A year later, the psychiatrists, quite pleased with themselves found him ready for duty again; not in Space of course, but the hero of the first Mars expedition was always sure of a job with Space Authority. Now he could even look up at the stars at night without screaming with vertigo.
Tonight walking confidently along the country road, fragrant and dotted with shining pools after the recent rain, he looked up thinking nostalgically, "the patines of bright gold...."
A coldness about his feet halted him. He looked down and once again the black curtain tore before his eyes—once more they were there, the cold unfriendly stars, swinging in the empty void—
Below him.
Falling downward past the whirling suns, he screamed, hardly aware of the choking wetness in his lungs....
About him the inch-deep shining pool rippled for a moment and was still, reflecting once more the floor of Heaven.