Well, it is about time to depart, interrupted Beenan. Let's all resume our places. Everyone grabbed their marker and tried to sit in exactly the same place as before. Position yourselves like last time, with straight back and hands on the legs, said Beenan. It won't be any different than last time. You might want to watch for Cliff's fog. The Ehesti put their arms on the shoulders of the person next to them, as before. Marie was no longer-trembling and everyone was ready. As before, they faded out of sight in a few seconds and the house was empty again.

This time, they materialized where they were supposed to, in the life support sphere on Balenn. Cliff and Kirby had left their eyes open this time. They were watching the sphere take shape and come into focus. It was as if they had just woken up from a dream, to find themselves in a strange glass-like ball. Outside the sphere was pale blue, like the sky at mid-day, but without any sun. The room they were in was about twelve meters in diameter. The Ehesti removed their interlocking arms from the shoulders of their guests. Can we get up and move around, asked Sarah? By all means, said Beenan. We are here safe and sound on Balenn. What do you think? Wow, exclaimed Kelly, here we are. Kelly knew that statement didn't sound too descriptive, but she was to overcome with surprise, to make conversation just yet. Even Beem and Bo looked like they hadn't seen any of this before. The sphere was not anything like when the trio was up there earlier. It was now all decked out in what looked like Christmas decorations, but with off Christmas colors, like blue and pink. There were all the familiar snack foods on trays, in almost every room. The first thing Sarah did was take off her shoes. The floor of the sphere was so soft, that her partial high heeled shoes wanted to bend when she walked on it. She had brought with her a pair of sneakers, which she put on. While she was lacing her shoes up, she was looking around at the sphere. She looked up at the roof.

The roof of the sphere was transparent, as well as the walls. Only the floor could not be seen through. Look up there, suggested Allen. They all turned to look up. No clouds, no stars, no sun. As the earth's atmosphere shows up blue over a distance, so does the atmosphere on Balenn, except a much lighter shade of powder blue, said Beenan. There was no ground to look at. Rays of red light were coming from their left and seemingly bending, as they passed through the area that should be the ground. As they bent, they fared out into the full color spectrum, so that above was reddish and below was multicolored. There seemed to be no motion in the light shafts, as if they were tight colored wires. The source and the termination of these light shafts, was not visible. These light rays passed below and behind the sphere. There seemed to be no purpose for them, other than to brighten up the sky. Directly ahead of them, where only the pale blue atmosphere-like color predominated, green shafts were parallel as in the Aurora Borealis on earth. The green light shafts came closer and closer until they seemed to be right inside the sphere with them.

Marie moved back to get out of the way, but the light shafts passed right through her, as well as everything else in the sphere. Cliff noted a tingly feeling when the light passed through him, but he wasn't sure if he was just imagining things. He closed his eyes, to see if he could feel them still. Kelly reached over and punched him lightly in the shoulder. This is no time to take a nap, she said. Cliff laughed, but shut up abruptly, to allow the show to continue.

As if sucked up by a vacuum cleaner, the light shafts gathered into a large green ball. Prom that ball, floating italic letters began to emerge. The letters began to form words. The letters were rounded and seemed to have a cloud-like look. They were moving constantly, in a rolling motion. The rolling motion caused the outside edges to show up darker, like a border. Each letter, as it came out of the green ball, formed itself completely, began to sparkle as if someone threw a handful of star-dust on it. Each letter moved further away from the ball, at a constant speed, leaving room for the rest of the letters to come out. The words read "Welcome to Balenn Earth people from North America." We, the Ehesti people of Balenn hope to present you with the greatest show you have ever seen. The green letters faded away and the smell of roses filled the air. The green ball than began to shrink to a small green dot. The dot exploded like fireworks and each tiny particle spread outward, until they disappeared. The sky resumed its pale blue color, while the colored light shafts behind and below the sphere also faded away.

Bishop's voice came up again. An unusual display is coming up on the living
room side of the sphere. That message drew Kirby from the kitchen, but not empty
handed. He came back into the living room looking like he was going to watch television all day. He had coffee in one hand and a tray of various foods on the other.
He sat himself down in what was now his chair. Nobody would go near it, with all the
junk around it. Have you figured out what makes this sphere move, he asked Cliff?
I know all about it now, replied Cliff, but it is Showtime, so I'll explain it later
if you don't mind? Kelly and Sarah were ready with their video cameras. The sky began
to darken as the show was about to begin.

The squirrel cage tipped up on its edge and rolled off until it disappeared. Everyone including the Ehesti applauded, not knowing if anyone could hear them or not. The wheel made a quick reverse, just before it disappeared, as though it was going to return. It returned only momentarily, as if to take a bow and finally disappeared in the distance. The yellow flowers followed it along, like a train following the engine until they too disappeared in the distance. The outside returned to its normal pale blue color. Bishop's voice rose above the music again. We are glad you enjoyed that. The next display will be up shortly and it will be both visual and audio. You have about five minutes of your time, before it begins.

Kelly managed to film the whole show. The rest of them were taking still shots. That's one show that would be difficult to produce on earth, said Allen. I've seen something similar, done on ice called "ice-capades", replied Cliff. of course we have to do everything on the horizontal plane only, because of our gravity. Having zero gravity does simplify many things, said Bo. I would like to see your ice-capades one day though. I've always enjoyed watching others ice skate. I never learned how myself, said Bo, but there's plenty of time.

