He rose and pulled her to her feet.
"In just a minute," he said. "I'll eat in just a minute. First I want to show you something. I want to show you Truth."
He led her up the steps.
"Look out there," he said. "That is where we're going. This is where we've been. No matter what we might have told ourselves, that out there is Truth."
PLANET II was the Holy Pictures come to life entire. There were Trees and Brooks, Flowers and Grass, Sky and Clouds, Wind and Sunshine. Mary and Jon stood beside the navigator's chair and stared out through the vision plate.
The analyzer gurgled slightly and spat out its report.
Safe for humans, said the printed slip, adding a great deal of data about atmospheric composition, bacterial count, violet-ray intensity and many other things. But the one conclusion was enough.
Safe for humans.
Jon reached out his hand for the master switch in the center of the board.
"This is it," he said. "This is the end of the thousand years."