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thick, black, oily smoke. He couldn’t see the truck or trailer, only flames. He gaped at them in shock, all feeling drained from him.
    Then, unexpectedly, emotion came. Not dread, at first, and not regret; not the nausea that followed soon. It was a primeval tumult in his mind: the cry of some ancestral beast above the body of its vanquished foe.

THIRD FROM THE SUN
    HIS EYES WERE OPEN FIVE SECONDS BEFORE THE alarm was set to go off. There was no effort in waking. It was sudden. Coldly conscious, he reached out his left hand in the dark and pushed in the stop. The alarm glowed a second, then faded.
    At his side, his wife put her hand on his arm.
    â€œDid you sleep?” he asked.
    â€œNo, did you?”
    â€œA little,” he said. “Not much.”
    She was silent for a few seconds. He heard her throat contract. She shivered. He knew what she was going to say.
    â€œWe’re still going?” she asked.
    He twisted his shoulders on the bed and took a deep breath.
    â€œYes,” he said, and he felt her fingers tighten on his arm.
    â€œWhat time is it?” she asked.
    â€œAbout five.”

    â€œWe’d better get ready.”
    â€œYes, we’d better.”
    They made no move.
    â€œYou’re sure we can get on the ship without anyone noticing?” she asked.
    â€œThey think it’s just another test flight. Nobody will be checking.”
    She didn’t say anything. She moved a little closer to him. He felt how cold her skin was.
    â€œI’m afraid,” she said.
    He took her hand and held it in a tight grip. “Don’t be,” he said. “We’ll be safe.”
    â€œIt’s the children I’m worried about.”
    â€œWe’ll be safe,” he repeated.
    She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it gently.
    â€œAll right,” she said.
    They both sat up in the darkness. He heard her stand. Her night garment rustled to the floor. She didn’t pick it up. She stood still, shivering in the cold morning air.
    â€œYou’re sure we don’t need anything else with us?” she asked.
    â€œNo, nothing. I have all the supplies we need in the ship. Anyway …”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWe can’t carry anything past the guard,” he said. “He has to think you and the kids are just coming to see me off.”
    She began dressing. He threw off the covering and got up. He went across the cold floor to the closet and dressed.
    â€œI’ll get the children up,” she said.
    He grunted, pulling clothes over his head. At the door she stopped. “Are you sure …” she began.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWon’t the guard think it’s funny that … that our neighbors are coming down to see you off, too?”
    He sank down on the bed and fumbled for the clasps on his shoes.

    â€œWe’ll have to take that chance,” he said. “We need them with us.”
    She sighed. “It seems so cold. So calculating.”
    He straightened up and saw her silhouette in the doorway.
    â€œWhat else can we do?” he asked intensely. “We can’t interbreed our own children.”
    â€œNo,” she said. “It’s just …”
    â€œJust what?”
    â€œNothing, darling. I’m sorry.”
    She closed the door. Her footsteps disappeared down the hall. The door to the children’s room opened. He heard their two voices. A cheerless smile raised his lips. You’d think it was a holiday, he thought.
    He pulled on his shoes. At least the kids didn’t know what was happening. They thought they were going to take him down to the field. They thought they’d come back and tell all their schoolmates about it. They didn’t know they’d never come back.
    He finished clasping his shoes and stood up. He shuffled over to the bureau and turned on the light. It was odd, such an undistinguished looking man planning this.
    Cold. Calculating. Her words filled his mind