Peterson's mouth dropped open as he stepped into the forty-foot tall, football-field sized green house. A large number of well-labeled plant species thrived in the massive space. At the other end of the greenhouse he could see full-sized trees, growing tall. Some bore fruit. Peterson took a deep breath and smelled the sweet and spicy air. Like an old fashioned apple pie, he thought. The bright green of the room in contrast with the dark blue, northern California sky was enough to take his breath away. He turned to Nancy. His stunned expression made her laugh. "What is this place?" he asked. "You can't see this from the road or parking lot."

"Only from the air," Nancy said. "It's not that we're trying to keep it a complete secret, but many of these plant species are endangered or already extinct. We try to keep exposure to outsiders to a bare minimum." Nancy raised her hand toward one of the tallest trees in the room, which had been trimmed to keep it from bursting through the glass ceiling. "That's a Brazilian Mahogany tree. Ten years ago it was used to make furniture and flooring, so much so that it simply couldn't recover and the best efforts of green organizations couldn't save it. There may be a few trees surviving in what little is left of the rainforests, but for all intents and purposes, the species is extinct, and that...that is the last one. We're hoping to reintroduce them in the next year."

Peterson looked at the tall tree. Its bark was smooth and grey; its leaves a brilliant green. A powerful tree. The fact that this might actually be the last of its kind on Earth made it awe-inspiring. Peterson looked at Nancy with wide eyes. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Three reasons," Nancy said. "First, to give you a glimpse of the future. A greenhouse twice this size has been constructed for your mission, only the plants are different. If they're not producing food, they're cleaning the air or some other kind of benefit. Second, look up there." Nancy pointed through the glass ceiling towards the dark blue sky.

Looking up, Peterson could see the moon hovering in the sky above. "It's been fifty-two years since man first walked on the moon and we still look at it as a crowning achievement of mankind. With manned missions to Mars thrown in the trash for various reasons and the more recent moon trips being...redundant, space exploration has been in a slump. We need this to work, Michael."

"Not to worry," Peterson said with confidence. "Everything is on schedule."