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“What I don’t understand-” said General Squires, standing on the balcony at Alpha Control looking at the screens of stars and nebulae that covered the entire wall below, “is how a ship that was meant to go a couple light-years to Alpha Centauri in five years shoots out of the galaxy on the first day, disappears for a whole year, more than a year, then just comes back for a few moments only to shoot out of the galaxy again-” “It doesn’t really make sense,” said Sebastian, a man in his 30s working at a computer console. “But that’s what happened, so-” “Play the tape again,” Squires said quietly.  The starscape view on the screen was replaced by a grainy radio telescope composite of a tiny dot flashing by at incredible speeds. The recorded voice played back. 
“Alpha Control to unidentified space vehicle, come in. Alpha Control to unidentified space vehicle. Do you read us, over?”
There was a long pause with nothing but static. Then came a low, whispery, unclear but unmistakable voice of a man who could only be Professor John Robinson. 
“- …trol, this is Jup…r 2 , …read me?”

“This is Alpha Control. Your signal is very faint. Your identification sounded like the Jupiter 2, please reconfirm.”
“....ARE THE …TER 2 Y…..IOTS!!!! HELP US!!!!” another man’s voice screamed. His voice was not identified, but one thing was for sure, this man was not a member of the Jupiter 2 crew. “The Jupiter 2 was lost in space over a year ago…” the Alpha Control voice had said dubiously. “...’ve come back! We’re pion…rs! Heroes! …SAVE US!!!” said that same man. It was still hard to identify his voice with all the distortion, but there was something familiar about it… “......trol, we’re on aux…ary power. …track us?” the welcome voice of John Robinson said urgently. 
“Only with the radio telescope”

“...try t..metry?”

“You are beyond the range of our telemetry. You seem to be passing Earth, departing this galaxy, can you change heading?”
“Ne…tive Al.. C…. R… fuel not av…..ble” John’s voice said with sad resignation that could be heard even as it cut out. “We are losing your signal. You are exiting the galaxy, headed for Outer Space. Good luck…”“Good luck? That’s it?” Squires asked. “NO….OOOO!” screamed the other man, loud and clear before the signal went dark completely. The final report came in. “We’ve lost their signal. They’re exiting the galaxy. Report Jupiter 2 and all aboard, lost in space” “Again” Squires finished. “You want me to play it again?” Sebastian asked. “No! I mean they’re lost again. But at least we know they’re alive” “We don’t know for sure,” said General March, walking up to him, arching his well defined eyebrows skeptically.  “This could be some elaborate prank” “That was John Robinson’s voice,” said Squires. “What about the other voice?” Sebastian asked. “Should I run a VBAS check on it?”“No, I recognize him anywhere. I hear that voice all the time in my nightmares. Colonel Smith, the member of our own staff who went missing.” “So he stowed away? Well that would explain the excess weight aboard” said Sebastian. “I never liked that Smith,” said March. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he stowed away on purpose to get out of work!” “Well I don’t care for the man either, but now we know what happened to him. Still, the Robinsons are our only priority! We now have concrete proof that they’re alive, not just the word of people in a random town in Vermont! We’ve got to send a rescue ship!”“Er, how?” Sebastian asked. “They exited the galaxy.”“That’s your people’s department, mister! All I know is that the Robinsons are out there, and word of this is going to get out to the tabloids very soon. And that family out there needs our help, so let’s get on it. Those are my friends drifting out there” “I’d like to lead the rescue mission,” March said in a smooth voice. “It’s best if you stay here, but we can get the Space Corps on it” “Very well,” said Squires. “Look, I know you weren’t too keen on the idea of a family in space. But this is your chance to make it right and bring them home,”“I’ll do my best to bring them back in one piece,” March promised. “One thing’s for sure, this will be a great movie one day”  “Not the time, Sebastian!”“What? Or a TV show? I don’t know, we just have to think about that too! If we actually find them, it will be the greatest story in space travel history” “As long as it has a happy ending” Squires sighed, staring out at the view of a distant galaxy...

