nd Odin," he began, looking down at his plate as though he expected to
see an answer there. "I fear that I have seen my family for the last time.
We are in for a trip beyond the dreams of men. Beyond Ragnarok--to the edge
of the night where the mad gods make bonfires of worn-out suns--where space
itself serves the mad squirrel."

Gunnar paused to mutter a few words to himself and then looked up at Odin
with the old smile on his broad face. "Oh, well, a man must go as far as
his heart will take him--"

* * * * *

But for all his big talk, Gunnar tossed and muttered that night. And once,
Odin heard him cry out--"So, Hagen, the stars swing right at last, and you
are mine for the taking. Oh, my lost little boys and my lost little girl--"

And Gunnar, the strong one, sobbed in his sleep.

* * * * *

The ship was loaded at last. The time for departure was near. The crew of
The Nebula--over two hundred men, women and children--went quietly into the
tunnel. Thousands of relatives and friends had come to the Tower to see
them off. There was little weeping though most of the faces were sad and
lined.

Ato and Wolden had some last words with the captains who were working upon
the rebuilding of Opal.

"We can talk to you from the moon," Wolden was saying. "Beyond that, when
we swing into the Fourth Drive, we cannot. May your work prosper."

The last man had filed up the ramp to the sphere at the center of the
hour-glass shaped craft. The door was finally closed and sealed.

There were no portholes in the Nebula. But at least a dozen screens were
mounted at convenient locations. These showed the outside world as clearly
as a window.

The ship moved along its rails to the Great Door. The door opened. Then
it closed behind them. The second door--the one that opened upon the
sea--slowly parted and slid back into the walls of the tunnel. The water
poured in. For a second or two, all that Odin could see was swirling
bubbling water. Then water was all around them. Seaweed still swirled in
mad little whirlpools. A fish swam close to an outside scanner, and seemed
to peer closer and closer at them until there was only one great staring
eye upon the screen. Then it flirted its tail at them and sped away.

The ship moved on. Far out upon the floor of the Gulf, it paused. There
were twenty minutes of last-minute checking.

Then, swiftly, as a cork bobs upward, the Nebu