"For god's sake, why? Did Congress finally pass a law making it illegal to be too stupid to live?"

"If they did, Washington would be gutted." Abby snorts.

"Nope, they were bribing people to be on the short list for a new federal airbase, they were howling when they didn't get it. Complaining they already stole the land and paid bribes to all the right people, they deserved that airbase.'

"Oh jeez, they really said that?" Alan says, rolling his eyes. On the screen Principal Madison is sighing as he repeats what Josette said.

"Yep. Just when you think the government can't get any more crooked or stupid they prove you wrong. They're bleating about how they're out the money now and have to pay to replace the buildings they took down, plus all the other damages the court ordered. They tried passing a millage to pass the buck and surprise, surprise it didn't pass. So the money's got to come from the budget somewhere and they won't let them cut essential services so their pet projects are getting the ax."

"Aww, and the people who wanted that stuff are complaining now?"

"Yep, so they're getting nibbled on at both ends. 'But if we had the federal base, we'd have all sorts of spending in town'."

In the front room President Bartlett is sighing but nodding. "Yes, that's some governments for you."

"But if we'd have got the airbase, everybody would be happy." Josette says in a mock trembling voice. "Who cares if he's inconvenienced. Into every life a little rain must fall, you need to break eggs to make an omelet and all that goody-good stuff."

"People are dumb."

"Yep, they were never in the running and are incensed that their bribes didn't get them what they wanted. They're gonna sue."

"What I just said." David rolls his eyes. "Deliveries?"

"Going out over the next couple of days," Josette sends the list to him and Principal Madison. Principal Madison passes it over to President Bartlett who reads it, nods, and hands it back.

"Quilts?"

"I managed to get four in this year, that puts me up to 21 quilts out of 25. I get in the last four next year and I'm done. . .Probably in time for the muse to attack again." Frances and Elaine chuckle and nod in the front room.

"Books and other stuff for the libraries?"

"Yeah, I'll have everything ready for both by the finals if everybody helps out a few days." Everybody nods. "Early crops?"

"Some corn, some tomatoes. The 'go out and fill baskets in the garden every day' won't start for another month with everything coming in a couple weeks after that." The others nod.

"Finish your degrees on the other system?"

"Yep. Be finished with everything but the cooking by the time the garden is asshole to elbow."

"And our finals."

"Yep. Papers?"

"Good, we'll be finished with them next year. And present the year after that. Finish the year after that and get off our asses and start the art history from Oxford the others have been patiently hinting about." Josette and David snigger but nod.

The early crops start coming in and Josette's busy until their finals, looking over at the others when everything in finally in and the students have been taken back to the other dimension to pick up supplies and spend some time with family.

"Are the floor monitors talking to the students graduating next year, reminding them that they're going to have to take stuff home?"

"Yeah, they've been moving old textbooks and other stuff back home. Everything they take back home now is. . ."

"One less thing they have to move when they graduate."

"Exactly. We all remember the mad rushes the winter semester as the seniors realized 'oh shit, we gotta move all this crap?" The other snigger.

After Thanksgiving Josette and the others head off to the other dimension, dropping off stuff for their special orders and the orders from the government plus the socks in the school's dimension, spending about two months with family and friends. Lips twitching suspiciously, Doc hands her the envelope from her degrees and two framed diplomas.

"Awww," Alan coos as he leans over her shoulder. "You're going to have to add another floor for more diplomas." Josette says something rude in Ancient. Everybody sniggers.

"You only pull the pigtails of the girl you like."

Three months later for them Josette and the others arrive back on Haven, looking at each other. "First planet?"

"Please."

A couple weeks later for them, they arrive back on Haven. Everybody who's in the know chuckles as the suspiciously darker skin even with the sunblock.

"How long until you have everything delivered?" Principal Madison asks.

"Probably around our meeting this month. Tomorrow's the meeting at the Albatross Nest, then we'll be planting. We'll be doing that on the islands this year to give the growing area a break." Pat looks around the door, coming in when she sees everything. Tapping her foot, she holds out one hand and Josette sighs and hands over the envelopes and framed diplomas.

"Good. Now I'm sure the others have made plenty of room for these and the ten billion degrees you'll get on the other systems." The others cackle and Josette rolls her eyes. "I'm going to strip my bed and throw my laundry down."

"I'll do it tomorrow." Abby says. Anna nods.

"Congrats on getting four in this year Josette." Agatha says at the meeting at the Albatross Nest. "I know you were busy finishing the Brownstones. They look magnificent."

"How many students do we have currently in dual enrollment or planning it when they're old enough?" President Bartlett asks at the government meeting. He, Principal Madison, and Josette are the only ones attending this meeting, Doc and David busy elsewhere.

"Currently in the program or starting next semester five hundred. Over four years with the seniors next year. And more who signed up but are too young to start." Principal Madison's voice trails off as two figures appear in the corner of the room.

"Hold on a second." he tells Doc and the younger man who has to be related to him. "Josette's down the hall, she just had to use the bathroom." Josette comes into the room and sighs, nodding at Doc and Chip. Both have bags over their shoulders.

"Did you start your Electrical Engineering Masters?" Chip asks as they walk outside, stopping and staring up at the two suns.

"Yeah, I'm a year into it. It's a new school so it's a full four years." Doc nods, the others had told him that Masters were four years here.

"How far are you from your suns?"

"We're the sixth of sixteen planets. All are habitable thanks to the twin suns goldilocks effect and terraforming, though the last six planets are permanent winter ones." Josette's busy sending off messages on her PADD as they walk. "We have permanent populations on six planets from three dimensions, with several thousand students and employees here at the school from a fourth."

"I thought you'd said the school was closed." Doc says, watching a group of teens throwing snowballs.

"Yeah, it reopened officially two years ago for us." She opens the door of the dorm, taking off her boots and putting on shoes. They take theirs off, putting on shoes from their bags.

"Josette. . .Oh hello Clark, and this must be Chip." Doc smiles at the still young Pat. His own is growing younger thanks to the herbs the others have started taking again. "Josette, are the boys here?"

"No, they're planting on the islands. Needed something?"

"To put in an order for more furniture."

"They'll be home for dinner." A door down the hall opens and Doc and Clark come out. The Visitor Doc blinks, seeing the large room they come out of.