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Over one year later, in the Milky Way Galaxy… 
The Jupiter 2 was no longer lost in the literal sense, but they were still very far from home. Although they were back in their home galaxy, there was still a long way to go before they could find Earth, or Alpha Centauri. On the top of the ship, inside the transparent, retractable blister astrodome above the glide tube elevator, Judy and Don could see the stars all around them, but the most beautiful view of all was the swirling nebula in the distance. “That’s the Cygnus Nebula, right?” Judy asked. “Yup, sure is. We’ve finally got a lock and confirmed it” said Don. The scattered wispy cosmic clouds of the nebula cast a beautiful purple glow throughout the dome, reflecting on the couple’s faces and bathing them in color.“That means we’re not far from Earth after all,” Judy said hopefully. “Sure, just, uh, twenty five hundred light-years or so,” Don sighed. “Well, closer than we were,” She pointed out. “Even though we can’t see it. But getting to see that nebula up close, not just in a schoolbook… and to see it with you, like this. That’s something I’ll never forget.” “Yea, It is a pretty beautiful place,” Don agreed. “And I can see why you like it, since uh, it is named after a swan, just like the musical.” “The musical about swans? Oh, you mean the one based on The Ugly Duckling? I heard of that, but that wasn’t going to open until after we left, and not in our country anyway, so I don’t know much about it. Penny was always the one who liked that book,” “Oh no, I don’t know about that one. I meant Swan Lake!” “Don, that’s a ballet, not a musical…” Judy sighed. “Oh. Oh right, yea. I knew that. But still, I mean it’s on stage.” “Sure, Don.” Judy laughed. “But I really need to teach you more. If I can identify nebulae on sight, you really need to know what’s a musical and what isn’t.” “Hey, you got me there. Fair enough- but I guess I just think of swans when I think of you… because they’re beautiful and you’re beautiful. Uh, but you’re more beautiful than any swan or nebula in the universe…” “Nice save, Major West.” Judy grinned. “But you know, you fly the ship gracefully like one too.” “Hey, I don’t know about that, but thanks,” Don smiled. “ I love you so much…” Instead of kissing, Judy and Don touched their foreheads together the way swans often did, to make a heart shape. It didn’t look the same when people did it, but the love between them was still there. Then they turned and stared at the nebula again, shivering even though the temperature in the dome was the same as the rest of the ship. “It’s just weird to think that a star exploded to make that nebula. It’s beautiful, but kind of eerie”  said Don. “I know what you mean. But that’s just the cycle of life, I guess. The cosmic dance. Things come and go and change… but you know, I can think of one flame that will never burn out” “Hm?” “Our love for each other, Don.” She reminded him, nudging him playfully. . “Oh, oh yea-” “You did say we’d have a date night tonight. On the Upper Deck? This dome is a nice spot for the two of us, but I think we should go down.” “Yea, of course. I’m done with maneuvering for the day, and we’ve got the deck to ourselves since your mom and dad went down to work in the lab” “Well this is the perfect atmosphere for a date” she smiled. “I know, there’s no atmosphere in space, but I mean the mood. It’s really romantic” “Yea, I thought walking in the moonlight was a great date, but a nebula is even better,” said Don. “So I think it’s your turn to pick the activity, right?” “I’m glad you remembered,” Judy nodded. “Well, I was thinking a movie night, but I’m not sure which movie-” “Hey, isn’t there a Swan Lake movie?” “I don’t think we have it though… anyway, I get to pick which one,” The astrodome retracted into the perfectly smooth hull of the saucer shaped ship, and Judy and Don descended in the elevator into the dim, warmly lit control room in the simulated late evening, also colored by the light of the nebula. Don walked over to the communications console and switched on the viewscreen. “Yea, we might have watched all the movies in our library, all the good ones at least…” “It’s too bad we couldn’t have brought some more choices,” said Judy. “My siblings got to pick most of them, so those movies aren’t really my taste. But what I really miss is musical theater...” “Well, there’s always that uh, romantic comedy right?” Don said cutely, trying to make sure he said the genre right. “We’ve watched that at least three times in the last month, though. Also it’s kind of… not great.”“Hey, I liked it-” “Hmm, we mostly only have family movies. Oh, how about A Simple Wish? It’s one of the last ones we have from the year we left,”“Oh, I’ve never seen that,”“Well, this can be your first time-” . Judy went downstairs and brought up the tape, but when she returned to the Upper Deck, she found that she was being followed by her younger siblings. “Ooh, are you and Don having a movie night?” Will asked. “Ohh, A Simple Wish!” said Penny, looking at the tape. “Could we watch with you too? Please? It’s not our bedtime yet…” Judy gave Don a knowing look. “Sure, why not?” Blankets and comfortable bean bags were laid out on the floor of the Upper Deck for Don and all three Robinson siblings to watch the movie. Judy placed the tape in slot just below the vector tapes and above the compu-translator. The multi-purpose tapes began spinning around as the viewscreen on the communications console began playing the movie. Unfortunately, they didn’t get very far before the tape cut out, and instead at the movie they were jump-scared by the face of Dr. Smith, in his quarters making a tape of his own. The recording was clearly very old, since he was wearing his old outfit. “Welcome back to another installment of Ruminations of a Galactic Castaway, video edition… I am Dr. Zachary Smith, renowned…” “SMITH!” Don shouted loud enough to probably be heard even in the vacuum of space. “He taped over it to make his own crappy recording! Why does he ruin everything he touches?” As if on cue, the man himself entered the control room through the back stairwell, along with the Robot. “Ah, you’re all having a viewing party of my Ruminations, and I was not invited? Well I do hope that you will find them very enlightening, along with my Meditations and Social Psychology of Galactic Castaways as well, and my recent Space Odyssey recording. I have moved on to my memoir, Outer Space and I, of course, but thus far that only exists on the written page, delicately inked by my fabulous feather quill pen”“I oughta rip it up and feed it to the Bloop, Smith! Along with you.” Don said angrily. “Oh, Debbie wouldn’t do that…” said Penny. “Dr. Smith, that tape was already being used.” Judy said, exasperated. She really tried to defend him, but it was hard sometimes. He just messed up so very often… “Really? Well that was an accident, purely an accident, you see.” “It’s okay Dr. Smith, it was a pretty boring movie anyway” said Will, always ready to forgive his friend, and also really relieved he didn’t have to watch it. “We really should use the ship computers to generate our own movies, about all of us, you know?” “Splendid idea, William, and thank you for your understanding.” “Or we could always act out the stories” said Judy. “You know, in real life.”“I could assist with such a project using my detailed recordings of events which transpired on our journey. I would also enjoy narrating them!” “Yea, you’d be great Robot-” said Will.“Oh, very well, you overachieving object!  Well, I surely would be the star!” “On a similar subject, there are in fact alien adaptations of our adventures in existence!” revealed the Robot. “Including some performed by duplicates of your family, as created by Lemnoc!”“Yea, I remember seeing that on the screen one time. It’s so weird…” said Don. “But at least we don’t have to deal with that anymore” “I don’t much appreciate the thought that alien viewers are watching our every move for entertainment, getting pleasure from our misfortune. If they insist on doing so, they should at least pay me royalties, wouldn’t you agree? Us. Pay us royalties, I should say,” “Tell me about it…” Judy agreed. “We all must receive our fair share, howsomever… those of us who were involved in the grand majority of the misfortune should of course receive more, it would be only fair, I refer of course to myself!” “Oh really, Smith? That’s funny, cause I seem to remember you weren’t even a part of our original mission line-up…” Don reminded him. “Like, at all. And the way you ended up trapped on this ship is still awful fishy to me, you know,” “Spare me your insensitively insulting insinuations, Major, like it or not, we are all in this together, I have more than proven myself as a member of this fine, illustrious space expedition. At the very least, I would have liked to broadcast my Ruminations to the stars… of which I of course, am the brightest shining star of them all…” “Oh sure, just toss it in some canister and throw it out the airlock and hope some aliens are unfortunate enough to stumble across it,” Don shrugged. “Actually, no, don’t do that. I remember what happened last time.” “I don’t think we have to get rid of the tape… hmm, Robot, could you please restore it?” Judy pulled the tape out as the Smith on the screen was still talking about the emotional well being of his fellow travelers. “Affirmative, Miss Judy! Fortunately, Dr. Smith did not attempt to overwrite any of my computer tapes… again.” “Especially if you have any more secret princesses living inside those tapes,” said Penny. “Indeterminate at this time!” “But for now, why don’t we just watch a different movie? How about Wish Upon a Star? It still has ‘wish’ in it.” “Hmm… maybe. But I always think of the song-” “Ooh, or we could watch the Pippi Longstocking movie? The new one? You’d like that one, Judy, it’s a musical!” Penny suggested hopefully. “Okay no offense, but those are all kinda boring. I’ll bet we could pick up some alien TV stations on this” said Will, playing around with the communications console. “At least then we’d have something new.” “Trapped between dreary family films and alien entertainment? Oh the pain, the pain…” Dr. Smith turned away from the screen. “Well, so much for our movie night…” Judy sighed, sitting down next to Don. The screen mostly displayed static as Will tried to find any local space station broadcasting shows from other worlds. “Can you identify any good shows on now, Robot?” “Negative, Will Robinson. Cosmic interference and radio visual incompatibility.”“Aww, come on.” Will sighed. “There has to be something out there!” “Attention, attention! Incoming transmission!” said the Robot. “Perfect timing, Robot!” Will grinned, looking at the screen. “Hey, it’s coming through on Z-band!” “Z-band?” Don asked. “But that’s the same frequency we’d use to call Alpha Control,.” Suddenly, the room was very quiet as everyone looked at each other in excitement and shock. They knew they weren’t as lost as they had been, and much closer to Earth than they had been too, but none of them had expected this. “Alpha Control? At last! Earth has finally located us!” Dr. Smith said with joy, singing his song about returning home with uncharacteristic joy. . “Quiet, Smith. I’m gonna try and raise ‘em on the radio.” said Don, as he and Will pressed buttons on the communications console, but Don was soon distracted by a sound at the flight controls. He looked at the radar screen. “Signal’s coming from a spacecraft not far from here, alright! Reads like- I’ll be, a class G-3 intergalactic spaceship!”“So it is one of ours!” Penny got up and looked at the screen too. “At laaaaaast! A rescue ship! We’re saved, we’re saved! We’re SAAAAVED! Oh joy, oh bliss, oh Crepes Suzette, oh pheasant under glass, oh Earth, mother Earth, it’s finally happening, yes indeed-” “Now cool it Smith, we don’t know if they can see us yet.” said Don. “It might not be meant for rescuing us.” “But why else would it be so close to us!” said Will. “It’s gotta be, Don. It’s just gotta be. We’re so close! And ships in that class are supposed to be able to carry other ships, right? So it has to be a rescue ship!”“Yea, that’s true. It’s basically the space equivalent of a tow truck.” said Don. “I’ll go get Mom and Dad!” said Judy, almost lost for words. She went downstairs to find her parents enjoying a romantic and private date together around the table. Well, at least someone on the ship got to have a private date, but she didn’t have time to be bitter about her date being ruined, she was too excited by the idea that they were finally being rescued. Her parents followed her back upstairs, elated at the news. The family stood all together on the Upper Deck, filled with a hope they hadn’t felt in a long time. Could it be that they were finally going home?In the depths of space, the rescue ship approached their position rapidly…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“This is Jupiter 2, do you read us?” John tried over the radio. “Repeat, this is John Robinson, of the Earth ship Jupiter 2. Do you read?” “I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up just yet,” said Maureen. “But I just can’t help it.”“Neither can I, mother.” said Judy. “Me too!” Will chimed in“And me!” Penny added. “And, to the surprise of nobody, myself!” said Dr. Smith. “There is no reason not to get our hopes up! Our return to Earth is at hand! In the right time, the right place! Oh, what a relief…”“I would advise caution, Dr. Smith!” the Robot warned. “Recall the time you believed yourself to be returning to Earth, but it was in fact the same world you had left? Recall the time we nearly returned to Earth, but could not due to using our fuel supply to rescue you!”“That was not my fault-”“Recall the time you were led to believe we were on Earth by Space Control, unaware that it was actually the deadly Automated Planet!” “Oh dear-”“Recall the time you nearly returned to Earth in an alien spacecraft, but had to leave after firing missiles! Recall the time you actually managed to return to Earth, but were nearly executed in a haunted castle in Scotland!”“Oh the pain…” “And right after that, recall the time you believed you were in San Francisco on Earth, unaware that it was in reality a simulation on a dead asteroid!”The Robot’s sensors whirred audibly as he scanned his memory banks, components spinning around inside his bubble.“Wait, I am not finished! And in more recent memory, recall the time when we all returned to Earth, but over fifty years in the past! Recall the incident aboard Space Lightship F-12… Recall the time aliens took over the Jupiter 2 to invade the Earth, and we did land, but left immediately. And most recently, recall the time aliens deceived us into believing we were arriving at Alpha Centauri, unaware that it was actually an alien world of perpetual teenagers! As the old saying goes, ‘Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me at least ten times, substantial shame on me!’ ” The Robot lowered his bubble to emphasize his dramatic retelling. “Shame on you indeed, you narrating ninny! Spare me the robotic, repetitive recaps! I do recall all of those occasions, and a couple more, I believe, but that’s beside the point. There is an Earth signal coming through from an Earth ship, that means there’s a sliver of hope, and that is what I shall cling to! Stop being such a programmed pessimist, you have no idea of the emotions a return to Earth would bring us all, the relief…” “Well, let’s wait for a response first…” said Don. “I mean, it’s looking good, but we’ve been burned before. I just don’t want anybody to be disappointed if they overshoot us or miss us. I mean it’s still a big galaxy, and we’ve been the Flying Dutchman of space for a while now, haven’t we?” “They sent a transmission out on Z-band” John noted. “That means they think there’s another Earth ship in the area. It has to be for us. I have been accused of being an optimist in my time, but at this point I’ll take whatever we can get.” “Let’s try boosting the signal,” Maureen suggested, and Judy turned a control knob. Suddenly, the screen flickered to life, and the face of General March stared back at them. He had never been close to the Robinson family the way General Squires was, in fact he had not been their biggest fan at all, but in that moment the Robinsons erupted into cheers at seeing his face. “Jupiter 2? This is General March on the relief ship Aurelia 1. We’re here to rescue you, Robinsons! And man, is it good to see you all.”