The youth was nodding. He felt reluctant to discuss this particular subject, and so it was time to end the conversation. There was another question in his mind, having to do with the relationship of the older Lesbee with Tellier's widow since his mother's death. But a moment's consideration convinced him that such an inquiry was not in order.
'Thanks, Dad,' he said, and walked on to his room.
4
For weeks they had been slowing down. And, day by day, the bright stars in the blackness ahead grew larger and more dazzling. The four suns of Alpha Centauri no longer looked like one brilliant diamond, but were distinct units separated by noticeable gaps of black space.
They passed Proxima Centauri at a distance of over two billion miles. The faint red star slowly retreated behind them.
Not Proxima the red, the small, but Alpha A was their first destination. From far Earth itself, the shadow telescopes had picked out seven planets revolving around A. Surely, of seven planets, one would be habitable.
When the ship was still four billion miles from the main system, Lesbee II's six-year-old son came to him in the hydroponic gardens – where he had been called to settle a discussion on the uses of solid state coolants in growing vegetables and fruit.
'Grandfather wants to see you, Dad, in the captain's cabin.'