Thet paged through images on her monitor. "Shocking. And of course we of the Integrality are here to put it all right... ha! There's our goal." The screen contained a single spark of chlorophyll green. "Human life... or near enough to show up. A worldful of straying lambs. Right, Rodi?" And she drove the flitter through the crowd of stars.

On Holism Ark there were sim rooms of Earth. This little world, Rodi decided, was like a folded-up bit of Earth. They swept over oceans that sparkled in the jostling starlight -- and then flew into an impossible dawn.

It was impossible because there was no sun.

"It doesn't make sense," Thet murmured. The light was diffusing down from a glowing sky. "Where's that damn sunlight coming from?... And the planet's only a quarter Earth's size, gravity a sixth standard -- too low for this thick layer of air..."

Rodi smiled. The little world was like a toy.

Thet poked buttons in triumph. "Contact! About time..."

A Virtual tank filled up with a smiling male face, long and gracefully austere. He spoke; Rodi picked out maybe one word in two. After a few seconds he flicked the translator button mounted in his thumbnail.

"...this equipment's a little dusty, I'm afraid; we don't get too many visitors. It's only chance I was in the museum when the alarm chimed--"

"We represent the Exaltation of the Integrality," said Thet formally. "We come from beyond the stars. We are human like yourselves."

The man laughed; his eyes' folds crinkled. "Thank you, my dear. You're welcome to land and talk to us. But you'll find we're quite sophisticated. Use this signal as a beacon. The name of this area is Tycho..."

Thet let Rodi pilot the flitter out of orbit. Fifty miles above the surface the little craft shuddered; Rodi's palms grew slick with sweat.

"That wasn't your fault, surprisingly," Thet said calmly. "We just passed through a kind of membrane. It's -- healing -- behind us. Now we know how they keep the atmosphere in. And maybe this is where the sunshine comes from. Interesting."

The Tycho museum perched at the summit of a green-clad mountain. A tall figure waved. The mountain was at the center of a plain which glistened with lakes and trees. The plain was walled by a circle of jagged hills. As they descended the hills dipped over the horizon.

Rodi landed neatly.

The air carried the scent of pine. Through the day-lit membrane Rodi could see stars; towards the horizon they were stained blue. He breathed deeply, invigorated.

Thet whooped. "I love this dinky gravity." She did a neat double back somersault, her long legs flexing.

Their host walked around the curve of the little museum. He wore a white coverall and he was at least eight feet tall. He smiled. "Welcome," he said. "My name is Darby."