"That's right. There isn't another human being within fifty million
miles," Seldar Glav said. "And that was the first and only space-ship
ever built. It took fifty years to build her, and even allowing twenty
for research that wouldn't have to be duplicated, you can figure when we
can expect another one."

"The answer to that one is, never. The ship blew up in space; fifty
years' effort and fifteen hundred people gone, like that." Kalvar Dard
snapped his fingers. "So now, they'll try to keep Doorsha habitable for
a few more thousand years by irrigation, and forget about immigrating to
Tareesh."

"Well, maybe, in a hundred thousand years, our descendants will build a
ship and go to Doorsha, then," Olva considered.

"Our descendants?" Eldra looked at her in surprize. "You mean, then...?"

* * * * *

Kyna chuckled. "Eldra, you are an awful innocent, about anything that
doesn't have a breech-action or a recoil-mechanism," she said. "Why do
you think the women on this expedition outnumbered the men seven to
five, and why do you think there were so many obstetricians and
pediatricians in the med. staff? We were sent out to put a human
population on Tareesh, weren't we? Well, here we are."

"But.... Aren't we ever going to...?" Varnis began. "Won't we ever see
anybody else, or do anything but just live here, like animals, without
machines or ground-cars or aircraft or houses or anything?" Then she