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forming their bubble was the stuff of their Protoculture cap itself…depleted； reshaped； used in irony by Haydon。
Then Haydon accelerated the flow of time within the sphere…to ensure its passage there。
Tens of thousands of years might pass while Haydon's attention was elsewhere for an instant； but every so often Haydon would look in on them and see how His little experiment was going。
The Robotech Elders； imprisoned in the hated circle in which they had started； had their Immortality at last。
Perhaps the best summation of subsequent events is found in Recollections： Peacetime by Admiral Lisa Hayes…Hunter。
So those glorious old drives brought us home at last in grand style。 Some people griped that it was a near thing； pointing out that the drives were about to blow when we came crashing out into Earthspace； but take it from me； they'd have done whatever they needed to； to get the job done。
Of course by 〃home；〃 I mean conventional spacetime； the Sol system wasn't exactly the old neighborhood for the XT Sentinels； the Zentraedi； and so forth。
That didn't matter much at the time。
The pure joy of getting back to Earthspace was dampened； of course； when we realized that Minmei and Rem had disappeared。 This； even though the pilots originally 〃kidnapped〃 from Red and Blue teams were miraculously put back aboard SDF…3； Veritechs and all； at the Intersection。 As of this writing； there is no indication whatsoever of what happened to them； and all efforts to locate them or establish their fate have been fruitless。
The second great shock of our arrival was the calculation （by astronomical Ads； from the positions of planets in the Sol system） of the elapsed time since the departure of Peter Pan。 Foldspace had played another joke on us。
More than ten years had passed。
But that wasn't enough to dampen our morale； not after what we'd been through。 I think that those on board SDF…3 during that moment of Intersection will always be different。 We were given a new perspective on life and death and our place in the scheme of things； that left its mark on us。
And so SDF…3 started for Earth one last time； driven by auxiliary power。 Somehow the transit from newspace had drained away all our Second Gen Protoculture； even what was left in the various mecha。 We shall not see its like again； as the saying goes。
There's no denying the sheer joy of homeing； though。 The Earth below us was the first and best surprise： pristine and beautiful； her surface restored； her ecosystems flourishing with a vitality they hadn't known in a century and a half and more。
Maybe it was some kind of payback。
We arrived to find that Earth had muddled through the multiple crises that had beset her； largely with the help of exotic new technology developed from information brought home by the Angel。
But largely； it was a matter of humanity's being sick of war。 I've heard of old soldiers retiring from the carnage to create and retreat into a beautiful garden somewhere。 I guess that's more or less what happened to the entire species Homo sapiens。
Water ice had been brought in from offworld； pollution damage cleaned up through bio…remedialism and other newly devised techniques。 The drifting space junk from the Robotech wars had all been removed； or burned itself up in atmospheric entry。 The planet started getting better simply because people stopped placing impossible demands on it and began giving something back。 Too； the population had been drastically； catastrophically reduced。
Besides； there was aid from the Local Group worlds that had； by that time； reached Earth via the new； non Protoculture Pseudojaunt drive。 （What beautiful starships the new technologies make possible！ Earth looked like she had magical treasures in orbit around her when we arrived。） The old government had been swept away； what had replaced it was benign； democratic； and very participatory。
We weren't surprised that Louie Nichols and his byte punchers； in particular； saddled up and threw themselves right into that new ferment。
I got a sense of how much things had changed when we （the Hunters） went with Scott Bernard and Marlene to catch up with old friends down in one of the Restoration Bureau's South American reserves。 Young Stone Face had by then broken down and faced the fact that he loved Marlene （later； Scott even。 asked and got a reconciliation with Marlene Rush's parents； who'd survived on Tirol） and proposed to her。
But he still felt he needed a little moral support for this mission； I guess。
His old rade Lunk had buried his bitterness； however； even though he turned his face away and was shaken by sobs when he saw Marlene。 But Lunk gave Scott a sincere handshake and Marlene a heartbreakingly chaste kiss on the cheek。 I'd seen old pictures of him； and Lunk had changed a lot； stomach expanded； hair thinned to a gray fringe around his bald head。 He looked like a sad old simian。
Rand and Rook Bartley showed up with little Maria； there was a lot of ribbing about the success of Rand's Notes on the Run； Rook doubting he could cut it as a Forager anymore。 He did seem a little chagrined； especially since his wife still looked like she'd kept her biker edge。
Still； it was plain that they loved each other； even if Rook wasn't happy about little Maria's preoccupation with her word processor。
Just as things became less formal； we were almost run over by a dinosaur。 From what I'd heard of Annie LaBelle； I shouldn't have been surprised that she was a reckless behemoth driver。
Rick and I were looking around for guns that we weren't carrying…since nobody has any on Earth anymore…but Roy II thought that thunder lizard was just the greatest thing since crayons。
And sitting on a saddle up behind its head was Annie。 It was a seismosaurus； she told us later； biggest of the herbivorous heavyweights； it sure impressed me。
With Annie was her husband； Magruder； the two of them looking…and dressed…like a new…tech Tarzan and Jane。 Scott made some ment about how nicely she'd sprouted up and filled out； and Magruder seemed to accept that with great pride。
At the local Bureau HQ； Annie and Lunk filled us in on all the strides genetic engineering had made since contact with the Local Group…and especially； of course； with the Tirolians。
Even fossilized genetic models could be revived； and existing ones cloned and varied； differentiation being so important to species survival。 Not only were pandas； snow leopards； and whales thriving； so were passenger pigeons； giant sloths； and woolly mammoths。
And of course； the biggest debate at that time was whether it would be immoral to bring Neanderthals back from extinction （or； to put it another way； leave them extinct）。 Annie and Magruder…both of whom had advanced degrees in neogenetics were passionate about opposite sides of the argument； as ready to punch it out as they were to kiss and make up。
At any rate； Scott and Marlene's strike force reunion turned gut well； but I had my first real exposure to the fact that an aging SDF skipper wasn't exactly in demand anymore in this brave new world。 I was out of phase； bereft of background data。 There were more shocks waiting for all of us。
What hit S