First, a practice run.

Two months after you had that conversation you decided you were going to do it. You were going to try and convince some friends to go with you down the Silfen Paths. You studied everything you could on the paths. You even go your grandfather to as Ozzie to talk to you about the paths. So that's where you are now, sitting in that vary same cafe with your grandfather's oldest friend in the galaxy.

"So, here I am, Carlita." The afro sporting blatino from Los Angeles said with a smile. Ozzie always made you excited. He was basically the coolest.

"Thank you sooooooo much for coming over, Uncle Ozzie. You don't know how much this means to me."

"Nige told me you were almost on your knees pleading to ask me about the Paths. Of all his kids I always liked your mother the best. She was just...I dunno...pure I guess. Just a straight up good person. And you always had a spark in your eye that reminds me of her."

You blush. "Thank you."

He smiles, "One thing though...seriously...take away your gullibility. People are going to latch onto that and..."

"Uh! I'm not an idiot..." You say, Uncle Ozzie becoming slightly less cool for a moment with that serious spell.

"No one says you are. In fact your mathematics scores are higher than your grandfather at the same age." Ozzie said with a wink to you.

"And yours?"

"Nah, I got ten points on you. But you are being taught things I wasn't. Anyway. Back to why you are here."

You question Ozzie about everything he knows of the paths, which sadly isn't much.

"I warn you though...the Paths are very dangerous. Clouddancer says that they won't lead you to a planet that doesn't have a breathable atmosphere, but that Ice Planet was...brutal. My suggestion. Get your friends that are going and go to some Third phase, or fourth phase planet and get out and camp for a month or two or more. With no high tech equipment, because they don't work along the paths. Basically you'd need to do what we called rough it. Food, clothes, and some pack animal that can carry them. And you have to protect that pack animals as well. That Ice Planet killed our horse and pony with in a day." Ozzie lowers his eyes a bit, "I still feel bad about that. Odd."

"It's not so odd. They were living beings..."

"That's what I love about you and your mother, Carlita. You are just so, I don't know...in tune. You really want people to be happy."

"Isn't that what life is about....finding your own happiness?"

"Yes, it is."

"Anyway, do you have an idea about a good roughing it planet?"

"Gralmond. It's as good as any. Even with the construction going on for the New47 that are currently in a temporal wormhole waiting to be let out, it's still a lot of wilderness."

"Okay! I'll get things set up and go, ah, rough it there first."

"Oh, one more thing...time operates very differently along the paths. There was one lady there that hiked the woods in southern France when she stumbled across the paths and got herself stuck on the Ice Planet."

"So? I mean that sucks and all...but what does that have to do with time?"

"She left Earth in 2009. Before rejuvenation."

You blink. "She...2009? She walked the paths and got herself almost six hundred years in the future?"

"Like I said, be careful. With re-lifing here, you may come back and find a new you waiting for herself." Ozzie suddenly broke a smile, "When I was growing up that sentence would have gotten me committed.

The giggle breaks free before you could stop it.