. Taller and older than Inanna and wearing exceedingly ornate dress. Makes her look like an inverted Winter Solstice Tree. Candy Canes and all. Inanna briefed us on what we should expect. Since most Phibians lived and worked largely underwater, only staying on land to sleep, clothing that would impair movement in the water was seen as the pinnacle of flexing your wealth. After a few millennia of doubling down on that concept, we got whatever this is. Fashion. I’ll never get it. And frankly, I don’t want to.

  The rest are more appealing to me. Though that could just be all the skin. All of them wearing what can best be described as an intricately detailed poncho and little else. The colors and patterns denoting rank and role. I like the pink ones best.

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  “Greetings oh honored guests.” The Managing Madame bows deeply, followed by every other member. “We offer our services, bodies and souls, to fulfill your every want and need. May your every, most petty desire, be our life's work.”

  Inanna told me about this, too. Had me rehearse the response about a hundred times. Let’s see now. I start by placing my hand upon the Madame’s shoulder. From here I move to her cheek and gently motion for her to rise. Becomes rather awkward when she gets to her full height and my hand doesn’t exactly reach her cheek anymore. Oh well, it’s all ceremony. Now I need to say my line.

  “Exquisicality is expected and received upon hands honed by dedication.”

  The whole phrase doesn’t translate right. Ironically, casual speech tends to work out better than formal language. The less rules there are the easier you can fill in the blanks. I must have done a passively good job, nonetheless. The rest of the staff have rose signaling the greeting ceremony as complete.

  Some of the pink clothed Dyna bring glasses of Nori Gin and shell necklaces to place gingerly around our necks. One grabs my arm to lead me away. The rest seem jealous she made it to me first.

  “We’ve all heard about what you’ve done for use Mr. Captain Sir. If there is anything we can do to make your stay even more pleasurable, let us know.”

  “I’m sure you all know what you are doing.”

  I feel her grip tighten and her thick hips brushing up against mine.

  “I mean, aaaaanythiiiiing.”

  This vacation might be less restful than I thought. Another Dyna taps the first on the shoulder, then basically shoves them out of the way to take their place holding my arm. Guess they are taking shifts.

  “All our guests tell stories of their adventures. We love to hear about all the incredible things you have done. Please say you’ll share with us.”

  “Oh. I suppose. Not sure they will be all that interesting.”

  I feel a finger playing with my hair.

  “Humans have a lot of interesting things about them.”

  A third Dyna practically rips the last one off my arm for their turn with me.

  “Have you decided on what to name the Temple yet? Everyone has been wanting to hear it.”

  “I just got here. I was going to figure it out after a few days at least.”

  “We can’t wait that long. Can you name it now? Pleeeease. For me?”

  “Alright, alright. Geez. Uhhhhhhhmmmm…. Oh, ok. Tell me this. How has this temple survived millennia if the volcano used to erupt every couple hundred years?”

  “Survived is relative. It’s burned down several times. But some parts always stood no matter how severe. So we built it back up from whatever remained.”

  “I see. How about the Temple of the Phoenix? That’s a mythological creature on my world that burns itself every century or so to become reborn. In that way it can live forever.”

  “That’s an interesting myth. Rebirth through fire, not something we have on this world. I do like it. It’s very… human.”

  As yet a fourth Dyna wrestles for the coveted position, I start to wonder why they seem to be so obsessed with humans. We are a pretty minor race. Not worth any note as far as I’m aware. Yet that’s the part they seem to be so focused on.

  Doors open. It’s a whole ceremony in itself with gongs and huge gates slowly parting to reveal what lies inside. Everything is wood. A rare commodity on Andamus. There is a massive feast already prepared for us. Mostly seafood of course, cooked in the most complex manners possible. Funny enough, almost none of it is raw. Cooking with a lot of fire was exceedingly expensive in the olden days so that does make a kind of sense. Our seats are pulled out at the Madame’s motion.

  “A light dinner for the esteemed guests, followed by a hot bath in our natural spring.”

  We all take our seats. I actually feel bad for Deed. He won’t be able to enjoy all this. More Nori Gin is poured into my glass after every individual sip. It pairs so well with everything on the platter. Inanna has been oddly quiet during all this. She's been grinning the entire time. Might just be overwhelmed by sheer joy.

  “Dearest Captain, I am sure the Dyna have told you about the tradition of telling great stories in this temple. If it is of no inconvenience, would you regale us with the story of how you saved us all?”

  All eyes are on me. I feel like a raw steak surrounded by wolves. I don’t have a choice, now do I? A hearty gulp to wet my throat first.

  “So, I had just finished negotiations with the Protectorate and was en route to Andamus for a vacation. That’s when we entered the system to see an armada."