More time passed, the seconds ticking by interminably slowly, and Saul drifted into a kind of reverie. It was a half-awake, half-dreaming state, aided greatly by his feeling of weightlessness. Sometimes he slept, or scanned more of the records from the Tau Ceti base. Instead of feeling bored, his mind was occupied by a kind of unrelenting nervous tension. At one point, Saul re-entered the command module and noticed, through one of the tiny angular windows, how the Moon had expanded enormously. He gazed down on its craters and billion-year-old lava plains.

Lester was now in charge again, while Amy lay curled up on the rear three seats with a pair of large black ear-muffs strapped over her head. She yawned, her eyes flickering open, as Saul floated past her and landed gently in the seat next to Lester.

‘What’s the latest?’ asked Saul.

‘No news.’ Lester shook his head. ‘I’ve been scanning regularly for live feeds, and can’t find a damn one.’

‘You mean everything’s gone?’ Saul felt a spasm of shock. ‘Have the clouds reached Florida yet?’

‘Not yet,’ Lester reassured him. ‘There’s still some patches left untouched, but those damn clouds are scrambling signals all over the place, is my guess. Even if there’s any people left to talk down there, we won’t be able to hear them.’

‘How long before we touch down?’

Lester blinked at the empty air for a couple of seconds. ‘Another four or five hours. I’m calling that a personal best.’

Saul couldn’t contain his surprise. ‘I thought we had at least maybe a day to go?’

‘Depends on how much fuel you burn,’ said Lester, ‘particularly during your initial acceleration. Faster you take off, the faster your escape velocity is, the faster you get to your destination. I forgot to mention that we used most of the fuel we’d normally use for the return trip on take-off, for that added velocity.’ He nodded towards the lander, keeping his voice low. ‘Is Mitchell okay?’

‘Why?’

‘Well, he’s keeping to himself a lot, through there.’

‘Is that a problem?’

‘No, not necessarily. But stress affects all kinds of people in all kinds of ways.’

Saul shook his head. ‘I’m not sure what you mean.’

‘My point is, if anyone becomes unbalanced or has some kind of breakdown out here, there isn’t anyone we can turn to for help, and we’ve all got more than enough reasons to lose it right now. I’m not suggesting that’s what’s happening with Mitchell, but when somebody starts hiding away that much, it’s not necessarily a good sign.’

‘No, he’s not crazy,’ Saul replied. ‘At least, no more than I am.’

‘Les?’ interrupted Amy, sitting up and pulling the muffs off. ‘This might not be a good time for you to chat. We’ve got deceleration coming up. I want you and the boys to get yourselves strapped in.’