Looking at a map of planet Earth, Guinevere traced the ribbons, ellipses and circles of fresh water with her eyes.

Old riverbeds showed up unexpectedly.

Towns followed geographic terrain more often than not.

Military bases popped up in urban and sparse landscapes.

A single drop of water contained more living beings than could be counted in a single second.

Why does water cover the surface of the planet?

Why do we breathe air (low-humidity gas) instead of water?

Why is Russia such a large country and Africa a such a large continent of small countries?

So much water on one planet and practically none on another…sigh…

The blue orb of Earth shows little evidence of our species’ impact from the viewpoint of Mars.

Why did it take so long for us to get here, settling down to the business of putting Earth behind us and the galaxy ahead of us?

Just because of water?  That’s all?  That’s all there is to life?

Why is Greenland covered with so much frozen water?

Why is Mars not?

When did we learn to adapt dehydrated versions of ourselves to the Martian environment?

Doesn’t seem that long ago…