"I linked our Headquarters to Josette's dorm several years ago. They'd already linked it to their ranch on the other continent years before that." They turn at the sound of a TARDIS and Chip moans. "I remember catching episodes of that tv show. But. . .not who I was expecting." he says when Time Lord Doc comes out.

"Yeah," Josette sniggers. "He's there too. I know about three of them and they all complain about the show." A door down the hall opens and a blonde with short hair leans around the door. "Anything at the meeting we need to worry about?"

"No, just wanting to know if I got all the supplies in, talking about how many students we had in dual enrollment, who'd be heading home next year, how many students we can be expecting next year, and the Lights Festival." Anna nods and heads back into the schoolroom to work on the schooling plans for the next year.

The four men head into Headquarters to talk as Josette head to the ranch after helping Chip make up two beds upstairs, checking on the livestock then working on plans for a permanent home on the first planet. The Lights Festival has the two visitors looking around.

"Do you get visitors from all the planets?"

"Yes, depending on how their years are falling and if they're in the middle of harvesting. Sometimes it's just for a few hours when they need a break."

"Does everybody decorate?"

"Pretty much, it's become a way to ring out the old year and bring in the new."

"What are the days like?"

"Ranging from 27 hours on the fourth planet to 60 hours on the 9th. That's just the planets that are actively settled, the planets that have buildings on them like my stuff on the first planet, Clark's lab on the second and the third planet have days ranging from 12 hours to 23."

"How was it?" Beau asks when they return six weeks later for them laden down with extra bags.

"Good, I have tons of information to go through, including how to adjust mirrors to take the most of the light we have for arctic growing conditions. They've done a lot of research into that since their Earth is in an ice age."

"They'd need it if they ever go back." Chip says. "Seems sad to go from talking about global warming to ice ages."

"The cure worse than the disease?" Beau asks as they start bringing out items. More arrive in a pile in a corner of the room.

"Thank you Josette."

"Welcome." her voice says over the computer system.

"Did you get them home?" David asks at dinner when she slides into her seat.

"Yep, everything's delivered. . .even if Doc did sigh at some of the stuff I sneaked in on them."

"Did you get in the degree you wanted to finish this semester?"

"Yeah, and I'll get in five classes over the semester to leave four classes for the Naval Academy degree, finish that and another degree this summer, then the last two this fall."

The others make fake tsk-tsking sounds and Josette grins. "'swhat happens when I have five degrees ending at once."

"Are you near finishing any other degrees?"

"I'm starting the third year for two other degrees. I figure I'll have them done with the doctorate. If I don't I'll have them with the masters along with the cooking degree." The others nod.

The next couple of weeks pass and Josette slides into her seat at the testing center her second testing week.

"Is my fool godson going to be getting in more classes for his doctorate when he finishes his bachelors this year or picking up another to piss me off?" Dr. Blake asks since Dr. Stark is at GD sighing at the latest damn fool stunt of the week.

"He already said he wanted to start the degree on Tarzan I'm taking from Montague." Josette says innocently. Dr. McNider chuckles at the look on Allison's face. "Of course he is."

"He is starting his this year, and the boys are wrapping theirs up, they plan on presenting them next summer."

"How are orders from the other dimension?"

"Staying steady, I was surprised considering how styles change."

"Yes, but good furniture never goes out of style." Dr. Cross says, sipping his blood-infused coffee. "The same with good clothing." Dr. Blake nods. "Your first batch of students is heading home this 3rd semester?"

"They've been already taking stuff home so they shouldn't have too much to take back third semester. Their floor monitors have been reminding them that they're going to have to move. And with limits on what they could have in their rooms they didn't go hog wild."

"Did the orders increase like you and Jed thought they would?"

"Yes, I got the formal notice by e-mail last week, "Like with the socks I'm picking up extra supplies when I go over first and third semester. And the sock order increased too. I opened the jobs to students this year." Dr. Blake nods in satisfaction. "Next step is possibly a second shift making another product."

"Yeah, we're expecting that soon too." Josette sighs.

"Okay, this is probably a dumb question. But how do they handle overcrowding?"

Josette looks around and waves her hand, putting up a silence bubble around the table. "For some strange reason, once or twice a century there are no births for about twenty years. Never less than twenty years, a lot of times twenty-five, and a handful of times twenty-nine years. They've never been able to find out what causes it. There's no warning. . .it just happens."

"The entire world?"

"Yep. The last time was in the 1980s. Twenty-nine years. That kept them from the giant population jump that happened with Clark and our dimension." The others nod. "It's like somebody counts kids, says 'okay, you've got enough kids that will be able to have kids in a couple decades, and flips a cosmic switch." Josette sniggers suddenly. "Nobody would be whining about 'you can't just shut down the schools until there's students old enough to attend' there." Josette waves the bubble down when she sees everybody pushing away their PADDs. Vincent smiles and starts handing over plates. "Ahh thank you Vincent. Did you have a nice talk with the reps from the cooking schools that came over?"

"Oh yes. Are they still planning on teachers shifting around to teach here if there's interest?"

"Yeah, David's going to be checking with Granda about locations for housing them, the supplier friend of Bronwen's, and the new dairy. They're also bringing out a massive supply of books for different degrees or are different than the ones used for classes. Including cookbooks and videos." Vincent moans. "Yes, you're getting a batch, so's the 9th planet."

"Thank you Josette."

"Assyrian's got a good cooking program, but they want to add more degrees since they're in contact with the other school."

"Temporary housing?"

"Like for the school, furnished apartments. They'll be staying for at last four years. Possibly longer depending on the demand for the classes and having to schedule them at different times for the different planets."

"Is the city council still pouting about getting their asses handed to them over the supplier."

"No, the entire council was replaced and the new one is having to pull their big boy pants on and make some pretty drastic cuts to the budget to pay for everything over the five years they've been allocated. Taxpayers are howling but everything was laid out in the millage and they were told that if it hadn't passed that there'd be cuts. The city only had so much money and everybody's tightening their belts."

"You gotta feel sorry for everybody who wasn't involved." Susan says. The others nod. "Not the first time government's tried going for the gusto by any means necessary and having it blow up in their face."

"Then whining like two year olds who got their hands slapped by Mommy because they were told not to do something and got caught doing it anyway."

