“Are you awake, Vega?”

“Oh for Pete’s sake… What do you want, Sol?”

“I’ve got a question.”

“What is it?”

“It’s kinda personal…”

“Can’t it wait?”

“I s’pose, but I am kinda worried about it.”

“Alright, I promise I won’t tell any of the others. What is it?”

“What should I do if I have a biological infestation on one of my planets?”

“Do you have an infestation?”

“I… I think so.”

“Rocky planet or gas giant?”

“Rocky.”

“Nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere? Liquid water? Organic molecules?”

“Everything. Complex organic molecules.”

“How bad is it?”

“It’s all over my third planet.”

“Just the third?”

“So far.”

“Didn’t Dad teach you how to keep your rocky planets clean?”

“Well, yeah…”

“So what happened?”

“I forgot.”

“Okay. Try a burst of gamma radiation.”

“How do you do that?”

“Well… it’s hard to explain. You just kind of… do it.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Oh, never mind. Do you have any asteroids?”

“Lots.”

“Use one of those. A big one. That should clear it up.”