he
blue-tinted soil which the last film-clip of all declared to be
diamondiferous.

Cochrane's direction of this show was almost inspired. The views of the
animal herd were calculated to make any member of his audience think in
simultaneous terms of glamour and adventure--with perfect personal
safety, of course!--and of steaks, chops and roasts. The more gifted
viewers back on Earth might even envision filets mignon. The
infinitesimal diamond with its prismatic glitterings, of course, roused
cupidity of another sort.

There were four commercials cut into these alluring views, the last was
superimposed upon a view Bell had taken of the sunset-colors. And it
might have seemed that the television audience would confuse the charm
of the new world as pictured with the product insistently praised. But
the public was pretty well toughened up against commercials nowadays. It
was not deceived. As usual, it only deceived itself.

But there was no deception about the fact that there was a new and
unoccupied planet fit for human habitation. That was true. And the
fretting overcrowded cities immediately became places where everybody
made happy plans for his neighbor to move there. But the more irritable
people would begin to think vaguely that it might be worth going to, for
themselves.

The ship took off two hours after the broadcast. Part of that time was
taken up with astrogational conferences with astronomers on Earth.
Cochrane had this conference taped for the auxiliary broadcast-program
in which the audience shared the problems as well as the triumphs of the
star-voyagers. Cochrane wanted to get back to Earth. So far as
television was concerned, it would be unwise. The ship and its crew
would travel indefinitely without a lack of sponsors. But for once,
Cochrane agreed entirely with Holden.

"We're heading back," he told Babs, "because if we keep on, people will
accept our shows as just another superior kind of escape-entertainment.
They'll have the dream quality of 'You Win a Million' and the
lottery-shows. They'll be things to dream about but never to think of
doing anything about. We're going to make the series disappointingly
short, in order to make it more convincingly factual. We won't spin it
out for its entertainment-value until it practically loses everything
else."

"No," said Babs. She put her hand in his. She'd found it necessary to
remind him, now and then.

So the ship started home. And it would not ret