"Are there any more records you could show me?"
"Many more, Colonel, but I don't think it's necessary for you to see them. It would take too long. And we want to get back out into space." He paused. "We can brief you."
"About your going back into space.... I'm not sure we can allow it."
"Our answer's very simple. There's a button, under my thumb, on the arm of this chair. A little pressure. Carbon monoxide. It would be quick."
"Your idea?"
"Yes. A matter of preserving our integrity. We'd rather die than face the horrors of life on Earth."
alter turned to the semi-circle of faces. "And you've all agreed to this—this suicide?"
The captain cut in. "Of course. I realized years ago that the only place we could live was in space, in this ship."