ng lands criss-crossed by
rivers and studded with shining lakes.

It was to us, O Great Beneficence, a paradise indeed! Entranced, we all
but forgot our landing which would require the utmost skill. Brunoj,
our greatest navigator, was at the controls, padded and cushioned beyond
the possibility of injury. The rest of us retired to the special
crash-room.

I remember we carried in our laboratory, in a special container of
_glassaran_, two embalmed specimens of the monstrous Termans. These we
were to show as a warning to whatever race existed here. One glance at
the revolting monsters would have been enough for an intelligent race.

But now that would not be necessary. Terra seemed uninhabited. We had
seen no cities as we circumnavigated the globe. Had intelligent
life-forms failed as yet to materialize on this verdant world? We
assumed that fact, in our joyous eagerness to feel the good earth
beneath us.

"Prepare to land!" came the warning from Brunoj.

* * * * *

To this day I cannot say what happened. No one knew. For the brief
instant in which I remained conscious, I felt as if Terra had burst
asunder under the terrific impact.

Nor do I know when I finally struggled upward from oblivion; it may have
been hours later, or days. Many among us were dead. _I_ was a hopelessly
crushed horror who still lived somehow, miraculously. For many days we
remained within our sphere--disposing of the dead, tending to the
injured, conserving our strength. _I_ might have been destroyed, but
with that frantic will to live which rises within us, I flashed a
message to my companions:

"I still live! Place me in the delocalizer! I will still be of use!"

This was done. The delocalizer, reacting on the thalamic region of my
brain, intercepted pain currents and allowed me to exist without
_physical_ feeling. Only my mind, lucid and intensely alive as never
before, continued to record the adventure in this world. It was not
until later that my brain was completely dissevered from my crushed
body....

My companions had tested the atmosphere and found no gasses that might
have been inimical to our organisms. Thus they prepared for the greatest
adventure of all--the emergence. The locks were opened. A draft of
fragrant, if heavy atmosphere swept through our globe. It was pleasantly
invigorating and bright outside--so I was told by their telepathic
messages, for I alone remained within.

Telepathica