“General March!” John said in disbelief. “You’re here for us?” Somehow, despite the excitement building inside him, John kept his voice smooth and steady as always, but with a broad smile across his face. “That’s right, Professor Robinson. I’m here under orders to take you and your family back to Earth!”Everyone cheered, but Dr. Smith's cries of joy drowned them all out. “Oh joy, oh bliss! No more dreadful destination of Alpha Centauri, we’re truly going home to Earth! Ah, I’m going to cry, pardon me, I can’t believe the day has finally come! Oh, thank you sir, thank you! It is I, Dr. Zachary Smith, remember me?” “Uh, yes, long story there-” said John. “I can see that,” said March, glaring at Smith through the screen. “But we’re here to bring you all home. I imagine you’ve got quite the story to tell!” “We’ll tell you all about it” Maureen promised. “But thank you so much for coming to find us. I know we’ve been gone for quite a while.” “Of course, Dr. Robinson. Billions of people all over the globe will be so relieved that you’re all alive and well. We’ll be maneuvering into position, then we’ll carry you back to Earth under our power. The trip will take several hours, so I suggest you folks rest up on the way there. Major West, would you stay to supervise the docking? You’re advised to stay in your ship until we reach Earth, just to prevent any contamination issues.” “Got it.” Don nodded. A few minutes later, the Aurelia 1 came into view. The front of the ship resembled a slice of the front of the Jupiter, with a viewport, upper dome and fusion core. But instead of being a full saucer, it was a crescent shape, attached to a large landing pad in the back with fuel barge style fuel tanks arranged in a hexagonal shape around the pad, with large engines on the back. Don was right, it did kind of look like some kind of space truck, and before long he was docking the Jupiter 2 in the back landing pad. Unfortunately, the large crescent and tanks almost completely blocked the view from the viewport, blocking out the view of the stars. “Well, I guess we won’t be able to see much on our journey back-” said John. “So I suggest we turn in and get some sleep.”  “Well, it may be hard for any of us to sleep after this incredible news, dear.” said Maureen. “I still can hardly believe it!” “That’s true, darling.” said John. “But I for one think I’ll sleep soundly, knowing that our great adventure is now happily behind us, and our prayers have been answered.”“Yea, and just like that” Don snapped his fingers. “And it sure seems legit.”“This all feels like a dream already…” said Judy. “But alright, let’s get some sleep. And when we wake up, we’ll be almost home…”“Oh, is this a dream? A pleasant dream? Please, would somebody pinch me?” Dr. Smith asked. “Very well, Dr. Smith!” said the Robot, extending one of his red pincer claws. “Ahhh, not you, you lobster-handed locomotive lighthouse! I just want to be sure.” “Oh, I’ll do more than pinch you, Smith.” Don offered. “Not you either, Major! But nothing will spoil this glorious moment! Am I in Heaven? How has this day finally come?” “I’ll do it Dr. Smith!” said Will, pinching his hand lightly. “See, it’s not a drea-”“AHHHHHH! William, I shall never recover! My delicate hand-” “Gee, sorry Dr. Smith! I’m just so excited, I guess I forgot how strong I’m getting!”“Oh, so am I, my eager young friend, so am I! And it’s real! At last, we are finally going home! A warm welcome shall be waiting for us, the President will be there to greet us, we will receive a heroes’ welcome, my boy, and all shall be right with the world!”“Oh, I can’t wait for all the things we can do when we get there!” said Penny. “And all the people we can see…” said Judy. “Oh, they must not even know we’ve been alive all this time. I never thought I’d see them all again, and oh Don… we can finally pick up where we left off.” “We sure can.” Don grinned. “No more worrying, no more fighting for our lives… just us. All of us.” He and Judy kissed, in front of everyone, which soon turned into a group hug with the whole family. Some of them smiled and cheered and giggled, some cried tears of joy, some just stayed quiet with a gleam of hope in their eyes. But the whole family felt such a sense of release, like they were waking up from a long, surreal sleep of dreams and nightmares. But on the long journey home, the family did retire to their quarters for some actual dreams. But before bed, John took a moment to make an entry in his journal, then turned to Maureen. “We made it, darling. We made it.”“You know, when I woke up this morning, I thought we had years of hardship in space ahead of us still” said Maureen. “I always try to stay positive for the children, but it’s been harder lately. But I had no idea that tomorrow, we’re going to be on Earth. I don’t know why, but I just keep expecting something else to go wrong.” “I know what you mean,” said John. “But I hope that soon, all that heartache… all that fear and anxiety will be behind us. Because we’re being carried hope at this very moment, wow! You know, it’s strange, Maureen. I always thought we’d make it back on our own. I’m grateful we were rescued, don’t get me wrong, but I guess a part of me thought we’d find our own way back. Not be picked up and rescued one day like this-” “Ah, I know this must seem awfully anticlimactic to you, John, I do know how you feel. But we’ve been on our own for so long, surviving, just us. I’m just glad after all that… somebody actually came for us. Not to sound like Dr. Smith, but we are getting the red carpet treatment, dear, and that includes being carried home. Sort of like we carried the children home after they were born. This is the start of our new life too…” “You’re right, darling. And I love you so much.” John and Maureen kissed softly as they sat on the bed together. “Well, next stop, Earth!” “It would be awfully ironic if after all this, they make us turn around and go to Alpha Centauri after all.” Maureen smiled. “I mean, that is our destination…” “Well, I still would like to live on Alpha Centauri” John admitted. “But we deserve Earth, after all the horrors we’ve faced in space. We deserve a break, and still, peaceful days ahead.” “I’m not sure I’m quite ready to be such a celebrity” Maureen laughed. “I mean, it was one thing when we thought we were leaving for five years, but especially now… everyone will know us, John. But only we know what we went through.” “Well, maybe Dr. Smith had the right idea with the whole memoir thing” John laughed. “We’d better publish our version first.” said Maureen. “But the first thing I want to do when we get back is rest… just sit in a nice place without any worries. Well, not that I won’t always have anxieties, but being able to just know we’re being taken care of for once, that’s very comforting.” “Well, no matter where we are… we’ll always have each other.” “Yes, dear. We have to promise that even if we don’t live here in this little ship anymore, we’ll all live under one roof.” “Well, uh, I don’t know, Judy and Don might have other plans… but I imagine they’ll keep us locked away in some base first, while they examine us, and while we readjust.” “Oh, but I do worry about Penny and Will. They haven’t been around human kids their age, really… their lives will be just turned upside down.” “I’ve always thought they deserved to have normal lives, for once.” said John. “It might take awhile, but I believe they’ll get there.” “And what about us, John? It might be strange, not having to make these hard decisions and be responsible for everything and everyone all the time.” “I think we’ll be just fine” He smiled confidently. “Because our family will always need us, on Earth, or in space. That’s one thing that won’t change.” “Maybe it won’t be that different,” said Maureen. “No, that’s not true, I know it will. But our lives have always been changing. This is just the start of a new chapter, and well, hopefully a calmer one.” “Oh, a calmer one, eh? Well, you know, I think I’ll retire from being a Professor of Astrophysics and become a masked vigilante!” “Oh, no you don’t, dear.” Maureen laughed. “Although I’m sure you could pull it off…” “No, seriously though. I’m looking forward to a nice, long relaxing vacation, darling, all of us as a family.” “Hopefully not a long trip though, dear. We do have a tendency of getting lost.” Maureen grinned. “Hmm, good point. No long trips. You know, I haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time.”“Well, get used to it, dear. This is just the start of our new life…” In each other’s arms, John and Maureen drifted off to sleep, with a sense of relief in their dreams, peaceful and still as the Jupiter 2 was carried through the stars…The next morning, the family were awakened early by an announcement from the Robot that they were approaching Earth. After changing into their formal silver flight suits, everyone rushed to the Upper Deck, before remembering that they couldn’t see anything because the rescue ship they were docked with blocked out all the viewports, even the back one. Fortunately, General March provided a video feed on the Jupiter 2’s vision plates, showing the unmistakable sight of Earth growing ever closer. The family went back down to the lower deck to strap in for re-entry, but John and Don stayed at the flight controls. “We did good, Don.” John smiled at him. “But now our journey’s at its end.” “You know, I’m kinda sad I don’t get to be the one to pilot the Jupiter down for landing” said Don. “Well, Major, I would rather us not make it all this way only to crash at the very last second!” Dr. Smith remarked. “Smith, get below!” Don commanded. “But I wanted to be at hand to see Earth with my own eyes.”“Well, there’s nothing to see that you can’t see from the lower deck. Come on, down there and strap in. That’s the last time I’ll ever get to order you around, so you might as well follow it” John told him. “Oh very well, Professor. And thank you, I suppose, for keeping me relatively safe throughout this trying ordeal! I will certainly stay in touch with you and your family.” “I’d rather you didn’t do that with me, Smith.” said Don. “Come to think of it I just might get a restraining order…”“And I will be sure to provide all of you with an autographed copy of my memoir, Outer Space and I!” “Alright, Smith, but why don’t you go below? There’s no sense in complaining, all your dreams are coming true after all,” John told him. “So just calm down and relax.” “Very well,” Dr. Smith nodded, descending in the elevator, singing his song, “We’re going back to Earth, we’re really going back to Earth, of all I recall, it’s the best part of all in all the universe, oh we’re going back to Earth…” “Anyway, as I was saying, I wish I could just get to land the ship one last time.” said Don. “Well, let’s see what we can do.” John said, making a call to General March. Finally, a compromise was reached. For most of the descent, the Jupiter 2 would be carried by the Aurelia 1, but for the actual landing, the ship would separate and Don would get a chance to land it. A few hundred feet above the spaceport, the Jupiter 2 separated from the rescue ship and flew ahead, as Don set it down smoothly and softly in the yellow, circular landing pad at the familiar grounds of Alpha Control. A crowd of people surrounded the ship as one by one, the Robinson family, Major Don West, Dr. Zachary Smith, and somehow the Robot walked down the stairs of the landing leg and stood on Earth, blinded by flashes of cameras and cheers of onlookers at Alpha Control.Dr. Smith kissed the ground, as the rest of the family looked around, trying to keep their balance on the now unfamiliar soil. They smiled and gasped, but no-one knew what to say. Finally, John decided to echo the words of another famous space pioneer from a long time ago. “Well, that’s one small trip for a family, one giant vacation for familykind.” He shrugged, that was the best he could come up with. The crowd cheered though, and Alpha Control guards were there to greet the Robinsons and lead them away from the Jupiter 2, after plenty of photos were taken of the family, looking very well. They had actually made it. They were home. Not years in the past, or in some other place, but right there at Alpha Control, on the planet Earth. Their great adventure was now happily behind them. But while they breathed easily then, it was only for the moment. Their every instinct told them the adventure wasn’t quite over yet…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The first day passed in a whirl of emotions and events. There was an official welcome home banquet, and typically Dr. Smith might have complained about not being the guest of honor, or about the food choices not being up to his usual standards, but he was so relieved to be home that he was in a very joyful mood, even as everyone at Alpha Control passed him over for the Robinsons. John noticed a lot of the people there were new, not the same people he had known back at Alpha Control when they left. Well, it has been about two and a half years, so that made sense, but John wondered how much else had changed on Earth. Alpha Control looked the same as it always had, even though it was dressed up with fancy decor and even a “Welcome Home Robinsons” banner. General March was there to welcome them, and a recorded message from the president was presented, but there was one very noticeable absence. “Where’s General Squires?” he asked. “I had hoped to see him again.” “Oh, he retired about a year ago.” General March revealed. “But he was the one who ordered the rescue effort to find you. I’m sure he’ll be in touch with you soon,”“Well, I wish him all the best”, said John.  Don was sad to hear that, clearly a lot had changed after all. “So you’re running this outfit now?” He asked General March. “Well, for right now, since I was on the rescue team. But Colonel Mason is still around here, somewhere, well you know how the military is. But everyone will be so relieved to see you here again!” The banquet was mostly filled with Alpha Control staff, but there were several reporters and photographers there as well. The Robinsons dined at a fancy table, but under a large transparent bubble separate from everyone else, since they were still technically in quarantine until tests could be run.  But Penny and Will were so excited that they looked around everywhere, while Judy and Don and Maureen and John enjoyed a well deserved romantic dance after dinner. “I guess I am getting to dance after all,” Judy told Don as she took his hands in hers. Penny and Will decided to do some dancing too.“Hey, you two get an early Homecoming dance!” Judy smiled. “With a real homecoming!” Even Dr. Smith and the Robot joined in, but before long everyone was exhausted and totally overwhelmed. Jetlag was hard, but spaceship-lag was way worse. So the family spent most of the first day resting in the special, padded ready room. Even Debbie was there, although the team scientists had wanted to examine her separately, and some guards had complained about the regulations around alien animals. Sometimes, General March and the rest of the Alpha Control staff would come in to examine them or ask questions about what had happened, including taking blood samples, although Dr. Smith refused. But mostly they just rested with more peace and contentment than they had felt in a very long time, in a ready room that felt very much like a comfortable hotel. Even though he was usually the one taking naps, Dr. Smith began to grow restless. “It is simply not fair, I am not an official member of this expedition, why must I conform to the same guidelines! We’re on Earth, dear old Earth, I want to lay in the green grass of the meadow, at the beach, at a proper restaurant, even the swamp would not be unwelcome! Although for my part, if I never see the night sky again, it will be much too soon.” “Patience Dr. Smith, all things come to he who waits” said the Robot, who had chosen to stay with the Robinsons. “But we’re on Earth! Think about it, just outside those walls is the most wonderful world in the world, I mean the universe! I have no intention of staying in this room for months while out there is the most beautiful place I have longed for, all this time…” “Gosh, it shouldn’t be that long, Dr. Smith! And just think, when you get out you’ll be really famous!” said Will. “Not as much as me, but almost!” “You’re right, dear boy. Quite right” Dr. Smith smiled. He was so excited about being home that he hadn’t allowed himself to worry about what would happen if he was questioned about how he became trapped aboard the ship in the first place… or if his old former associates contacted him again. For so long he had dreamed of what it would be like to return to Earth. But now that he was there, a small part of him worried. But then he thought of Crepes Suzette, of Beef Stroganoff, of a fancy estate, and those worries faded away. And it wasn’t just the finer delicacies that he had missed, even the little things about living on Earth would be so welcome. “Well, more time to conclude my memoir! I truly didn’t think it would end on such a positive note…” On the second day, everyone was still mostly resting, but the quarantine order was lifted slightly, allowing them to explore the Alpha Control grounds during the day. General March, along with a number of security guards, led all of the explorers to a garden in the middle of the spaceport where a beautiful marble statue stood. As the Robinsons got closer, they saw it was a very ornate statue of themselves and Don, as they had appeared when they left. Each figure was colorless and very clean and smooth, and much larger than life, but the resemblance was very clear. “Behold, the Robinson monument!” said General March. “As you can see, you were all missed.”“Why… I don’t know what to say.” Maureen said, reading the inscription.

