"You continue to speak of their superior wisdom, Mor Thak," said Rofan. "How can you be so very sure of that?"
"It is obvious, lad. Their signal system consists of spots of light over the greater part of the land surface of their planet. I have shown you the old photographs, taken before the last war, showing these lights. Even with the small telescope I have been forced to use during these lean years, I have watched the lights. What a mighty science theirs must be that can make the night time light merely to signal another planet! For that can be the only purpose of the lights."
Rofan let his tentacles curl about him as he concentrated. "You must be right," he finally agreed. "I was going to suggest that they might be the lights of cities. I noticed many of them were situated where a city would be likely—but there must be millions of beings to populate so many cities—"
One of the other pupils made a loud amused noise. "Whoever heard of a city without a roof?" he demanded. "Could lights be seen through a roof?"
Rofan was embarrassed, and he remained very quiet for a while, wondering how he could have made such a stupid error. Of course lights could not be seen through a roof. And who had ever heard of a city without a roof!
Thak, paying no attention to the byplay, focused his lens with great care. The students gathered about the concave bowl of white quartz. The lights were lowered, and into the bowl moved a blurred sphere. As Thak's tentacles moved the lenses closer and closer into focus, the sphere resolved itself with more and more clarity, until it was a fine image of the third planet.
Awed by the splendor of the sight, the students could only stare. And indeed it was a breathtaking spectacle, as if they were gathered in the immense void of space itself, looking at the planet from a height of several thousand miles.
There were five continents in two major land masses, Thak had told them. In addition, there were several islands of great size, at last one being practically of continental dimensions, besides a host of islands large and small which dotted the surface of the planet.
The hemisphere on which they gazed was mostly water. The larger land mass was passing from sight. And half of the smaller mass was presented to their vision, a double continent that spread almost from pole to pole, with a narrow isthmus joining north and south.