"But there are more than problems," Nina said, in a hushed voice. "A frontier means so much more!"
His thoughts, so recently liberated from their cubicle, drew back with conditioned reluctance, then leaped toward those towering peaks. A free thought could surmount any pinnacle, and look beyond the problems to the grandeur of the infinite.
The view was of a magnitude and beauty beyond his capacity to absorb. But small, incredibly wonderful details focused before him.
Now he saw knowledge and knowing from all the universe pour into this steaming jungle planet through communication channels opened by a psi focus that could leap time and space.
He saw knowledge and love and understanding transmitted outward again to fall like rain wherever there was parched earth.
His mind drew back from the summit. It was enough to see, for an evanescent moment of wonder, just a fragment of what lay beyond the wild mountains. It was madness to look too long.
The future receded; the present returned.
"I was there with you," Nina said, breathlessly.
He buried his face in the softness of her hair and the warm curve of her throat and shoulder.
He told her about himself, and their child.