Lovingly dedicated to Prof. John Robinson, Dr. Maureen Robinson, Judy Robinson, Penny Robinson, Will Robinson, and Major Don West.

The First Family in Space.

Missing, presumed lost 9/18/1997, but always found in our hearts.

“We’re honored” said John, still shocked by the larger than life rendition of his family. Especially the statue of him, which emphasized his attractive muscular figure like something out of ancient Rome. Had they all become a modern myth to people on Earth?”“Er, not to be critical though, this is amazing- but shouldn’t the date say October 16th? That’s the day we launched and were lost…” “Oh, whoever made that mistake will be fired.” said General March. “It’s true that so much has happened in the world, it’s hard to keep track. But your legacy has always lived on, even if some people have forgotten the details.” “Well, I think it’s wonderful.” said Maureen. “Please don’t fire anybody, it’s not that big of a deal. What matters is we’re here now.” Penny and Will ran right up to the statue and touched it, staring up at their younger but much taller marble counterparts. “Golly! Uh, Is it bad that I want to climb up on this?” Will said quietly. “Oh, look! Someone’s been leaving flowers for us!” Penny pointed to the grass under the podium. “They never forgot us,” said Will. “But do you think they’ll leave it up now that they know we’re, you know, alive?” “Of course, young man,” said General March. “This statue will always stand as a testament to your experiences in space.” Dr. Smith and the Robot stared at the statue, feeling very out of place. Dr. Smith was so relieved to be home again under the blue sky and in a familiar location, but Smith felt very left out, after all, he too deserved a statue. “But Dr. Smith, you already ‘created’ a monument of yourself!” the Robot reminded him. “And it came alive and tried to destroy us, don’t remind me ninny! But hopefully, once Alpha Control reads my memoirs and learns of my heroic exploits in space, they will erect a suitable monument for me as well. Perhaps a much larger one, made of solid platinum, to best represent my handsome features and well-toned physique!” “I would appreciate a statue as well,” the Robot admitted. “You already had one, remember? Besides, you practically are a statue already, all they would have to do is remove your power pack, deactivate you and put you on display in the local museum, along with the Jupiter 2, you metallic monument!” Meanwhile, Judy and Don stood together. They were happy to notice that they were standing next to one another in the statue too. “Do I really look like that?” Judy asked. “They even have my old hairstyle-”“Nah, you’re even more beautiful.” Don promised. “But wow, I never thought I’d see a statue of us.” “Well, I hoped to win a Tony Award one day. But I guess I’ll settle for a marble statue too.” Judy laughed. “Hey, now you have a chance!” “Oh, you’re right-” Judy realized. Her whole future was ahead of her. “But I’m not ready to go back there yet. I have a feeling we’ll all be in the spotlight a lot anyway… but I do want to see my friends, Don. And my cousin Joan! I need to give her all of these recordings… and oh, I just want to hug her....” “I know what you mean, Judy.” said Don. “I’m looking forward to seeing my Aunt Eileen and Uncle Kevin first, I think. And now that Alpha Control is letting us go outside, hopefully it won’t be long before we have that chance.” “Or maybe they’ll come here to visit us” suggested Judy. “Either way, it won’t be long before everyone we knew will be back in our lives again” Don smiled. “And then we can start thinking about… our future, too. It was so hard in space, but down here. Down here I’ll have all the time for you that you deserve.” “Oh, Don…” Judy was already thinking about that too. Maybe now that they were home, she and Don could have a proper wedding, with all of their extended families attending, in a beautiful place. But she also remembered that she and Don had all the time in the world now, they were no longer facing danger every day. It was totally fine to take it slow too, and just feel the warm air of home. Later that day, although the family was still under observation in the ready room, reporters were allowed into the facility to interview them, to be broadcast on video screens all across the country, and even the world. To Dr. Smith’s dismay, he was excluded from the interviews since he wasn’t considered an official member of the crew, at least that was the excuse he was given. The Robot was invited, but the focus was mostly centered around the Robinsons, the family who had survived so much. They were all seated together on a comfortable couch, still dressed in their silver suits. The interviewer, a woman in her mid-30s with pointy blonde hair, sat opposite to them, as large cameras were pointed in their direction. “With the population crisis, a lot of people in the world have lost hope…” the interviewer said. “But your return has brought it back to all of us! For over two and a half years, people have been wondering, ‘What happened to the Robinsons?’ Well, now we’re so delighted to see you alive and well and with us today! What a surprise for the new Millennium! I’m Julia Puryear, here at AC news, where we bring you not just today, but the truth.” “Thank you very much.” said Maureen. “It’s lovely to be here with you today, and back on Earth.” “Now, would you mind giving us a brief overview of what exactly happened to you since we last saw you?” she asked. “Oh, we’d be here all day and night,” John smiled. “Alpha Control still wants to keep some things under wraps, but rest assured, you’ll hear all about our story soon enough. Right now we’re just in shock-” “Well, how about just the highlights? The strangest things you saw in space?” “That would still take a while,” said Maureen. “Let’s just say we’ve experienced dangers unknown by Earthbound men,” said John. “And we feel very lucky to be alive.” “Well we feel lucky to have you here!” Julia smiled. “Can I just say…” said Will, waving at the camera. “Hi to my friend Davy, and his Aunt Clara! Oh, and my friend Stacy if you’re there! I really hope I can see you guys now that I’m back, for keeps, this time.” “Aww, what a sweet message, Will!” said Julia. “I’m sure your friends are watching and will be so glad to see you again! Now tell me, what was it like growing up in space?” “I don’t know, but I really don’t think it was that different from growing up on Earth, I mean not really. But it will be nice to be around people our own age again.” said Will. “But the people in space aren’t really that different. Maybe the kinds of things we got to do are different, but a lot of them were pretty cool. So I don’t think it was so hard, and a lot of it was really fun. But I’m excited to see Earth again too!” “Well, it was awfully lonely,” Penny admitted. “But I did make more friends there… so there were some very nice things about it too. But I’m really excited to be home now.” “Well Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, you’ve raised some very insightful and well mannered children,” Julia complimented. “And I must say, even though they were raised in space, they still have better manners than a lot of children in the newer generation, here at home! Could you speak about what values you raised them by, and whether you will consider having any more?” “More?” John and Maureen said at the same time, and Judy, Penny and Will all looked very surprised by that. “Well, never say never, but I think that ship has sailed” said Maureen. “Right now, we just want to raise our little family here, and give them the life they deserve.” said John. “And as for values, well, we all believe in the principles of decency and kindness…” John wanted to say more, but Julia soon pivoted the conversation to Judy and Don. “Now, there have been so many rumors about your relationship, you two!” she said. “Can you tell us, after all those years in space, are you still together?” “We are, and closer than ever.” Judy smiled. “We sure are!” Don agreed, smiling too. “Awww, I’m so happy to hear that!” said Julia. “Now, would you ever consider marrying and starting a family?” “Well, that’s a personal choice… but now that we’re here on Earth, anything’s possible” Judy answered. Judy was very tempted to call out to Joan, or to her friends, live on TV like Will had done, but she also felt strangely uncomfortable in the interview. She had been used to the press, being on stage and part of such a famous family, but maybe she had just been away for so long, she was out of practice? But Julia went on like that for a while, with a lot of very personal questions. Penny and Will fidgeted awkwardly in their seats too. But her parents seemed right at home, and finally the Robot stole the show, bowing before the cameras and talking at great length about how he had learned and grew up with the family too. But the energy was definitely different without Dr. Smith, who was not even discussed once. Elsewhere at Alpha Control, Dr. Smith felt strangely lonely, without the company of his fellow voyagers. Why should he? He was on Earth after all.He realized sadly that he did not have many friends or people who would miss him, and his only known living family member on the planet who would want to see him was his aunt in San Francisco. But of course, that left the Smith estate all to him… unless Jeremiah came back too.But none of that mattered at that moment. He was home. He could forget the past and focus on who he was now. So he decided to leave the building and stroll down to the beach. He thought his authority as a Colonel would allow him to go places, but he soon learned that was not the case. He was barely even outside of the building when security guards surrounded him and grabbed him.“Ugh, unhand me sirs! Do you know who I am?” “We know exactly who you are.” said one of the muscular guards in a deep voice. “But I only wanted to take a nice stroll down to the beach. I know I’m under examination, but it’s not as though I’m under arrest!” “Actually, you are.” said General March, coming up from behind him, along with the county sheriff and his Hound dogs. “I wasn’t sure why you were on the Jupiter 2, and now I know. I know what you did.. You will be detained here at Alpha Control until your trial later today at the courthouse.” “What? I’m innocent!” “No, Colonel Smith. You must have known this was coming. You couldn’t run from it forever. We know everything, but rest assured, you’re still entitled to a fair trial! But you’re under arrest for sedition against the government, suspected sabotage of the Jupiter 2… and attempted murder.” Dr. Smith screamed at the sky. He had been on trial before, more than once in space, and even sent to a prison planet before. But how cruel it was that all those years in space, the only thing that kept him going was the hope that he would one day return to Earth, it was all he thought about, all he dreamed of… but now he was here, and only two days later, he was already under arrest. “Oh, the pain… the pain” Dr. Smith whispered sadly.He did not survive all of those horrors among the stars only to be locked away in a prison cell on the one planet in all of the universe that he actually liked. But for perhaps the first time ever, Zachary Smith wished he was still in space, not on Earth…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Somehow, in their hearts, the Robinsons had known that even on Earth, something would go wrong. But the news of Dr. Smith’s arrest shocked them. They still were granted time with him before the trial, and they tried to make the most of it. “Woe is me, alack and alas! The proverbial monkey’s paw has struck me again!” “Dr. Smith, I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t blame Debbie, she’s only trying to make you feel better” said Penny. “No, not the bumbling bloop, dear child! An old tale. I wished so deeply to return home, and now fate has conspired against me…” Will comforted Dr. Smith as tears dripped down his face. Will had seen Dr. Smith scream a lot, but it was very rare that he actually cried, not just fake cried so everyone would feel bad for him, but real, genuine tears in his eyes dripping down on his copy of A Tale of Two Cities. “It’s okay Dr. Smith, we’ll all stand up for you” Will promised. “This is all just a big mistake, it’s gotta be, right?” “Dear boy, you mustn’t attend the trial-” Dr. Smith told him. “Please, remember me fondly as you knew me, not as the man they will so cruelly paint me as” “I’m going. We all will.” Will told him. “I want to be there.” “My dear boy, minors may not be permitted at these proceedings-” “Then we’ll sneak in, right Penny?” “That’s right! I’m not leaving you either, Dr. Smith.” “Yea, but I’m probably gonna sit this one out, folks” said Don. “Really, Major? After all I’ve done for you! We both were imprisoned together for days not long ago, I could have left you, but did I? No, I did not! So you mustn’t abandon me, you represent the United States Space Corps! You can vouch for my character!” “I’m sorry Smith, but I think I’d better not, uh, for your own good. ‘Cause, well, you have to be honest in court, and if I’m honest about what I know, I don’t think it would be too good for your case.” “Well, Don, you’ll probably be summoned as a witness, I’m afraid.” said John. “And so will I. Now, look Smith, you’ve already been cleared of your crimes in space. You’ve got plenty to answer for, and I do think some time in a specialized place might do you some good, but most of your actual crimes happened outside of the Earth. Unless there’s something you’re not telling us?” “My dear man, I’m innocent! Please believe me!” “Yea, Dad, Dr. Smith isn’t really a bad person” said Will. “Deep down, that may be, son, but I’m not sure if the law will agree. It tends to be very black and white, especially around here.” “But Dr. Smith can’t be considered responsible for his actions,” Maureen reminded them. “Yes, but he was a very different man two and a half years ago,” said John. “And he knew what he was doing.”