And festival time long behind them, but soon to come again.
"Your father went to space," Elias said. "We saw one of those worlds the spacemen talk of."
"I know."
"He didn't like it."
"I know that too," she said, remembering his bitter words and the nightmare times when her mother had had so much trouble comforting him, and the winter evenings when he didn't want even to go outside and see the familiar, Earth encircling stars.
He was dead now. Her mother was dead now. They were not here, to disapprove, to join with Elias and the others.
They would have hated for her to go out there.
She faltered, the excitement Max had aroused in her dying away, and then she thought of their argument, as old as their desire. She knew that if she wanted him it would have to be away from the worlds.
"At least we could look," she said. "And the spacemen could bring up samples. And maybe even some of the people for us to talk to."
Elias nodded. "It would be interesting," he said slowly, "to talk to some new people. It's been so long."