he had been away
only a few weeks, since the summer vacation had begun, yet this single
day had an air about it different from that of any other homecoming. He
found himself continually looking at things in a more inquisitive, more
thoughtful manner.

That which had been commonplace was suddenly something valuable, a sight
to be treasured. For he had realized, as he sat in the fast plane
transporting him home, that the Earth was itself a planet among planets,
and that this might possibly prove to be his last visit to the town
where he had been born. He had pondered, as he had gazed out of the
ship's windows, just what it could mean to depart from this world and
travel among the uncharted reaches of empty and hostile space ... to
set foot upon planets where no human foot had ever touched and to meet
unguessable perils.

So his home, his mother, his friends, the street on which he lived, took
on a novel air. He studied them while enjoying a quiet day at home. He
watched the cars in the street, so amusingly compact and small, each
designed in the fleeting style of the year. The cars of a dozen years
ago had been designed for length and size, but the trend had been the
opposite for a decade now. The cars grew smaller and their lines weirder
as the manufacturers strove to compete.

What other planet could boast of such simultaneously astonishing
ingenuity and wondrous tomfoolery?

He looked at the people going about their business, the other boys of
his age intent on their summer jobs and summer fun, and wondered if he
would ever be able to join them again without the cares of a world on
his shoulders?

People were unaware of the crisis that hung over the solar system. There
had been news of the dimming of the Sun, but the meaning behind it had
been carefully screened, and the expedition was a top secret. It availed
the world nothing to panic about this matter. Now the odd weather quirks
had been forgotten, and the main subjects on peoples tongues were the
baseball scores and the latest telemovies.

When Burl kissed his mother and father good-by, it was with a sense that
he was also kissing good-by to his youth, and entering upon a new
period of the most desperate responsibility.

This mood lingered with him back at the base, although his companions of
the trip to come seemingly did not share it. On the last day, quarters
had been assigned in the _Magellan_, and the men moved their belongings
to their tight bunks i