Ancient! Ancient! So old the tongues of men had no word for it. From the beginning he was, and was no more....
Travis turned away from the stench. He stumbled across the room toward the control levers on the wall. With trembling hands he shut them off.
It was easy, going back. Through the nacre curtain, as the tower settled down, Travis saw Nuala standing beside the shattered calyx. Both hands were plunged in her thick golden hair. Her blue eyes were blank and staring.
Her memory is gone, Travis thought, running toward her. The pain and the magnetic flux did it. She isn't Nuala of the crystal crypt any longer. She is only a girl.
His dream of Nuala cooking a jalanadon steak in his little apartment at Mars Port would come true. This Nuala he could marry.
Travis caught her in his arms. Her lips were sweet as he bent and kissed her.