“Tomorrow is Christmas. As the three of them drove to the spaceport, mother and father were worried. This was their son's first trip into space, his first flight in a rocket, and they wanted everything to go flawlessly. So when customs officials told the parents that they would have to leave behind the boy's gift, which was overweight—though only by a few ounces—and a small Christmas tree with charming white candles, they felt that they themselves had been deprived of a holiday and an opportunity to demonstrate their love. The son was waiting for them in the boarding hall. Heading towards him after an unsuccessful clash with representatives of the Interplanetary Administration, father and mother quietly talked: “What are we going to do?”