At the dorm after eating lunch and helping Vincent put everything away Josette starts putting together the layers for her quilt, looking out the window at the snow falling down. They're in the middle of a storm, so everybody had been more than happy to head off and get some fresh air and sunshine on the 8th planet. David is on the islands picking early stuff with a half-dozen of Josette's other selves.

The rest of the semester flies by and Josette heads off on two ships, one delivering students back to their dimension and dropping off recycling and orders, picking up more supplies, and working on the recycling for a few weeks before bringing the students back, floor monitors lining up to check bags as they walk off the ship. The other ship lands after picking up the recycling from the other planets along with orders from the factories, delivering flour, pasta, and rice noodles to the store.

"Reps?"

"Coming out later this year with Granda to talk to the schools, the kitchen staff here, the communal kitchen, and the restaurants about cooking degrees and other stuff along with me, Vincent, and Vincent after the kitchens are closed for the night. They'll probably want to inspect them too, get a good idea of what they have to work with beyond the classrooms at Assyrian." President Bartlett and Principal Madison nod. "We'll probably have to have two or three classes to allow room for everybody." More nods.

"Orders?"

"Delivered and supplies are heading off. I didn't want to head to the seventh planet with the students on board." The others nod as Josette covers her mouth and yawns.

"The boys papers?"

"Finishing them this summer and documenting them before they upload them next summer."

"Shows?"

"Me school dimension, the boys Mom's. Theirs is first this year."

"Taking stuff out?"

"Yep, we try to deliver twice a year so we can walk around in our areas."

"Degrees?"

"I finished the degree on Dark Shadows first semester and got in five classes for the naval academy shipwrecks degree over the break. I'll finish that and probably the parody and pastiches degree this summer, leaving the Pearl Harbor and horror comic book degree for break and this fall."

"How many classes are you taking?"

"Only the ones I need to finish degrees or keep on track. Four for the comics, six to finish a degree, four to finish the Naval Academy degree, three for the masters and doctorate, plus the three cooking classes. Because Granda and the cooking school reps are coming out, plus they're talking land near Assryian for a temporary housing unit."

"How are you on your degrees?" Dr. Cross asks when Josette and others come out for the show.

"Three degrees down this year, I'll get the others done this fall."

"Your dissertation?"

"I've been working on it and the thesis a lot while I'm on the ships." Josette stretches and yawns.

"And our classes?"

"I'm a year into a third bachelors. I haven't signed up for a masters yet since I'm finishing five bachelors this year." Dr. Cross nods in satisfaction.

"Doctorate?"

"Next year, I'm four classes away from it this summer, I'll present it next summer when I'm one or two classes from finishing it."

Returning six weeks later for them Josette leans between Principal Madison and Professor Druid. "Granda's coming out in a couple of weeks with the reps, I brought back stuff that's in a couple containers. When it's needed, I'll bring it out." She sends him a file.

"Thank you Josette. Did you have a good show?"

"Hell no, nobody would have been there if I'd had a good show." More than one snigger from the teachers in earshot. "I had a normal show, sold out of everything, had to make nice with the reporters, and watched the celebritwits with camera seeking senses make fools of themselves because somebody might forget who they were otherwise. 'Why are you raising money for a hospital? Isn't that like for 'sick' people?"

"Aside from people just too stupid to live?" Professor Eppes says. The others nod.

Josette brings out pallets of books and other stuff for the libraries over the next couple of weeks, working on that and the offworld harvests, plus attending meetings with the reps Calvin brings over from the cooking schools, smiling at both Vincents as she brings out the books and DVDS for them.

Josette slides into a chair a few weeks later. "Get everything done?"

"Yeah." Josette stretches and yawns. She eeps and disappears, reappearing seconds later with an evil grin on her face. "Ahhh, nothing like an ass kicking to get my blood pumping."

"Do we want to know?"

"There's a dimension where Buffy is real."

"Kick their asses?"

"Yep, Buffy's now in prison because she's a whiny bitch who didn't want normal people around her because she's 'spe-shul' but when they left she stormed off after them for daring to have a normal life and refusing to come back so she could treat them like shit again. Shot at people, destroyed apartments, attacked people, in other words a typical two year old tantrum but with real people instead of toys. She was stunned when she got her ass handed to her by a normal person then had her ass blistered since she was acting like a two year and should be treated like a two year old. Willow was incensed that Buffy was having to be punished for her own actions and be in prison, she made a pretty bonfire when she tried magicking the police and courts to get her out. Bitches like that give magick a bad name. So she's probably in whatever afterlife got her bleating about how it isn't fair, don't you know Buffy's the Slayer, she can't be held responsible for her own actions. And don't they know she's spe-shul."

"Bullshit."

"Yeah."

"Josette, do you. . .?" Calvin looks at the clams, mussels, and oysters Josette is putting in stasis. She grins and opens another section. "These?"

"Yes, I was wondering if you grew them."

"Yes, but we don't sell them except to the kitchens and Vincent on the other planets because of the 'eww, you eat those' factor." Calvin laughs and nods. "The kitchens sneak them into chowders and soups, they've had plenty of experience hiding ukky foods from picky eaters."

"What's the latest on the fish farm on Archimedes?" Alan asks, leaning around the doorframe.

"Should be ready to start harvesting in a couple months."

"Archimedes fish farm?"

"Prawns, shrimp, sardines, and anchovies. I'm going to take one of the ships and some of the robots to harvest and prepare them for sale. We use them for our fish farms." Calvin nods and heads back outside as Josette puts the rest of the stuff that hadn't sold in stasis and joins them walking to dinner. She'll bring it out at the Harvest Festival next week.

"So did that stupid celebritwit sue to have the donations taken from the hospital fund and going for a new mall because she was tired of all the ones around them?" David asks.

Calvin blinks as Nathan guffaws and Walter moans.

"Yes, and she walked off pouting when the judge just gave her a 'you are a dumbass' look and told her to grow up." Dr. Cross sighs.

"But a hospital's for sick people." Josette says in a whiny, hiccupy voice. "A mall would be better for the community. You can't buy cute stuff at a hospital."

"Please tell me you're joking?" Calvin sighs.

"Nope. She's one of those fool women who have a yappy purse dog they coo at because they're the only ones who understand her."

"Or can stand her." Alan says sourly. The others laugh, remembering everybody giving her disgusted looks at the show. The donations had picked up after her little complaint, giving the hospital fund a good sized donation by the end of the night. More had come in when the court case made the news and entertainment tabloid shows.

