"Everything sure does! But I'll be O.K. in a minute." He sat heavily on the edge of a hammock, fought against the tugging urge to sink back into unconsciousness. But when the acceleration needle said one gravity and the gyros took over, he had to get back on his feet.
"Dad! Where the heck are we going?"
"And when you get us there, will you tell us what the contraption did to get us in this place, and make us all—even you—look all different? We thought it was one of those scary dreams until you got us out in front of everybody ... and I still ain't so sure...."
Doug still hurt, but the dizziness was going, and there was Terry's question to answer. It was a good question.
"Earth, that's where we're going! Ever hear of it?"
"This is a real space-ship, Dad?"
Doug smiled down at him. "It's pretty real," he said.
They watched him in silence as he began his search.
He wasted twenty minutes at it before he was forced to the conclusion that there were no astronomical charts, no star maps. The Science Council would have its own, and the robot didn't need any....
He was glad the boys were with him. Glad, because without them, the cold panic that welled inside might have taken hold. Glad, because with them, he could muster the will it took to keep from telling himself how terribly big and empty infinity was.