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.""Read our minds if you don't believe us," urged Louise."Even if you think our earlier memories were grafted you have to believe what we're thinking now.We can help you.We want to help."Nick felt a tingle inside his head.He opened his mind, attempting to project an aura of friendship and co-operation.The silence grew.The boy's face remained impassive, unreadable, floating before them in silent judgement.Then his image flared and doubled in size, his face looming towards them."I will take this gamble," said the boy."If this Earth of yours does exit.If you can prove to me that your memories of a corporeal existence have not been fabricated.then."Nick waited—was the sentence ever going to end?"Then you may go.""Yes!" Louise's scream reverberated through every nook, cranny and recess of Nick's mind.Was it really over?"You will be restrained until then.Any attempt to escape or communicate with others of your kind will result in immediate termination of this agreement.Is that understood? I will not be taking chances.""Understood," said Nick and Louise together."Then we shall leave now.I will have to flat line your life signs."Nick was about to say 'what?' when everything went black.Louise awoke in a panic.Where was everyone? Everything was black."We're cloaked," explained Nick."To avoid detection.We can see out but no one can see us."Stars appeared, and something else—a nebula? It filled half the sky.Thousands upon thousand of embedded stars floating in a wash of smoky pinks and reds.It was beyond magnificent.And then it was gone.Back came the void, then a distant disc of blue and green.A planet? The Earth?"Are we there?" she asked."Not yet," said the colonist."Why are we here then?" asked Louise, growing concerned."What planet's this?""This is the quickest route to the co-ordinates we were given.Occasionally it passes through what you call 'physical space.' It is nothing to be concerned about."The planetary disc receded to a tiny speck.Other specks grew and receded in turn.Other planets, other asteroids, other lumps of unsuspecting rocks.Then everything was gone.They were back in the void."Isn't this incredible?" said Nick."We've been stepping back and forth like this for ages."A light suddenly appeared.Dazzling.They were approaching a brilliant white star at speed.The star ballooning in size and luminosity, washing all other features from the rest of the sky."Shouldn't we turn?" she asked, wanting to throw a hand in front of her face and realising for the first time that not only didn't she have any hands but she had no eyelids either.She couldn't close her eyes.She had to watch.The star getting closer and closer and.A flash.White to black.The void.No, not the void.Deep space.A myriad of twinkling stars surrounded them.One of them growing.Was this going to be another kamikaze run at a stellar mass?A weak watery star turned from pin-prick to small disc.Another disc, yellow and orange, span towards them.A disc with rings.Lots of them.Saturn? She stared at the planet, dredging back pictures from school books and holodocs.Was it Saturn? Wasn't there supposed to be a great white spot? Or was that Jupiter?The void returned then back came the stars, one brighter than all the rest."Your planet is the third, I think?"Before anyone could answer, the star disappeared—flash—then reappeared—flash.A cycle repeated several times, each time the star growing in size and intensity.They were stepping in and out of physical space in ten million league strides until.Earth.It could be no other.A blue and white disc.Clouds and continents, oceans.They'd made it! They were home!Emotion threatened to overwhelm her."Thank you," she said."Thank you.""What do you want to see first?" Nick asked the colonist."One of the larger colonies—a city, I think.""OK, aim for that great blob of cloud and I'll direct you as we go.""I will take a different route."Was he really still suspicious? Surely he could see the Earth was a habitable planet? Couldn't he sense the radio traffic, the ring of man-made satellites?They descended fast, tumbling towards the Atlantic then turning at the last second, zigzagging horizontally then flipping out of physical space altogether.The colonist was definitely not taking any chances
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