Gen shrugged. "We'll just have to start step by step, that's all," he suggested.

"If what you were told is true - if finishing these requests is our ticket home," Gen said, "then maybe the best way to start is with our robot-given lists. Not normally something I would've recommended, if we were home and you wanted to experiment ..."

He had to giggle, and elaborated, "I would've started us off with something simple, and worked our way up."