'I don't know and I don't think it is an Earth religion. Someone, perhaps the robots, borrowed the terminology…

'But robots?

'I know. I know. That's what I'm trying to find out.

'And End of Nothing?

'End of Nothing, she said, 'is out on the Rim. Among the Rim stars, of which there are not many. A lot of space. Not much of anything else. At the very edge of intergalactic space. So far as the planet is concerned, I know nothing except that it is Earthlike. No trouble for humans to live there. This ship, I am told, gets there in a standard month or less. How many times the speed of light that is, I have no idea. The old crate is equipped with an inertial drive, which one would not suspect in such a wreck. No great danger involved. It mostly crosses empty space. The ship makes six round trips a year, which spells out to an awful lot of pilgrims hauled.

The captain is an enigma. He probably could have command of one of the proudest interstellar liners; he has the required status. But here he is, running pilgrims he despises.

'But making a barrel of money. Told me five more years and he can retire to a planet named Apple Blossom.

'Yes, he told me that, too. Apparently he tells everyone. I don't know how much to believe.

'Perhaps all of it, said Tennyson. 'Men do strange things to cash in on their dreams.

'Jason, said Jill, 'I like you. Do you know why I like you?

'My honesty and trustworthiness, he said. 'My humanity, my compassion, my integrity…

'No, none of those. I like you because you can look at me without flinching. You don't pull away. People, to start with, always pull away and flinch. I have come to terms with it myself; I wish other people would.

'I scarcely notice, he said.

'You're a cheerful liar. You do notice it. No one could help but notice it.

'The shock, what initial shock there is, he said, 'comes from the fact that otherwise you are so beautiful. Without the cheek, your features are classic. One side of your face arrestingly appealing, the other side marred.