Bradwick’s own voice was more controlled now. A touch of resolution hardened his tone. “It’s occurred to us that we might be able to keep this our secret,” he said. “We’ve declared the first small dig, but so far no one knows about this place to our knowledge. There’s an unequaled opportunity for me and my entire party. We could spend our lives here deciphering what we find—”

He paused, then smiled ruefully. “I really don’t know how we could get away with it, but the idea is worth considering. Women rule the floating cities now with an iron hand. Men have the least important jobs. It’s only because this type of exploration is low on priority lists that no one bothers us. They think there’s nothing valuable to be found. If they discover the importance of our finding, they’ll take it completely out of our hands.”

Bradwick looked away from the camera as if unwilling to meet the eye of any subsequent observers of the film. “This may be a rationalization,” he said, “but the race needs one spot on Earth where maybe it could start over—one spot where we can be Earthlings, not Earth men or Earth women but Earthlings. This place could present us with the opportunity to begin a small living experiment of our own.” Bradwick’s voice was unsteady again. He said, “It’s almost as if we were led here.”

Window stopped the soundtrack. “So that’s what they ended up doing,” he said. “It took all kinds of subterfuge, though hardly anyone comes down to the surface as a rule. Planes are obsolete, no good for the Floaters’ above-atmosphere conditions, though a few are stored on Earth, and copters are carried in the skylevators for use here when necessary. But still—both have gone over and still this place remains secret.” He added soberly, “That’s why you put us in such a predicament. We didn’t want any attention drawn to this area at all—much less a search party looking for a citizen from one of the floating cities. They must think you’re dead by now.”

Proteus listened, but he wiggled uncomfortably in his chair. Portions of the dream kept returning, particularly the image of Ma-ah. He colored and looked away because the mental picture of her was so vivid. He realized that he wanted to meet her again, which was really impossible, he thought, because the whole thing had only been a dream. Some of his thoughts were so confusing that he tried to keep them even from himself.