they, too, had felt and learned to
dismiss. Reassured he led Andra back to the house, scarcely aware of the
background bustle of other minds busy with other matters--nor, in fact,
greatly caring at that moment that others existed. The manner of love
may change, but not the manners of lovers.

* * * * *

Memory surged after memory on waves of nostalgia and homesickness that
told their own story of why the memories had been long buried. Challon
had fallen away behind them and the strangeness of the cleavage from
their fellows had dismayed them. In and around the spaceport center, a
multitude of the fellows they were never to see again had paused long
enough in their own affairs to mesh thoughts in a final projection of
encouragement that reached after the dwindling ship like a gesture of
farewell.

A long, long farewell. A final farewell, unrecognized for the last
parting that it was.

They had known from the experience of others that the first terrible
silence would be a hard thing to endure until the strangeness wore off.
At first they huddled like two children, driving their thoughts far into
unanswering space in desperate disbelief that such utter silence could
be. Repelled by space, they turned to each other and found more complete
union than they had thought possible. From the depth of their union they
found the strength and growth and maturity to adapt, to endure, and to
survive. The fear passed. The worst was over.

* * * * *

Planetfall succeeded planetfall and the routine of their activities
became smooth and practiced. As was the custom, they had been asked
to obtain various items of information from sundry known but largely
unexplored planets to help determine whether a later visit by a
full-scale exploration team would be advisable. In one system they made
a rapid instrumental survey of the only major continent on the only
inhabitable planet, from a height of a hundred miles. In another, a
skimming prospecting trip in a certain area confirmed a predicted rich
ore body. And at all times, of course--particularly when they left the
known systems behind and entered virgin territory--there was the
Challonari to be trained and observed.

The Challonari--a part-organic, artificial brain--was one of the most
promising recent developments of Challon science. It was also one of the
most debatable, for the Challonari was capable of independent though