The new students look around the tables at the Harvest Festival and then the carnival, the school reps ignoring the carnival but enjoying the tables.

"I do like how they've settled in and grown," they say after returning to the school a bare hour after they left. "But I would like it . . ."

"To have been for other reasons? So do they. They've seen three worlds much like our own fall, one to solar radiation, one to a meterorite that hit their moon, sending debris rocketing that tore away their atmosphere, and one to the manipulations of two greedy men who both wanted to rule the world, and if they couldn't rule it. . .they'd destroy it."

"Anything new?" Doc asks at the government meeting after the Harvest Festival.

"Yeah, bear with me for a minute." Josette says. "Fire control. Hear me out." She holds up a hand as everybody starts talking. "Yes, all our buildings are safe and we keep an eye on the fires when we're outside, but we've been damn lucky. What if we get a wildfire like they had on earth thanks to a lightning strike? It could get a good start before we were even aware of it. We need to expand the probes anyway, we could add the programming to alert us to wildfires at the same time."

Doc thinks a minute then nods. "We need some type of firefighting vehicle. And foam."

"And to make sure the foam won't hurt the land."

"And quickly refill the vehicle if it's needed. And a way to keep the foam stable if it's not." Principal Madison says. Josette starts a list of concerns to go over with somebody from GD.

"Students coming and going this semester?"

"Fifteen hundred students in various grades in a few days, three hundred eighteen graduating at the end of the year." Principal Madison checks his notes. "Next year will be another 470 students graduating."

Josette heads to GD after the meeting, tapping on the door and finding both Dr. Starks in conference along with Dr. Blake, Doc, and Rex Tyler.

"Sorry to bother you, we've been talking about fire suppression. We've got all the buildings covered, inside and out but. . ."

"What happens if there's a wildfire like happened on Earth?" Sheriff Carter asks, coming up behind her. Everybody in the room blinks, then moans.

"Exactly."

"The firefighting foam we use might work, but we've got to think of a way to carry the foam, distribute it, and . . ."

"make sure it takes it out with the first drop." Doc says. The others nod. "Chemicals that mix in contact with air?"

"Yes, if they don't find the heat of a fire, they turn the consistency of concrete but water takes care of it."

"Does the cities have fire suppression equipment?"

"Yes, like the buildings, I'm not sure if they have the equipment to turn into flying tankers like you saw dropping water."

"If they could, I'm sure one the ships would get the job done a lot quicker than the helicopters you'd see on the news."

"See how the Legionnaires handled fires on their worlds?"

Josette nods. "I'll head over in a bit and ask."

"Books from this summer's classes?"

"That's the other reason I came over today."

"New students?"

"Heading off to start picking them up in a few days."

"Degrees?"

"Got in my fourth degree over the break and plan on finishing the comic book degree on the school computer this semester."

"Other system?"

"I'm going to get in the second year for another bachelors this semester. And possibly starting a fourth." Josette suddenly smirks.

"Nope, no trying to finish an entire degree in one semester." Dr. Blake says. Archimedes Dr. Stark smirks as the others blink at them. "Yours or theirs."

"Poo." Josette snaps her fingers in a curses, foiled again motion then laughs. "Only doing one degree at a time would be boring anyway." Josette heads off to pick up her books from the summer semester.

"A degree a semester?"

"Josette once figured out if she could do it back on Earth when our semesters were fourteen weeks since David can get in a year a semester when he's not screwing around or going for more than one degree at a time. She figured it would take sixteen weeks for a low paper degree so she couldn't. Principal Madison said it was close enough to count but not to try."

"And it would be boring anyway?" Doc's lips twitch.

"Exactly."

Josette starts bringing in the new students a few days later, everybody arriving after a week of going back and forth. Josette slumps into a seat at the administration building, Joyce grinning at her after all the students have their folders are have headed to the auditorium for orientation as their luggage is delivered to their new dorms.

The first testing week comes and Josette slides into her seat at the testing building.

"Are all the students settling in well?"

"Yeah, the floor monitors and older students are taking them under their wings. There's the usual trauma after their first bad grade but they learn that's why the students work together."

"The students leaving at the end of the year?"

"Going through everything they haven't taken back home already. We've got a box in the admin building for uniforms, I can't see them taking them home and it would give students in a growth spurt emergency uniforms until they can get home." Dr. McNider nods. "And it's a source of good cloth."

"So did you get the last of the quilts done?"

"I will by Thanksgiving." Josette sighs in relief. "Hard to think it's been eight years since the muse attack."

"Are you getting in a good stock of used clothing being over there so often?"

"Yes. . ." Josette disappears then reappears a few seconds later. Sighing she splits off a couple dozen duplicates. "We've got another Earth that has been lost to harvest. Do you want to come?" She looks at Dr. Stark. He nods. "Let me call in some people.

"Yeah, I've got a list of people to contact too." the duplicates head off to start getting ready.

"Bad?"

"Terror group that decided to take out all humanity for whatever whackjob cause they had. Morons didn't take into account they'd die too and are probably whining about it's not fair as they rot in whatever version of hell they wanted to send everybody else to." Josette snorts. A couple hours later Josette has the ships picking up people before they take off, some blinking because they hadn't realized that Josette could split off multiple copies of herself.

More years than anybody wants to think later Earth is cleared of all signs that life ever existed there aside from a small satellite in orbit telling the story of what happened as the ships head off. Josette says a silent prayer for the dead as they head home, detouring to their Earth to download the information on the probes before heading back to Haven, Josette sending the files to various servers as everybody packs up and heads off.

"That's ..."

"Something." Clark says. "On one hand it's tons of supplies that we can count on for years, but on the other hand it's because billions of people died."

"Josette, are you still toying with the idea of cherry wine?" President Bartlett asks at the next government meeting.

"Yeah, I've got a crop growing on the ship along with grapes and olives that I need to look over this winter. They're all growing well and should be ready to pick soon."

"Did you plant on the first planet?"

"Berries and others, I checked on them while I was picking the raised beds and yearly crops. I'm heading off again in a couple weeks to pick the green peppers."

