But Mallory stopped me. "A moment, O'Shea. I'm not insane. Nor is my
plan--as you undoubtedly think--impossible. Did you ever hear the name
of Frazier Wrenn?"
The name was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place it. Maureen could,
and did. She said, curiously, "Isn't he the traitor who disappeared
from Earth with a group of followers? Years ago? From a laboratory out
west somewhere?"
"Yes, my dear. In 1939. From Arizona. But whether he and his tiny band
were traitors is something future generations must decide. Wrenn hated
war; foresaw what must come of Earth's second Armageddon. He fled
Earth, his destination was the planet Venus, his purpose to maintain,
on that wild colony, a vestige of culture and civilization until
Earth's feverish self-destruction should end."
Mallory sighed. "We do not know what has become of Wrenn's expedition.
There has been no remotest sign, no signal--"