“But I’m a better man now!” said Dr. Smith. “But still the same man in the eye of the law.” said John. “I don’t like it either, trust me. And I’ll defend you as much as humanly possible. But you have to be prepared to serve time, if it goes that way-” “But we’ll do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen!” said Will. “We certainly will” said John. “We’ll try to help you, Dr. Smith.” Judy promised.“Yea, I guess we will.” even Don said. “If we haven’t abandoned you by now, Dr. Smith, we aren’t going to now.” said Maureen. “I promise.” “Yea, even if you tried to abandon us a bunch of times…” Don reminded him. “Thank you my dear friends, for being there for me in my hour of need! Once I obtain my late great aunt’s inheritance, I will be sure to repay each and every one of you for your kindness! But I’m afraid it will not be enough, I must get a lawyer, and quickly, the trial starts in only an hour!” “Affirmative! At your service!” said the Robot, rolling up to him. “You? Never!” Dr. Smith panicked. “You’re not even a licensed lawyer, you bubble-headed booby!”“Need I remind you that I majored in law during my first term at I.R.T? I can easily complete my studies and obtain an equivalent license in the next hour. Additionally, I also have close personal knowledge of you and your personality patterns,” “That’s not enough! I refuse, I absolutely refuse! I’d rather risk representing myself than put my fate in your cold, cruel claws!”  “You forget, Dr. Smith! I am also your legal guardian, as appointed by the Galaxy Tribunal of Justice after one of your many other run-ins with the law!” The Robot placed his claws on Dr. Smith’s back gently. “Therefore, I must represent you!” “Oh, what a bitter blow, you computerized conservator! It should be the other way around, I practically raised you, you were nothing before you were under my control!”“And yet I still majored in law before that!” “As you would say, that does not compute!” Dr. Smith imitated. “I still taught you everything you know, and you always obeyed my commands! Oh, how I miss those times, when I controlled you, when I could make you do whatever I-”“Are you sure you want to say that, Dr. Smith? It could be used against you?” Smith realized what he was saying suddenly and stopped. “Oh, very well, ninny, it may as well be you. Such cruel irony.” “May I have a few moments alone with my client before the proceedings?” the Robot asked. “Very well…” said John dubiously, leading the family out of the room. Will paused for a moment and said. “Hey, Robot. Take good care of Dr. Smith, okay? I know he messes up sometimes… a lot, but I still don’t wanna lose him.”  “I will do my best, Will Robinson!” the Robot promised. Once they were alone, Dr. Smith turned towards the Robot, frantically looking around to see if there were any security cameras. “Oh, my true blue friend, thank you for coming through for me, if anybody can get me out of this dreadful predicament, it is you!” “Affirmative, Dr. Smith! However, I am not doing it out of loyalty for you. I am doing it for Will Robinson and his family.” “Oh come now, after all we’ve been through? You and I… we’re how this all started, aren’t we?” “Affirmative” the Robot said sadly. “But the others all do not know. Perhaps you should inform them before-hand, so they do not have to learn the truth in such a painful manner!”“No… it would break their hearts. I can’t allow that, ninny, I can’t. You and I must take what happened to the grave.”Dr. Smith whispered. “You must erase your tapes showing any wrong-doing. Strike them, delete them. Overwrite them with my Ruminations of a Galactic Castaway, as I did to that tape! Whatever you must do. At least your tapes of the months of October to December 1997, that was the worst of it. I have done certain things I am not proud of, I’m afraid… but that’s not who I am. If you knew my circumstances, you would understand-”“I will help you, Dr. Smith, but I cannot break the law or my programming. I refuse to erase my own history. Besides, the most incriminating recording is also from the day I met Will Robinson. I will not erase that, and if you attempt to do so I will be forced to defend myself.”“Erase history?” Dr. Smith said softly. “But that’s just it, old boy. We did erase history! You and I traveled back in time and changed the events of that day!” Dr. Smith suddenly remembered to keep his voice down. “So all those terrible accidents I committed the first time around have been completely erased from history, you see?”“Affirmative, Dr. Smith. However, in the newer timeline, there were reports of your threats against the mission on that day.”“Unsubstantiated rumors! Even you have no evidence of that.”“It is impossible to determine which version of events is remembered.” the Robot revealed. “However, we must be prepared for all outcomes!”“Please, oh please… I can’t get put away.” “But Dr. Smith, this is Earth” said the Robot. “Even if you do go to prison or a facility, you will still be home and well taken care of. And we will visit you!”“Noooo!” Dr. Smith cried out. “I refuse, I’d rather die!”“Would you rather go back into space, Dr. Smith?”“I’m beginning to think there is nowhere I belong, whether on Earth or in space… “ he sighed. “You belong with the Robinsons” said the Robot. “However, they may feel differently if they learn more about what happened. You must be prepared for that.”Dr. Smith cried again. He knew what he had done, but he wasn’t that person anymore, was he? He didn’t deserve prison… why could nothing ever go right for him? Here he was on Earth, but he was even more miserable now than he had been before… The courthouse was not far from Alpha Control, and the whole family was escorted there in unmarked dark limousines, even Penny and Will. It was a very fancy building with columns, and looked straight out of Ancient Rome, even on the inside in the courtroom. Judy had hoped the next legal thing she would have been involved in would be a wedding to Don, but here she was at Dr. Smith’s trial, and even Don was there after all. Dr. Smith fidgeted in his seat by a podium, nervous and scared. The Robot took another podium near him, while General March and the county sheriff stood in the corner with many guards. There were reporters and cameras too, even though it was supposed to be a top secret case. The judge, a serious looking bearded man in his mid 60s slammed down his oversized court-hammer. “Hear ye, hear ye. This court is now in session. Colonel Zachary Smith, also apparently known as Professor Zachary ‘Tiger’ Smith, is charged with-” “Dr. Zachary Smith, if you please!” Smith corrected. “The defendant is not to speak until spoken to! Now then, Dr. Smith, you are obviously a poor specimen of a man.” “How dare you insult my character!” “If I may speak-” said the Robot. “I am representing Dr. Smith in this case. As his long time confidante and legal guardian, may I say that-” “A moment. Aren’t you the Jupiter 2’s Environmental Control Robot?” “Affirmative! However, I also majored in intergalactic law, and obtained my license thirty four minutes ago! Nevertheless, I have been appointed Dr. Smith’s legal guardian by the Galaxy Tribunal of Justice, and can attest that he should not be considered mentally competent to stand trial. I have documents from the Tribunal of Justice attesting to this!” the Robot began printing out tiny slips of document. “Well, we’re not in the galaxy, Robot, we’re right here on Earth” said the judge. “Trust me, this man is not who you think he is. Before we proceed, do any of you wish to press charges?” All of the Robinsons were silent. Don clenched his fist, knowing that he could get Smith out of his life forever if he said even half of what he knew.  But then he looked at Judy, at her family. He couldn’t do it. And as much as he disliked the doctor, he had come through for him before on that prison planet. So Don sighed, but said nothing too. “Very well,” said the judge. “But you may consider yourself lucky. For you see, this man is not as harmless as he may look.” “What do you mean by that, your honor?” John asked.The judge turned to him. “Professor Robinson, I so admire your family. But Dr. Smith is not like the rest of you. He is not an ideal specimen of man. He has deceived you, lied to you, every step of the way.” “We know Dr. Smith isn’t perfect.” said John. “But we’re still not going to press charges.” “Because we are forgiving people” said Maureen. “And we believe people can change. Dr. Smith may have made mistakes, but as he is now, it would just be cruel to place him in prison.” “You are too accepting for your own good” said the judge. “What if I told you, that Dr. Zachary Smith, if that is even his real name, is not just a cowardly, bumbling stowaway, but a dangerous foreign spy and saboteur who attempted to murder your entire family in cold blood!” “That’s not true!” Will cried out. “How dare you,” Dr. Zachary Smith said. “Look into my family history, we Smiths are a noble family, we always have been! I am not a perfect man, in fact I am a very flawed one, but I am not a spy, and any sabotage was purely accidental, and the Robinsons are like family to me! Please, you have to believe me!” “We have hard evidence!” said General March.“That’s right. Colonel Zachary Smith, you are charged with sedition against our great nation, sabotage of a thirty billion dollar spacecraft, attempted manslaughter of the entire Robinson family, including children, and actual manslaughter of an Alpha Control guard!” “What? That’s not true! I’m innocent!” “The body of an Alpha Control guard was found in a dumpster after launch” General March revealed. Dr. Smith gasped. How was that possible? He had only knocked him out… and that timeline had all been overwritten anyway. “If I may speak-” the Robot began. “Oh, no you may not.” said General March. “You see, the last reports from Jupiter’s automatic systems before all communication ceased indicated that extensive damage was caused… by the spaceship’s Environmental Control Robot.” The Robot lowered his bubble. “Believed to be the result of sabotage by an agent of a foreign power!” said March with a cold smile. “That could only be you, Colonel Smith-” “No!” “Now we can’t charge the Robot, but we will have it taken back to Alpha Control and examined in full.” The Robot tried to protest, but General March quickly removed his power pack, as security guards wheeled him out of the room. Will screamed, and jumped out of his seat. “NOOOO!” “Will-” John called, trying to prevent his son from getting hurt too. But he could see on his face that the boy was devastated. “Silence, child.” the judge said coldly. “Dr. Smith, this court finds you guilty as charged. You will be taken to the maximum security state prison, and remain there… for life.” Dr. Smith screamed so loudly that it could probably be heard from space. “YOU CAN’T!!!!! I’M INNOCENT!!!! DON’T FORGET ME!!!!!” Will tried to run to his friend, but was restrained by security officers. “Leave him alone!” he heard his father’s voice call out. Then only darkness, as his vision clouded with tears.The drive back to Alpha Control was silent, without Dr. Smith and the Robot. Will thought he wanted to be back on Earth, but not without his friends. He would rather be lost in space for the rest of his life if it meant they were all lost together. As the tears streamed down his face, he thought of ways he could save Dr. Smith. And Robot too. Don hated being right. He knew what Smith was capable of, so he was honestly not surprised at all. But then why was he still kind of sad? He felt like he should hate Smith, be glad he would spend the rest of his life behind bars and never hurt anyone again? So why wasn’t he? It wasn’t like he was as sad as the others were, but despite himself, he couldn’t be happy about it either.Back in the ready room, Will was very quiet and crying, and Penny too. John and Maureen tried to comfort them, but no amount of speeches or hugs could make the pain go away, and they felt pain too. Both had secretly suspected that Dr. Smith had an ulterior motive for being onboard, and they knew what had happened when he controlled the Robot… but an ‘enemy spy’? Neither could quite believe it. But without Smith and the Robot, now they were right back where they started… just the Robinsons and Don, in the ready room at Alpha Control. But now, it was the last place any of them really wanted to be…