Josette knocks on the door of the cafe on the 9th planet a couple weeks later. "Vincent, I know you're busy. I've got the first planet green picked peppers." The door opens and Vincent lets her inside, Josette waving a hand and baskets of food appear on the tables. They haggle over the prices then put everything away before Vincent dishes Josette up a plate and they talk about what the other schools had brought out and the possibility of classes.

Josette spears a piece of ham on her fork and points it at Vincent. "What I'd like to see and what we really need is having the classes on more than one planet." Vincent nods. "If they're on multiple planets they can be held when it's convenient for them instead of having to schedule time to head to Haven. Not that that's a big hardship." Josette nods. "Winter would be the perfect time for the classes, the crops are in and people have the time to settle in for classes." Dr. Stark and Charles nod behind her. Vincent pours them both coffees. Grabbing her PADD, Josette makes a note of that to send off on the latest message to the other dimension.

The rest of the semester flies by and Josette harvests the rest of the plants on the first planet, detouring to the other planets to sell them and pick up the recycling before coming back to Haven.

"Is that everything left?" David asks.

"Yeah, the tomatoes will go in stasis, the herbs I'll dry, and the peppers split between stasis and dried as usual."

"Do we have room on the ships for anything we'd be bringing out from the other dimensions? With all the stuff you brought back from the other dimension? And the students and their belongings."

"Yeah, the ships are a lot bigger than you expect and a lot of raw material got shoved in gems or carry cases to be brought out as needed."

"And we've got room for our deliveries?"

"Plenty. The ships just snicker when I ask if we're sure we've got the room." After Thanksgiving the graduating students walk through the tesseract to the ship, settling in the rooms used for the offworld harvests for the trip back to Earth. Friends and family are waiting for them and they head off for a graduation ceremony as Josette starts delivering everything, picking up supplies before heading to their home and spending a few months on Earth, taking care of recycling and talking to Marcus about shows and special orders. Picking up more supplies they hug everybody and head off to the other dimension, delivering more special orders before walking to the rooms and settling on couches and chairs until the others arrive from whatever meeting they'd been attending.

"Did the seniors get back home okay?" Mary asks when she comes into the room.

"Yeah, we had a ceremony at the school after finals and they were having another one at the school when we delivered them to their waiting family and friends where they'd get their diplomas."

"Did you have another download for the server?" Susan asks.

"Yeah, it should be about three days when we get home."

"Did you get the last degree you wanted in this year?" James asks as the others come into the rooms.

"Yeah, I gotta put all the books upstairs when we get home. I won't have the books for the last Pearl Harbor semester until I go to Archimedes for our books when we get back." David sighs. "Yeah, I'll take my books upstairs too. And we'll be planting in the growing areas and staggering some things so we've got stuff coming in most of the winter." The others nod. "And I've got to check the stuff I have growing on the ship when we get back."

"I heard about the other dimension you go tagged with clearing up, are you okay?" Black Jack touches her on the shoulder.

"Yeah, it's not the first time I've done it and thanks to how they died there wasn't any bodies to bury, but they died in agony. We had a lot of time to think and talk things over as we were harvesting everything." Josette's eyes grow dark a second then she visibly pulls herself back to the here and now. The next several weeks finds more than one person seeing a sad look on Josette's face that she seems to visibly shove away.

"Was she like this. .."

"after our Earth, Clark's, and the 9th planet's Earths? Yeah. She'll get over it, time helps. Intellectually we know that there's probably billions of dimensions where Earth has gone the way of the Dodo, but actually coming in to find it still hurts. No matter how often it happens."

"When we think humanity has crawled out of the ooze." Professor Xavier says. "We're proven that man is still an animal."

"Yep." David tucks his hands into his pockets as the wind coming off the water ruffles his hair and the scarf around his neck. A call has both men heading back into Ulonda since they're expecting a storm.

"A little different being on one of the ships than being on a ship, isn't it?" Jack asks, watching the water bead off the shields.

"Yes, wave action like this would have sent everybody into port." James says.

"If it gets bad, I'll go under the waves." Ulonda says. "Josette, you are at least three years from finishing your Electrical Engineering Masters. The thesis can wait at least eight hours. Go.To.Bed. Because I said so." Anna cackles down the hall.

"Work on papers on the ships when you start taking Masters through the other system and you only have two years to complete it, well four taking two classes a semester." Susan says, coming up behind Josette and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Not helping."

"Wasn't meant to." Susan snickers and heads off. Josette rolls her eyes but saves everything and heads to her room.

"What is Black Jack working on? He's been looking at the medical unit and making notes, then going over the boat." Alan asks, leaning into the doorway.

"I think he plans on getting a ship and adding a medical unit like he has his house." Abby says, walking past with a cart. Opening the hamper in Josette's room she grabs the dirty clothes and sheets in there.

"Gimme a couple minutes to get out of these clothes." Josette says. Abby nods and snags the flying clothes coming out of the bathroom before heading to the laundry.

They return to Haven a couple months later, settling in chairs and couches in the living room.

"Albatross Nest?"

"Tomorrow. I'll start bringing out the stuff we brought the day after that."

"Meeting about the increased orders?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. While Josette's bringing stuff out, we'll be planting."

"Books?

"I'm bringing the books out for our last semester in a couple days. David and I have books to take upstairs." Alan nods. "If you don't get to it in a couple days, I'll bring them out."

"Thankee."

The next afternoon Josette slides into her usual seat at the government building. The contracts are put on the screen and talked over.

"I don't want to get too big too soon." Nods from the others. "Second shifts would handle this all easily." Doc says. "We're not getting as many orders as we were from the other dimension."

"Part of that was planned jobs for the students when they graduated." Principal Madison says. "While the rest was they didn't have cheap imports anymore and were scrambling to find new stocks instead of paying a decent wage." Josette snorts. The others laugh and nod.

"Not next year."

"No, we'll get another year of supplies in and open the jobs after Thanksgiving. They can start working after the Lights Festival." Principal Madison says, checking the orders and the supplies Josette has brought out, knowing more would be arriving as part of the stuff Josette picks up. "Are you still going over every couple of months for the big deliveries?"

"Yes, in addition to going over weekly for the mail."

"Sheets?"

"We've still got a good handle on it. It's not as bad as when the dorms were all full." Josette says. "I usually check in once a week to see how everything's going."

"Are the jobs open to the students?"

