_If you can't find it countless millions of miles in space,
come back to Earth. You might find it just on the other side
of the fence--where the grass is always greener._
* * * * *
The Ship dove into Earth's sea of atmosphere like a great, silver
fish.
Inside the ship, a man and woman stood looking down at the expanse of
land that curved away to a growing horizon. They saw the yellow ground
cracked like a dried skin; and the polished stone of the mountains and
the seas that were shrunken away in the dust. And they saw how the
city circled the sea, as a circle of men surround a water hole in a
desert under a blazing sun.
The ship's radio cried out. "You've made it! Thank God! You've made
it!"
Another voice, shaking, said, "President--Davis is--overwhelmed. He
can't go on. On his behalf and on behalf of all the people--with our
hope that was almost dead, we greet you." A pause. "Please come in!"
The voice was silent. The air screamed against the hull of the ship.
"I can't tell them," said the man.
"Please come in!" said the radio. "Do you hear me?"