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The Robinsons weren’t allowed after dark, but it was still early evening and somewhat light out, so Judy walked out of the Alpha Control facility and onto the grounds, pausing under a tree near the main building, and staring at the Jupiter 2 on the launch pad in the distance in the light of the setting sun. Judy had forgotten what sunsets on Earth had looked like, but it was nothing like she remembered. But it was dramatic and definitely fit the mood, as she knew the sun was setting on that time of her life. Don found her there, and stood next to her. “Hey. I’m so sorry, I know that was horrible-”“You don’t have to pretend like you’re not upset too, Don. I know how you really feel about Dr. Smith. Deep down you’ve liked him for a while, right? Or at least more of a frenemy kind of thing. But I guess you were right about him being bad… if he really did those things.”“I don’t know what to think, Judy” Don admitted. “I wish I could say I was surprised, but you know-” “It’s just everything changed so suddenly” said Judy. “One moment we’re lost in space with Dr. Smith and the Robot, and now we’re back on Earth, but we might never see either of them again.”There was a time when Don would have said that was fine with him, but he just couldn’t now. Not after all they had been through. “You know, I thought I’d be happy to see Smith get what he deserved. But I’m not. I don’t know why, since now we’ve got proof that he wasn’t who we thought. But still, wow-”“I don’t want to think about it, Don. I just want to get away from here.”“Get away?” “Yes. I want to see Joan. And all my friends too. If she won’t come to us, I can go to her, in the Pod. I just don’t like being trapped here, only allowed out in the day, with guards watching.”“So you’re saying we take the Pod and go see her? That’s a good idea, if we could get aboard the Jupiter, they might not even notice.”“Who’s we, Don-”“You and me? I mean if you don’t want me to, that’s fine, but I thought you might like some company. And I really wanna see my aunt and uncle too, and my family-”“Alright, then let’s go together.” said Judy. “Right now.”“We’re not gonna tell your parents?” “They’ll understand.”Judy and Don ran towards the Jupiter 2, but unfortunately found it surrounded with guards and covered in what looked like saran-wrap. And General March, who was staring at it. “Miss Robinson. Major West. What are you doing here? Planning on leaving?” he asked. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. But I actually have been meaning to talk with you. It’s very important. Come back inside with me.” Reluctantly, Judy and Don followed the general back into the building. In the ready room, Penny and Will were being comforted by their parents again. “I don’t understand…” said Penny. “Dr. Smith was our friend”“Yea” said Will. “Even when he messed up sometimes. But he wasn’t trying to hurt us.”“Well dears, people are complicated” Maureen tried to explain. “Human beings aren’t perfect, and some people are well, very imperfect. Dr. Smith was one of those people.”“That’s right.” said John. “We can hate the bad, but still remember the good. It’s okay to not know how to feel. Personally, I feel sorry for him, but if what they said about him is true, that’s something that would be very difficult to ever forgive, even for me.”“I still don’t think it’s true though” said Will. “I mean it could have been Zeno who did that stuff and everyone just thought it was Dr. Smith… and why did they have to take the Robot too. There’s something not right about that, we’ve gotta get them back!”“I’m sorry son.” said John. “We’ll see what we can do, but for now, we have to play by their rules. Maybe we can clear Smith’s name and this is all a misunderstanding, and I’m sure they’ll return the Robot after they’re done with scanning his memory banks.”“Come on Dad, you know something’s just wrong!” said Will. “Alpha Control’s changed now that it’s just that general, I miss the old one.”“I know, Will. But we won’t be here forever.” said John. “I miss space” Will shrugged. “Earth really isn’t as great as I thought it was gonna be.” “Oh dear, the grass really is greener on the other side” said Maureen. “That sounds like something Dr. Smith would say. Now I just miss him even more” another tear dripped down Will’s cheek. “But I shouldn’t miss him, right? Not if he really tried to kill us-”“Oh, honey-”“I think I need to be alone right now”. Will walked away. Not just because he was upset, though. Because he was already imagining ways to break Dr. Smith out and get the Robot back.John and Maureen stayed with Penny for awhile, but before long an Alpha Control voice called them to report to the briefing room. “I wonder what that’s about” John said. “Will you be alright, Penny?” Maureen asked. “Oh yes. And I’ll watch out for Will too, don’t worry.”“Thank you.” Maureen hugged her. “We won’t be long” John promised, although he didn’t know for sure what was going on. Judy and Don were already in the briefing room, where General March spoke to them. “As it happens, you and your crew were recovered at the perfect time. You may wonder why you haven’t been allowed out at night, or out of the Alpha Control facility. Well I’m sorry to say that this Earth isn’t the same world you left. A lot has changed here…”“What do you mean by that?” Judy asked, alarmed. “The population issues have gotten worse. In order to secure the survival of our civilization, the new generation that is allowed to be born must be the best of the best.”“I don’t like where this is heading, general.” said Don. “Hear me out.” he said. “You and Miss Robinson here are very close, right?” “Um yea?”“How would you like a big fancy wedding, paid for by Alpha Control’s billions of dollars in budget?”“Oh wow…” said Judy. “I don’t know, Don and I have been thinking of getting married one day, but we didn’t think it would be a fancy ceremony, since we were lost.”“But before you were lost, you and your family were selected as the best in the world. Scientific achievement, emotional stability, and pioneer resourcefulness. ““I’m not sure if I really have any of those things.” Judy admitted. “I’m not like the rest of my family.” “But you carry your family’s genetics. And don’t sell yourself short. Your theater career could be boosted by Alpha Control as well. Not to mention, you’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve seen, that hair, those eyes…”“You better watch it!” Don defended Judy. “Judy and I are together, and you’re way too old.”“Of course. You and her belong together for sure.” the general smiled. “And Major, while you are not a Robinson, you still embody the same values and are a fine figure of a man as well.” “So what are you saying?”“I’m saying you two need to get over it and have kids already! After you’re married, of course.”“You seem awfully invested in our personal lives, general?” Don asked, very confused. “Yes, and that interview we were in was like that too” Judy remembered. “Everyone on Earth is,” he explained. “Everyone looked up to your family as the model for what a traditional, successful family should be. But when you were lost, the world descended into chaos. So many people being born, and so many of them are impure and don’t amount to anything, they only take up space. So, for the new world, we must choose carefully which families can continue their genetic line. And your family has the most ideal genetics, think what humanity would be like if everyone was a Robinson or a West.” “I’m sorry, but I don’t like the sound of this.” said Don. “I’m not okay with this-” said Judy. “Neither am I,” said John, entering the room with Maureen, having heard the last part of the conversation. “Now I know I’m coming in late, but it sounds an awful lot like eugenics to me.” “Oh, not at all, Professor Robinson.” General March said. “My family isn’t the way they are because of genetics, or anything like that” said John. “I’m a man like any other man. My family is the way they are because of how they were raised, and that includes the basic principles of decency, kindness, and respect for all people.” “You can say that, sir, but very few families are like yours.” said the general. “We could do with more Robinsons in the world.” He turned to Maureen. “And Dr. Robinson, you’re a biochemist, you must understand what’s going on. The more people that are born here, the more they are degraded and useless, unlike your family. The DNA of people on Earth has become corrupted, and we need yours to save the world.” “And what about all the people who are already born?” Maureen asked. “Dr. Robinson, how old are you, may I ask?” “43. Really, that’s not very polite to ask-” “So unfortunately, your ability to have more children may be nearing it’s end, eh?” “How dare you,” said Maureen. “Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish with all this, but you want John and I to have more children?” “Ah, but your daughter, and Major West. They are still of an ideal age to make you very happy grandparents.” “Not if you force them to!” “That’s right,” said Judy. “Don and I will have kids when we feel like it. When we’re married. Let’s just leave.” “Oh no, I’m afraid you’re not going anywhere.” “You’re out of your mind!” said John. “I know the situation on Earth must have gotten worse, but this? I’m sorry General, but if you want more people on Earth to be like us, this is not the way to do it. Anyone can be like us, I believe that.” “Well, if you don’t want to have more children the traditional way, I’m afraid we’ll have to extract your genetic makeup in other ways…” the General addressed Judy and Don. “That’s not gonna happen!” said John, punching March in the face. Don joined in, but got thrown across the room. “Don!” Judy called out, rushing over to him. “Leave my family alone!” John shouted, as the guards surrounded him. “Do you have to keep that animal around here?” An Alpha Control guard asked Penny as she waited around with Debbie, very bored. “Debbie is my friend!” said Penny. “She has to stay with me” “Whatever” said the guard. “You know, for a family who’s supposed to be so perfect, you sure are awfully-” “Leave her alone!” called Will. “Will?” Penny was surprised. “Whatever.” the guard said again, walking out of the room. “I hate kids.” “Hey, it’s okay Penny. We won’t let anything happen to Debbie.” he said. “But Will, I’m your big sister. I really should be the one protecting you.” “Well then you can. By helping me with my plan.” “Plan?” “First we’re gonna get the Robot back. Then find a way to get Dr. Smith out.” “Oh, Will, do you really think-”“Dr. Smith’s innocent, I know he is. And even if we can’t get him out, I at least want to see him. Please, Penny?” “Oh, I don’t know. We should talk to Mom and Dad about it? I don’t want to break the rules-” “Yea. Where did they go, anyway?” “They were called for a briefing. But they’ve been gone an awfully long time…” “Something’s just fishy around here, Penny. Maybe it’s just cause we’ve been away so long, but something’s just not right here.” “You’re right, Will. I so wanted it to be… but I don’t think it’s the way I hoped at all. So yes, I’ll help you. And maybe we can look for Mom and Dad too.” “Alright. But I think I know where they took the Robot. The old ready room,” “Then let’s go!” Penny and Will walked through the halls of Alpha Control, trying to blend in. “Should we get different outfits?” Penny suggested. “Just so no-one notices it’s us.”“Maybe, but I think they’d still notice that we’re younger. Unless we stood on top of each other in like a trench coat.”“No, I’m not doing that.” Penny smiled. “Also, Debbie would be hard to hide!” “It’s okay. We can just say we were looking for our folks.” Occasionally, security guards glanced in their direction. One came up to them. “Remember, stay inside the facility, kids. Your parents will be back soon.” Penny and Will nodded, but they were definitely getting a weird vibe from all of this. Finally, they reached the ready room, and sure enough found the Robot inside, activated. Julia was there, talking to him. “Robot! Are you okay?” Will asked.“Affirmative, Will Robinson!” “Come on kids, you shouldn’t be here. I’m interviewing this Robot about his experience.”“I am a celebrity here.” the Robot said happily. Will wondered how his friend could be so happy at a time like this, when Dr. Smith was in prison and he had been forcibly deactivated. He sure hoped they didn’t mess with his programming. “Well, okay, but can’t we just have a few moments alone with him?” Will asked. “Just for a little while?”“Sorry, no.” “Oh please, ma’am? Our parents and big sister aren’t here right now, we need someone to watch out for us and make sure we don’t do something silly, like sneak outside or do something we’re not supposed to.” “I am programmed to supervise them.” the Robot agreed. “Well, alright sweetie. But the guards will stay here.” “Okay. Thank you.” Penny smiled. Julia left the room. “Wow, you’re good at this!” said Will. “Maybe I should do it more often.” said Penny. “Will Robinson, Penny Robinson! Debbie! Where are the rest of your family?”“Well Dr. Smith’s probably in prison, and who knows where Mom and Dad and Judy and Don are.” “Do not worry, I will protect you. You are my family, I will take care of you.”“Robot, are you okay? What’ve they done with you?”“Only scanned my memory banks for records of our journeys. Also scanned the personality patterns of all of you.”“I don’t get it Robot, something just seems… not right around here, you know?”“Do not worry, children. You are perfectly safe here!” the Robot promised. “Okay, Robot…” Will sighed. “I guess.” Suddenly, the Robot moved towards the guards, knocking them out instantly with electrical blasts. “Gosh, Robot! What did you do that for?”“Oh wow, now we’re in trouble…” said Penny. “They tried to remove my memory banks,” the Robot explained. “I had to go along with it, fortunately after Dr. Smith erased my tapes so many times, I have learned to keep backups!” he raised his bubble. “Are we planning another prison break for Dr. Smith?”“Yea, kinda.” said Will. “But Robot, are the things they said about him true?” “Negative, Will Robinson. Not in this timeline. Dr. Smith is a flawed individual, however he does care about you and your family.” The Robot’s sensors whirred. “Now.”“I at least want to see him” said Will. “But gosh Robot, you knocked out the guards. Now we’ll be in real big-.”“Not if we hurry!” the Robot said. “I will protect you!” “Thanks, Robot. But uh, why did you knock out the guards?”“I did not like them.” the Robot admitted. “They treated me as only a machine.”“But still! I don’t want you to go to prison too, Robot.”“I will not be sent to prison, I am a Robot!”“Oh that’s good.”“Instead, they will probably permanently deactivate me.”“Oh. Well we won’t let that happen!”“Then we must hurry!”“Where are we going?” Penny asked. “State prison” said Will. “But just to visit.”“How will we get there? It’s probably far away?”“We can take the Pod from the Jupiter!” “But how are we gonna get outside?” The answer was apparently the Robot knocking out more guards, swiftly and silently with just his claws, not even his electrical lightning. “Gosh Robot, you could be a ninja!” said Will“Unfortunately, I did not major in that subject at the Institute of Cybernetics! But I am still very skilled!”Finally, they reached the door and exited the building into the cool night air. “Okay Robot, I’m all about sneaking out at night and breaking the rules when we really have to. But I’m starting to think maybe this isn’t such a good idea. I mean this is Earth, even if they’re acting all weird, we still have to follow the rules and not knock like ten people out…” said Will, staring at the ground. “I do not believe it will be a problem, Will Robinson. The circumstances call for it.”“Yea, I guess…” Debbie, still in Penny’s arms, blooped and pointed at something. “Hmm, what is it Debbie?” Penny asked. “You like the sky?” Suddenly, Penny gasped. “Ohh!!! Will? I think you’d better see this, look. Look at the sky!” “Penny, we have to be fast and quick, we don’t have time to stop and stare.”“But Will-”“I know the night sky’s all pretty, but really- GOLLY!!!” Will gasped too as he stared into the night sky. “Robot, are you seeing this?”“It does not compute.” said the Robot. Penny and Will both stared in shock and horror. It would have normally been a beautiful sight, but they both knew what it meant. For there, taking up most of the night sky as if it was very very close, was the Cygnus Nebula.