"Yes and no, they don't do the laundry themselves, but they pick up the carts and deliver them back to the dorms, putting them back in the basements and filling the shelves in the storerooms. Seeing what all goes through putting the sets in their storerooms made them stop and think." Principal Madison smiles.

The next few days Josette starts delivering the shipping containers, calling in the managers of the factories to talk about the new orders. They nod at the reasons for starting in a year and talk about which workers could be moved to the second shift and what they'd need to do to get everything ready between the two shifts.

Josette hugs Alan in thanks when she finds the boxes of books and other stuff on her table when she comes back from the sorting planet.

"Getting everything ready for the new orders?" President Bartlett asks at dinner.

"Yeah, they're talking about who's going to be handling the second shifts and how long it will take to clean the machines for the two different orders."

He nods. "Most second shifts are making the same thing. Not something entirely different." Josette nods. "Most factories making two different things are running different lines or machinery, not switching like we are." Josette sniggers. "Which would have most factory owners horrified." The others laugh and nod.

After dinner Josette starts opening the boxes, dl'ing books into her mental library and filling containers that she pops into subspace. David's upstairs when she comes into the library and she starts shelving her books.

"So do you have a bare wall again?"

"Nearly, I've got containers of books for six degrees, not counting the cooking degree in my room."

David turns around. "I don't see any books from your cooking degrees?"

"We set up a separate library for those when I got the big batch of stuff last year." David nods and they drop the empty containers in the room down the hall before they go downstairs. The next couple of weeks pass and soon it's the Lights Festival.

"Josette, dairy?" David asks at the government meeting the first day of the new semester.

"Granda plans on it coming out this summer. They're a small dairy, about the size ours was when we first came out and they have the same mindset we have, no breeding animals until they can't be bred anymore. Right now they're getting in a lot of supplies before they come out."

"Cooking classes?"

"They're setting up the temporary housing and another, larger building of classrooms." David says. "Or that's what was in the latest databurst." Josette covers her mouth, belches, and nods.

"Are the triplets heading to the 9th planet for their internships?"

"Yeah, their older brothers and sisters might have meant taking over as a joke but they've all chosen different companies for their internships."

"Four years and the triplets are gone. Five years and somebody will be celebrating a hundredth anniversary." Principal Madison says with a smirk. Josette nods and sighs as David smirks.

"Degrees on the other system?"

"I'm finishing my third degree this year and signing up for a masters." Josette says. "Yes. I know . .finally." She says as David starts to open his mouth. He smirks. "Anything else beyond Josette tormenting?"

"How is Earth?"

"Good, like Clark's they're big on alternate energy and mass transit." David snickers. "Story?"

"Yeah, I was turning the channel there and hit TMZ and saw where old Paris Hilton brought a 250,000 car and the valet had to remind her how to turn it on. Had her dog sitting on her leg behind the wheel."

"Well yah," Josette snorts. "Her dog keeps the spells going so she can speak English instead of too stupid to live celebrity."

"So where's the Kardashian's dogs?" President Bartlett's lips twitch.

"in the wings waiting for the two younger girls, they're not going the celebritwit route, the older girls are media whores, so's mommy dearest. The son tries to be a media darling, but he can't compete."

After the meeting Josette stops to the bakery then heading back to the dorm. Heading upstairs to her workroom, she starts going through the kits she's been getting the last several years and selects one, copying the pattern to work with then bringing out a new sheet of plastic for the pattern pieces. Laying out the fabric, she starts cutting out block pieces and setting up her sewing machine.

"How are you coming on classes?" Principal Madison asks when she's waved up to the front table at lunch.

"Good, I should get in 25 this semester on the school computer and teacher. I'm starting new degrees on comics books and Pearl Harbor from the naval academy and a class on WWII prisoners of war from the history school." Josette sniggers suddenly. "Idiot patrol at the school you were visiting?"

"Yeah. 'But why are you taking classes on that, isn't it like hard and depressing'?" Josette says in whiny tone. "Can't you take classes that are less serious?"

"Ahh yes, the debutante patrol." One of the new teachers sighs. "I got lectured by the chancellor of the university I used to work with because the students were pouting to their parents that my classes were hard. When I refused to dumb it down for them they fired me. But it blew up in their face when somehow my classes, the idiot students whining to their parents, their parents howling because I was making their precious children work for their grades and worse of all think and the chancellor of the school telling me to dumb it down was all released to the news. He lost his job, the parents were shown as nothing more than bullies, and the students spoiled airhead brats disrupting the classes. I sued and won and they went pouting to the Supreme Court but they upheld my judgment against the school."

"Lemme guess, but it's not fay-urr that we have to teach the students."

"Basically yes, they became the laughing stock of all the universities. All the 'just doing the minimum I have to' teachers all got fired and all new ones brought in. The students who didn't like having to work for their grades complained and got told to grow the fuck up. This wasn't a day care."

"What were they going to do with their lives?" President Bartlett snorts as Josette heads to the back room.

"Live off Daddy's money?"

"Basically, yeah. Thank god none of the students here will ever be that bad."

"No, I refused to allow those type in my school. The parents threatened to sue, how dare we demand our students take entry tests, don't we know who they are? We should be falling all over ourselves to grant every little demand they want." Principal Madison says sourly. "Then when they did sue, they were told the same thing. . .No."

"Pooo' babies." More than one teacher coos, then laughs.

After lunch Josette heads off to the thread manufacturer, looking over everything before she visits the other suppliers.

The first testing week Josette slides into her seat at the testing center after handing over her PADD of tests.

"Is this a two harvest year?"

"No, probably next year. Maybe the year after that."

"New degrees?"

"Three, one comic book, one on Pearl Harbor from the naval academy, and one from the history school dealing with prisoner of war camps during WWII."

"Cambridge and Oxford?

"Starting bachelors next year when I finish my doctorate."

"Other system masters?"

"Signing up for it this fall after I finish the doctorate." The three men nod."Masters?"

"Finishing the major classes this fall, I'll start getting three in a semester next year since it will all be basic classes after that."

"Papers?"

"Working on them."

The others start arriving at the table a few minutes before the buzzer is due to end the morning session.

"Dissertations?"

"We're uploading them this summer when we're six classes from our degrees." Alexander says. Michael nods.

"CJ?"

"Like me he's defending his in person this summer."

"Are the crops coming in in the growing area?"

"Yeah, David was going to harvest the root crops after we left. The early peppers, tomatoes, and other stuff will be ripening in a couple weeks."

"Green tomatoes?"

"Start picking them about the same time. I planted about three different varieties, six to eight plants of each so I'd have extra for new recipes I hadn't tried yet."

"Aquaponics?"

"Going to be done this year. The reps from the cooking school were really interested in that and the growing areas so the new cooking building might have their own growing areas."

"That makes sense. Vincent has his own growing areas for the cafe."

"Trip to the other dimension?"

"Second testing week. I'll take socks in then. The government order is being delivered after finals. I'm picking up more supplies for the jobs."

"Christmas?"

"Mid-summer, we're going out the same time for the boys show. Mine in the other dimension is later, just before they come out for the Harvest Festival."

Back at the dorm David looks over from taking the root vegetables to the ranch as the switching station alarm sounds and the others come out.

"Get everything finished?"

"Yeah, the veggies are in the root cellar and we should have the early stuff coming in in a couple weeks."

"That's what I figured. I'll start on the green tomatoes then too."

"Yeah, they're getting big enough to start harvesting." David says. "You'll have plenty for what you normally make, the new recipes you wanted to try out, and still have tomatoes ripening."

The next few weeks pass and Josette heads off to the other dimension after their second testing week, picking up the supplies and dropping off more socks in the school office. Dropping off the recycling and empty shipping containers, Josette spends a couple days visiting malls and museums then working on the recycling until she returns.

"Take care of the recycling you dropped off again?" David asks when she slides into her seat at the government building.

"Of course, people are lazy and stupid. It's good money but taking care of the recycling is beneath them." President Bartlett sighs but nods.

"Did the boys upload their papers?"

"Yeah. CJ and I uploaded our papers to the server and sent in requests for appointments. We should hear in a couple weeks after they've had chances to look them over."

"Thesis?"

"Good. I should be finished with it next year and the dissertation is well in hand. I'm also starting on the thesis for the Masters I plan on signing up for this fall."

"Classes this summer?"

"I'm looking at nineteen classes, not counting the single semester I need to finish the degree from the other school. I doubt I'll be able to get in right away with the difference in the years and more people are signing up for the same spots so I'll probably start another bachelors this fall if I get the semester in this summer."

Josette delivers special orders to Marcus when they arrive for her show, the four of them talking over the lists as his assistants check them into the system and start sending out notices that their order was ready.

"Are the orders slowing down?" Calvin asks as Josette opens the door of their home, grinning as Josette sighs.

"Hell.No." Michael sighs, looking over from a couch in the sunken living room. He's reading a book as the Sirius radio system plays oldies.

"No Christmas music?"

"Hell.No." Josette snorts. "Bad enough radio stations and malls start playing it the day after Thanksgiving. The first time it might be cute, by the fifth rendition it gets annoying, and by the fifteenth you're ready to scream."

"Josette, did you bring out supplies?" President Bartlett asks at the meeting after they come back.

"Yeah, not stuff for the new orders, that will be this fall when I take the graduating students home. But stuff for the libraries, the dining halls, and other stuff."

"Do you see bringing in the supplies for the orders more often?"

"Possibly as the orders increase. Right now the socks have increased, we've got second orders for some stuff, and they're talking about selling the crayons under a different brand name."

President Bartlett nods. "Offworld harvests?"

"Still on track to be finished by the Harvest Festival. I already delivered the 9th planet's orders including socks, gloves, scarves and hats, they'll have snow on the ground by the Harvest Festival. And it's looking to be a bad winter by the probe data."

"Twice harvesting?"

"Probably next year, I'm planting cover crops for the 9th planet anyway. They'll be running low in a couple years."

"How are the others in the other dimension doing?"

"Good, they've got some good sized growing areas and plan on setting up a second living area on the moon. And they're running tests to see if they can build on Earth, digging into the ground and using the radiation as an energy source."

"Didn't they have underground bunkers?"

"Yeah, they're setting up radiation counters to see if they're habitable and enlarging them if they are. Some of the government ones were meant for this end of the world occurrence."

"They'd need work." President Bartlett says.

"Yep, they were meant for living through the bombs so there'd be a form of government for rebuilding, not the kind of radiation we've seen in the instruments."

Doc nods. "They probably would have had several years of supplies, but they weren't meant to be self-sustaining. They'd be better off building new if they could."

Josette nods. "They've got the technology used to build on the moon."

"Dissertations?"

"I've got an appointment tomorrow. CJ's is the same day so Clark's going over with us both. He insisted even though we both said we'd be perfectly fine doing it by ourselves."

"Not getting away that easy, it doesn't care if it's your first, second, or sixteenth." Doc says calmly. "Have the students been going to Oxford and Cambridge."

"Oh yes, we've arranged for trips there as well as Disneyworld during the semester they're not taking classes here at the school."

"Are the seniors starting to take their stuff home?"

"Yeah, like last year their floor monitors are telling them the more they take over now, the less they have to take when they graduate this fall. Generally they only have two bags of stuff, one of books, music, and their computer, one of clothes." The others nod.

"Did any students have to bring their uniforms home because Mommy and Daddy insisted?"

"Yes," Josette says sourly. "Stupid twits. What the hell are their kids going to do, point to the uniform in their closet as a status symbol?"

"More like Mommy and Daddy wanted to point to it as a status symbol. 'Why don't you wear your uniform so everybody knows what school you went to?' Like anybody with a brain gives a shit."

"Exactly."

The yearly crops start coming in and Josette's busy with the first planet crops, delivering stuff to various places before the second round of crops start coming in and they plant, heading off to Mom Clarinda's dimension for the show. Dropping off the special orders, they talk with Dexter about more orders and head to the rooms, dropping their bags in their rooms before checking the note the others had left and heading off.

Josette's sitting on the couch in the living room rubbing her feet when the others start coming in from whatever government function they'd been at. Clarinda comes over and wraps an arm around Josette, then looks down. "Ahhh, new shoes."

"Yeah, I've been trying to break them in. . .just ended up breaking my toes." She 'puts' them in the bedroom.

"Did you three get your dissertations taken care of?" James asks.

"Yep, the boys have six more classes but I'll be done this fall. David started his officially this summer."

"Did he start another bachelors?"

"Yes, the three degree course on Tarzan. I'm three semesters from finishing the first one."