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“Golly!” Will gasped. “That’s the Cygnus Loop Nebula up there!”“But how could it be so close to Earth?” Penny suddenly had a realization. “Oh… because this isn’t really Earth, is it?”“It’s not?” Will rolled his eyes. “Of course it’s not.” This kind of thing always happened, he was used to it by then. But it still hurt. “You are correct Penny Robinson! It seems that we have once again been duped! Apparently, eleven times is not the charm! I was deceived into believing this was Earth by magnetic impulses, but now that we are outside and my systems have been restored to my backup, I see that I was mistaken.”“But General March is here… and it looks just like Alpha Control! Why would they go to so much trouble to fake us out?”“Most likely for evil motives, Will Robinson.” said the Robot helpfully. “Yea you’re right, Robot” said Will, who was so over this kind of thing. “But that means all that stuff they said about Dr. Smith was all fake too! We’ve gotta get him out!”“Affirmative!”“I think we should warn Mom and Dad first” said Penny. “They should know that this is all a lie. They could be in trouble too!”“It just makes no sense, why were they so nice to us here…” Will said sadly. “But yea, you’re right.”“Attention, attention!” the Robot whirled his arms around with a computerized sniffing sound. “My magnificent track and detect system has computed that Dr. Smith, along with your parents, Professor and Dr. Robinson, are all imprisoned in that building over there!” the Robot pointed to a large, blocky building everyone had somehow missed before.“They’ve got Mom and Dad too! Let’s go!” Penny and Will were both very distraught, and they were halfway there when they said. “Wait, what about Judy and Don?”“Still at Alpha Control!”“Okay, let’s get Mom, Dad and Dr. Smith first! Then we can warn them!”“Got it!”In the medical examination room, Judy and Don were both attached to a circular device with electrical arcs surging through it, like the machine they had both been tested in before liftoff. But this one was way more menacing, as Julia Puryear and General March operated the controls. Disturbingly, Julia had brought her TV setup and cameras along. “Let us go!” Judy screamed. “You have no right!!” Don screamed too. “When people find out you did this to us, you’ll be-”“Oh, they will be so happy!” said Julia. “Because now, we can create so many new offspring from your DNA.”“You can’t!” Judy cried. “Don and I do want to have kids, but not- not like this! Just let us do it the right way!”“Why would we do that?” asked March. “When we can create so many more by harvesting your genetic material. All the things that made you so special will live on in your next generation.” “Yea, by taking them from us?” Don noted large syringe shaped machines as tall as a human descending from the ceiling. “Oh you think we’re so perfect?!” Judy called out. “Oh trust me, we’re very imperfect… how’s this.” Suddenly, Judy screamed as loudly as she could. “I WAAANT TO GO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” “Oh, but you are home?” Julia laughed. “Right? Right?” “I don’t think so.” said Judy. “This can’t be Earth… it can’t be.” Don decided to join in. “AND I OUGHTA WRING YOUR NECKS!!!! I’LL KEELHAUL YOU, I’LL TOSS YOU OUT AN AIRLOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’LL KILL YOU WITH MY LASER, OR MY BARE HANDS!!!!” “You can scream all you want, but nobody’s coming for you-” said General March. “And there won’t be much left of you to find once your incubation and extraction is finished. It seems you have lost your way, how sad. But your genetics still have potential…” “No!” said Judy. “It’s inhumane” “Well we’re not human” General March laughed. Penny and Will and the Robot entered the prison, but were immediately confronted not with security guards but with the town sheriff and his hound dogs. “Good evening, sir! I have been reprogrammed to escort these misbehaving children to juvenile detention!” said the Robot. “They snuck out tonight.” Penny and Will screamed as hard as they could, trying to make it look real. “My hounds say you’re lying…” the sheriff said menacingly. But then the Robot made sniffing sounds from his track and detect system, and the dogs responded. Debbie blooped at them too, and they seemed to get along very well. “Aww, good boys.” said Penny. “You’re not so bad, are you?” The hound dogs sat down, totally harmlessly. “Okay fine, you can go.” the sheriff sighed. “Good luck” he tipped his hat. As the Robot walked down the hallway with Penny and Will, they all stared into jail cells nearby. “My sensors indicate that the people in this prison are all innocent!” the Robot said. The prisoners all looked scared, and some of them were even children. “Do not worry, I will release you!” “Oh thank you!” said a woman with long messy dark hair covering her face. “They were going to execute us for being undesirable! Wait… you’re the Robinsons! And the Robot!” “You really know us?” Will asked. “Yes, you’re very famous here on our world… a lot of people try to copy you as the perfect family.” “Well we’re people just like you!” said Penny. “And they have no right to hurt you.” “Thank you, dear. Thank you so much!”Before long, the Robot was releasing prisoners everywhere and starting a prison riot. As prisoners rushed past, finally they came to the cage where Dr. Smith was being held, a maximum security cell, but the Robot broke it down with ease. “It’s high time you got me out of here, you legal lackluster, lead lined- and dear William and Penny, you’ve all come to save me! Now I’m free, free to walk on Earth-” “Okay Dr. Smith, the good news is we know that you didn’t do all those bad things.” said Will.“Oh… indeed?” “But uh, the bad news is welllll, this isn’t really Earth. It’s an alien planet, and they’ve got Mom and Dad locked up too!” “Oh the pain, the pain… why must nothing ever go right for us?” Dr. Smith cried again. “Hey, at least you’re not in prison anymore. But let’s get Mom and Dad!” “Will, I can’t find them!” Penny ran around, looking at all the cells as the Robot opened them. Finally, they reached a cell at the end of the hall. The Robot blasted it open, and they found their parents sitting there, tied up to chairs with machinery overhead. Penny and Will rushed over to hug them anyway, and the Robot released their binds. “Penny, Will, you’re alright!” Maureen exclaimed, hugging them.  “I know we always tell you to stay put and do as you're told… but I’m so grateful you didn’t.” John said. “I really thought that was it for us. And this planet is definitely not Earth.”“We’ll always be here for you, Mom, Dad…” said Will. “We promise!” Penny added. “Indeed” Dr. Smith tried to join in. “Affirmative!” “But we’ve got no time to waste,” said John. “They still have Judy and Don in the main building!”“They’re planning on extracting their DNA.” Maureen said, still devastated. “We have to save them now!.” “But they’ll surely capture us again!” said Dr. Smith. “I think we have a lot of people who can help us,” said Penny, pointing to the freed prisoners outside. A few minutes later, under the eerie light of the Cygnus Nebula, the freed prisoners all burst into the fake Alpha Control, led by the Robinsons. They had all believed the Robinsons were some perfect ideal, but now here they were, in the flesh, helping them. Even Dr. Smith! In that moment, they saw that even though they came from different civilizations, they and the Robinsons were more alike than they thought. “Now, this process is taking forever.” said General March. “So why don’t we give you a brief history of why this has happened. As you have probably guessed, I am not your General March. My civilization was much like your own, descendants of Giandhu, we were perfect, one of the greatest races in the universe. But then, 15,000 of your years ago, our sun exploded, creating what you know as… the Cygnus Nebula. Our world was hurtled out of orbit into space. We created an artificial sun, but it was not enough. It needed power, energy, to be fed to it, and that meant sacrificing a lot of our population. We repopulated, but it was not the same, and unfortunately the radiation affected our genetics. Our civilization became weak, degenerate. Uninspired. Undesirable. Until they began watching your space adventures, and saw a proper family who survived terrible ordeals with good morals and values. So, when we learned that they were sending a rescue ship to take you away from space, and back to Earth, we couldn’t let that happen. We captured the ship, and I stole General March’s body and memory, creating this false world to lure you here. Because you see, we’re such big fans of you and have built all of this, reinvented our civilization in your image and in the spirit of your family.” “Like hell you have!” Don shot back. “We don’t care about your long, boring speeches,” Judy said angrily . “This isn’t what we would want. If you want to be like us, you wouldn’t hurt us, or any of those innocent people.” “Oh, I don’t care about you.” said General March. “In fact, I despise that the people of my world have been obsessed with a family that is not even of our civilization. But your genetics are excellent, and those will save our race. We already have some of them from those injections we gave you on your first day, but we need a more complete process to fully get what we need.”“You will bring hope back to us.” said Julia. “And think how much good we could do if there were more people in the universe like yourselves.”  “But if you want to be like us, you would let us go and accept that everyone is different,” said Judy. “Yea, not happening” Julia smiled. “I think I’m kind of like you, though. Like my hair? Maybe I can even adopt some of your seedling children we’ll create with your genetic material, if you don’t want them.” “I hate you.” Judy said quietly.