"Tarzan?" Mary sighs. She counts to five then laughs. "There's a degree about him?"

"There's a bunch, Montague has the three degree curriculum that deals with the books, movies, and tv show. The comic book school has the character as part of their jungle adventures series. Montague has a similar one that deals with all the jungle movies."

"Does that include Abbott and Costello's Africa Screams?" Alan asks, his lips twitching. Josette sniggers.

The show is a few days later and several days after that they head back to Haven, the others arriving a few seconds after they land.

"How often are the roofs inspected?" James asks, seeing maintenance up on the administration building roof.

"Every few years, the school buildings were inspected when the students first started coming over. In town it might be longer, especially if they don't have solar panels."

Frances comes out of the textiles building. "Oh good, I was going to leave you a note. Josette, are you growing the colored cotton again?"

"Figured on it next year."

"Colored cotton?"

"While most cotton is white, it actually comes in several different colors." Bronwen says, coming over. "They don't usually grow it commercially because they're afraid the colored cotton will affect the white."

"The same reason you don't grow different types of squashes in the same garden." Mary says. Bronwen nods. "The colored cotton is more a niche crop."

"And the fabric color tends to fade in the sun. But we make it into stuff that won't be out in the sun that long."

"With two suns that's something to take into consideration."

"Makes it easier to lay stuff out to bleach in the sun though."

"That's how Grandma used to do it."

"Have you thought of a second energy source beyond the solar panels?" Calvin asks one night after dinner. Doc looks their direction.

"Yeah, we've been considering windmills, solar panel farms, and hydroelectric but each has it's downsides. And we have a turbine on the other continent we run during bad winter storms when we're going to be socked in for a couple weeks and the solar panels will be buried, when all the crops are coming in at once, or during emergencies. The school buildings, Headquarters, the houses on the other continent and the high energy usage buildings have power collection units to collect the energy from the turbine without wires. The turbine came from Momma Clarinda's dimension several years after we first arrived on Haven, and Renny and Long Tom invented the boxes with some hints from Brainy and the others."

"Like the gardens, you want the settlers to be self-sufficient."

"Exactly. They have to think about what happens when the batteries are low and it's going to be hours or even days before the solar panels can start charging them. If they have solar panels."

"How do you power the turbine?" One of Principal Madison's brothers asks.

"Muscle power. CJ, Clark, Momma Clarinda, or I will go out and give the turbine a spin when it's needed. A spin like you see on the Price is Right generally gives us two weeks steady power. If we need more one of us goes out and gives it another spin. Right now the power production buildings handle all our needs."

"You'll have to think of other power sources."

"Yeah, far in the future we might have to build a larger power generation facility where a generator is powered that runs a turbine. But that would be decades in the future, we don't have the population to need one and we don't have the massive power need to need one running constantly. We'd also have to have a power company with meters and bills."

"You'd probably need taxes to build the power production building."

"Yep, the ones we could bring out would probably need way too much work to be feasible." Josette makes a note to check with the electricians and engineers about that and puts her PADD back on her belt.

The Harvest Festival comes and Josette starts bringing out the new students over a couple of weeks, passing them along to the teachers who lead them to the administration building to sign in officially then to the auditorium for orientation.

"So when's the day to go to Disneyworld?" David asks at lunch.

"After midterms, that way the students can have some fun after their finals and the seniors have a break from preparing to leave the school after their finals. They're working on the dates right now."

"Taking stuff home for them?"

"Yep, I brought out another shipment of boxes for them, they'll go in the administration building. Those students who don't have family who can come get them will have them shipped home."

"Foreign students?"

"Their embassies will be handling it."

"Are you finished with your art history degree?"

"First class I started on teacher this semester."

"Sign up for your masters?"

"Yeah, I'll probably hear something in the next databurst. I already started my thesis since it's only going to be two years."

"Did the new dairy come out? They were here for the Harvest Festival."

"Yep, I've been delivering supplies to them beyond what they brought up. They were able to get one crop of hay in shortly before they arrived and they'll have a second before winter. They have in a good sized garden, that with the supplies they brought out and I'm dropping off will last them through the winter until they can put in the first crops."

The next couple of months fly by and Josette takes the first batch of students to the vacation planet eighth day, teachers and some of the newcomers from the dairy volunteering as chaperons. The babies are old enough to come this year and everybody troops back to the school tired and excited late that night, having eaten lunch and dinner at the replicators. The next day Josette takes another batch of students out, the remaining students making the trip the next weekend.

"Hear about your masters?"

"Yeah, I was accepted. I start first semester next year."

"Two harvests?"

"Next year, they'll start coming in before spring so I'll take them over to the first planet."

"Tomatoes, peppers, and herbs?"

"Next year."

"Growing area?"

"I've got a list started," Josette sends the file to the others. "If there's anything you want in particular, put it down on the list." More than one person starts writing.

"Take back much stuff?"

"Yeah, it's not like when the other students were leaving, they all had more stuff."

"How are you coming on your thesis?"

"Good, I'll start wrapping it up next summer."

"And you've already started your other thesis."

"Wanted to get it laid out before I signed up for the degree. With only two years of classes it's going to be tight getting them in and working on the paper." Assorted sounds of derision greet that and Josette grins.

"When does the first batch of teachers and employees switch out?"

"Next year, the new employees will be coming out with the students so they're here for a while before they start working." the others nod.

"Has GD, the Institute, and NIMR been talking with the students?"

"Yes, and we're expecting some of them to stay for at least a few years for internships."

"With the knowledge they could write their own ticket anywhere on Earth if they wanted or stay." Alexander says. Josette nods. "And they've got that much seniority at the associated places on Earth."

"Are you still planning on taking three classes next year for your Masters?"

"Probably, I want to have that and my cooking degree done before I start another degree on musical instruments."

"Are you the only one taking the degrees?"

"Oh no, most everybody at the Institute is. Especially when the family started talking to them about shows. And I think that we're not the only ones who are going to find themselves with family of one type or another in a pantheon." The others nod.

The rest of the semester flies by and after the students finals and Thanksgiving they start walking through the tesseract David opens to the ship that's bringing them back to their own dimension. While the students are greeting family and friends before heading to the auditorium for the graduation ceremony Josette is busy delivering the government's orders and dropping off special orders with Marcus's assistant.