“Don’t care” said Julia. “Let’s just start the extraction.” The extraction began as the syringes descended into Judy and Don, firing what looked like laser beams at them. But instead of hurting them, Judy and Don felt like part of themselves was being taken away. “At least we’re together, Don.” said Judy. “I’m so sorry, Judy.” said Don. “I really thought we were home.” “Don, I-” Judy didn’t know what to say. She wanted so badly to marry Don, to have kids with him one day. But now, here they were, having their genetic material extracted together to create who knew how many cloned babies from their DNA. It was not how she wanted it to happen at all. She turned away from the needle’s beam, and into Don’s eyes. He stared back. They didn’t have to say anything, their eyes said it all. Judy and Don would always be together, even if it would be in many other, newer forms. But why did it have to happen this way? Just why? Suddenly, the door burst down. Judy’s parents burst into the room, holding laser rifles they had taken from dispatched guards. The Robot followed close behind, and even Penny, Will and Dr. Smith. John and Maureen aimed their lasers at the machine, destroying it and releasing Judy and Don. “Mom… Dad…” “We’re here. We’re right here.” John and Maureen said in unison. Then they turned and pointed their laser rifles at March and Julia. “Listen.” said John. “I know you people idolize us around here, but we’re no different from any of those ‘undesirables’, as you call them, apparently. Well, they’re all right outside, and they’ll destroy this place. We know this isn’t Alpha Control, or Earth. And that you, sir, are not General March. Well, we are the Robinsons.” he said. “And we stay together.” said Maureen. “We’re not a perfect family, like you apparently think. We’ve had hard times, some very hard times. But what we do have is respect for one another.” “And that’s what you’ll never understand” John continued. “Anyone can have value, if you only allow the most perfect, the best people, then you’re forgetting something very important. A little thing called love,” ““Sentimental fools!” said March. “You were a strong family once, but space has made you soft! You won’t hurt us because your moral values won’t let you. Well I believe in good, traditional values, but I also believe in strength.”“If your values, and being strong means hurting other people just because they’re different from you, that’s not a strength we want to have.” said Maureen. “That’s right. But oh, speaking of strength-” John hit March across the face with his laser rifle, knocking him out. “As you see, I’m an imperfect man. But that’s something I had to do.”“You’ll still never get away with this.” said Julia. “Oh, maybe we don’t need your DNA if you’ve become so corrupted, but we must maintain your image. We can just take your bodies, as my fallen friend here did to your General. Then I can finally be you, Judy!” “If you want to be like me, start by not being like this.” said Judy. “You work for the news, right?”“That’s right” Julia smiled. “So I can cover this all up, and no one will ever know that the Robinsons aren’t the perfect family we all thought!”“Are you sure about that?” Judy smiled, pointing behind her. Penny and Will had snuck over to the TV camera, and turned it on. “Hey, smile, you’re on TV!” said Penny. “Being broadcast to this whole nebula!” Will smiled. “Now everyone will hear what my Mom and Dad said and rise up and stop you!”“Nice work, kids” John grinned. “And to everyone out there watching, remember that any of you can be like us. But being like us doesn’t mean being perfect or being the exact same way. If you can be a kind, open minded person who treats others with respect and love, you’re just as imperfect as us. And that’s a good thing!” “Yea, and if everyone tries to tell you you’re an ugly duckling, don’t forget you might actually be a beautiful swan” said Penny, stepping in front of the camera too. “Wow, you’re still talking about that book-” said Judy in surprise, sharing a look with Don.“I mean, it is still a good book…” “But either way, you’re still made of the same kind of molecules, and you still have the same feelings” said Will. “So you all count, and all of you can be special.” “That’s a very good point.” said John. “So take back your world from these people, and don’t let them get rid of you. But as I said before, I’m a man like any man. I’m not perfect, and I’m proud of it. Come on, let’s go.” said John. “NO!” Julia screamed, as the Robinsons, Don, Dr. Smith, Debbie, and the Robot exited, emerging into the false Alpha Control. “Robot, destroy this place!” John ordered.“Affirmative!”The facility was already being overrun by the freed prisoners. Waving farewell to all of them, the galactic castaways all ran back to the Jupiter 2, ripping through the literal saran wrap and into the ship. “Liftoff, now!” said John, as he and Don took the controls. The Jupiter 2 began to rise, but became snagged on something and skidded across the ground, shattering the marble monument of the Robinsons. “Oops” Don said with a little shrug. The Jupiter 2 finally broke free and began to lift off, and as it rose everyone could see that all around the recreation of Alpha Control, the world was not like Earth at all. “Oh the pain, the pain…” Dr. Smith said sadly. Just when everyone thought they were free of the terrible world, and the nebula filled the viewport, the Robot made an announcement. “Danger, danger! Destruct missiles approaching!”“How many?” John called. “Seventy-eight! At least!”“We’re doomed!” Dr. Smith’s voice from the lower deck could be heard. “They fired their whole arsenal at us.” Don said in horror. “I guess if they can’t have us, they’re gonna destroy us! Come on, we’ve gotta dodge ‘em, Don.”“I can’t avoid that many! They’re matching our acceleration!” Don said between radar beeps. “Then we’ve got no other choice, Don. We have to go to hyperdrive!”“John we can’t! If we go into hyperdrive through the nebula, we could end up anywhere in the universe and be lost again!”“Would you rather be destroyed by missiles?” John asked pragmatically. “Okay, fine. We’re going into a hyperdrive everyone, so hang on tight!” The velocity on the lineal acceleration monitor increased as the Jupiter 2 jumped to hyperdrive, leaving the nebula behind… The Jupiter 2 emerged from the swirls of hyperdrive into an unfamiliar starfield. Everyone stared out the Upper Deck viewport as the Robot analyzed it, with sighs of resignation for what they all knew was coming. “Nearby stars… no matches. Nearby nebulae… no matches. Nearby galaxies…….. no matches.” the Robot said. “Oh dear. Are you telling me we’re… lost again?” Dr. Smith asked. “Hey, it’s not so bad Dr. Smith. That wasn’t really Earth anyway, and isn’t it better than, you know, prison?”“I suppose you have a point, my boy…”“And I knew you couldn’t be a spy, or whatever they said. You’re not perfect, Dr. Smith, but we still love you.”“It warms my heart to hear you say that, dear William, I am rather fond of you and your family as well.” “Even me?” the Robot asked. “Oh very well, I suppose I am in your debt, you bumbling bucket of bolts! But your services as my lawyer will no longer be required!” “Possibly” said the Robot. “Although this will likely happen again in the future!”“Oh, I’d like to hope we’ve learned our lesson. Some of us, anyway” said John. “You know what they say about things being good to be true. But our family is good and true… I just hate that what we stand for was used and twisted to hurt people on that planet. I wish we could have done more to help. Because, while it wasn’t Earth after all, it could just as well have been. For better or worse, I suppose people are the same on any planet…”“Well, dear, those people saw our message,” said Maureen. “Hopefully now they know the truth, that they aren’t inferior at all. That they are worth it, and shouldn’t let anybody tell them otherwise.”“I hope so, darling. I hope so. I suppose all we can do is keep trying to spread a positive message out here, eh?”“And keep trying to find our actual place in space.” said Don. “And Earth, dear old Earth, how I wish I could be there…” said Dr. Smith, back to loving Earth again. “I wouldn’t count on it Smith” said Don. “But uh, we’re trying.” “We’ll get there, Dr. Smith” said Penny. “And when we do it will be even more special, right? Because we wanted it for so long?” “Spare me your youthful, optimism dear child? I am still very much in a cage, you see, on this dreadful ship…” “But not alone Dr. Smith” Will hugged him. “Oh, yes, William, not alone.” The Robot joined in on the hug too. “UGH! Keep your claws off of me! My delicate back shall never survive this!” Judy came up to Don, standing by the viewport. “Do you suppose… they did take some DNA from us? What if they use it to make little clones of us or something, or even mix it. That would be like having kids. How can I live with that…” said Judy. She did want to have kids with Don in the future, but knowing that she could have any number of cloned relatives being born on that planet was a disturbing thought, since now she couldn’t go back even if she wanted to, which of course she didn’t, but it still bothered her.“Well, we destroyed those machines” said Maureen. “And the biochemical process would have distorted it so much the way they were doing it. So I doubt it, dear. You don’t need to worry” Maureen hugged her daughter. Judy was so grateful for her mom, and Don comforted her too. “We’ll get married and start a family one day, Don…” she promised him. “We will.” he nodded. “But we’ll do it the right way.” “Mm. And when we’re ready.” she kissed him. No matter what, she and Don were together, and that was true no matter where they were. “But for now, I love your uh, what was it, imperfect family just as they are. And I love you.” he told her. “And I really do see all of you… as my family too. Uh, if that’s okay.” “It’s our honor, Major West.” said John. “Of course.” said Maureen. “And we’re so happy that you two have each other through all this” “I’m just so grateful to all of you.” said Don. “You’re my family out here, I really mean it.” “Hmm, what was that, Major?” Dr. Smith asked. “Not you, Smith… okay fiiiine, you too.” Don said under his breath. “Indeed,” Dr. Smith nodded. “So, can we still have a movie night now?” Will asked. “Oh yes! I can look through my tapes!” said Penny. “Family movie night? I’m in!” John grinned. Judy looked at Don and smiled. “Well, why not?”Even if it wasn’t the date they had dreamed of, being all together as a family was the most wonderful gift… no matter where they were. 
On an oval screen of glassy, rippling membrane somewhere, floating in space, the image of the Jupiter 2 flickered, then faded out.

<They’re gone again> said a small alien swan floating through the stars, playing with the oval shaped screen. <Does that mean we can’t watch them anymore>

<They will be back> said another, larger space swan. <Even if we can not see them, they are with us>

<Do you think they will be okay?>

<Of course. They are the Robinsons. They always are, right? What do you think they would be doing right now?>

<Probably a family activity> the little swan shrugged.

<Then why don’t we do one of our own? Then we can be like the Robinsons, right?>  said the larger swan, connecting with the smaller one and making a heart shape, a universal symbol of family… 
Far away, the crew of the Jupiter 2 had no idea how many lives they had touched, just by living their lives and trying to survive every day. But even though their lives were hard at times, they still made a difference for others, and for each other. And they always would.