Check out the mirror in the washroom when you get a chance you people, said Marie. I think I'll try some new and different food, while we wait, said Kirby, as he slipped back into the kitchen. The rest of them stayed where they were, preparing for the next show, and documenting what they had so far. It seemed like the sphere had stopped, so Allen asked Beenan; have we stopped? No, far from it, replied Beenan. The special effects that you saw in the last section and will see in upcoming sections of the show, all depend on this sphere being in motion, we are moving at about five of your kilometers per hour. Later on in the show, we will come to a complete halt, in some pretty strange places.

The powder blue outside was beginning to change again. This time, it gave way to a typical B.C. scene, with mountains in the background, evergreens and even two waterfalls. The ground surface was moving like it was floating on the wavy ocean. A yellow sun appeared, that brought smiles to everyone's faces; even clouds appeared off in the horizon. Accompanying the earthly scene, were earthly smells, like the smell of damp crab grass and fermenting hay. If a waterfall has a smell to it, that was in the air too. There seemed to be no other activity in that earthly scene, other than the waterfalls and the trees blowing in the wind.

Allen and Cliff assumed it was an interlude scene, to help pass their break, so they continued with their business. That scene held for about three minutes. Kirby was shocked when he walked back into the living room. It was as if they were back at home. The sounds of the outdoors were rising in the sound system, so you could even hear the crickets. The noise from the wind and rushing water was amplified to where it sounded like you were no less than one hundred meters away. Still thinking it was an interlude scene; Cliff decided it was okay to speak. With the addition of smell and sound, this scene seems to be right in the sphere with us or us with it. I feel like I should check for rocks before I sit down. No one answered him, so he said no more and finished his work. Bishop's voice came back on, just above the noise of the crickets.

The next event is about to take place. The outdoor sounds came back up, to the point where, it seemed they were right in the scene again. Murray, Murray, they heard, sounding like a woman calling her son. Where, the devil, are you, she said? The woman came into full view, as she came out of the forest, into the clearing by the creek. She was a stout brown haired woman, in her late thirties. She carried a shoulder purse, made out of what looked like canvas and she was dressed in coveralls that were quite dirty. The woman seemed to be having a hard time walking. She was wearing a tam or small beanie type hat. Her hair was about shoulder length and curly, but not fuzzy. She didn't seem to be wearing any make-up. Her skin was tanned to a dark brown and she wore men’s ankle high work boots. She seemed to know exactly where she was going. It was obvious, that she lived around there, close by. Her coveralls were too big for her, like she had once been quite fat.

She called again "Murray?" A child of about ten years of age, dressed in overalls, came out from behind the waterfall. He was not wet. He waded across the stream and the water repelled up around his legs, but when he emerged, he was not wet. Time for instructions, his mother said in a firm voice. She made no mention of his not being wet, as though it was normal. She grabbed his hand as he approached and together they disappeared into the forest.

What do you suppose that was all about Cliff asked, looking at Bo? Bo shrugged his shoulders. Two more children came out of the waterfall. One was holding a red stick and the other seemed to have a horn growing like a unicorn. The boy with the red stick, had overalls on like the other two characters, but the unicorn child seemed to be in a whitish jump suit. They both walked out of the waterfall as though it was a doorway that they had used many times before. Except for the horn, both children looked normal. There was a hardly visible hump on the back of the unicorn child. The red stick seemed to be what they were both playing with. Every time the boy would move the red stick, a certain way, the other child would make different musical sounds, seemingly coming from his horn. The red stick seemed to be a baton, but when he hid it in his inside jacket pocket, the horn disappeared on the other child. It didn't disappear completely, but you could see it shrink. Neither child seemed unhappy.

 Something in the water attracted their attention. They backed away from the water's edge and began throwing rocks into the water, as if trying to scare something away. When they were satisfied it was gone, they continued playing in the water. They didn't react to the water the same way. The child with the horn was wet from the water, but the other child was not. They both sat down on a rock to rest and talk. The child with the red stick spoke English well, while the unicorn child, just seemed to murmur. They talked, murmured and laughed for about two minutes. The unicorn child suddenly became an adult unicorn person, twice the size of the child with the red stick. It was as if they were waiting for him to grow because as soon as it happened, out came the red stick again and the music began. This time the notes were one octave lower and much clearer. The two of them skipped off into the forest, down the same path that "Mamma and Murray" had been on earlier.

Two coyote looking animals emerged from the path, walking slowly along, as if not worrying about anything. They did not have tails and their heads seemed oversized. Their ears were black and larger than a real coyote, but the face was unmistakably a coyote. They approached the stream and stopped. One went upstream and the other downstream. They walked carefully along the shore, sniffing, as though they were looking for something. The coyote that went downstream stopped, as though he had found something. The upstream animal instinctively stopped his own search and proceeded to join the other coyote downstream. They both paused there momentarily and sniffed the water. They walked across the stream and emerged completely dry on the other side. They stopped to nibble on some shrub-like flowers. The shrubs began to move back and forth and side to side, as if in a huge windstorm.

Time for another break before the next presentation said Bishop over the air. The girls were full of questions now. Could you explain more about the anti-water, asked Kelly? Yes, and could you tell us if the horn on the unicorn people was making the music, asked Marie? What about the coyotes, asked Sarah? Who was dropping down those nuts to them? Does the tree do that itself? Beenan interrupted. Please save your questions until the end of the visit, when we are back on earth, write them down now, and most of them will be answered as we proceed. The girls were disappointed, but they did as Beenan said and made notes of their questions for later. Allen and Cliff also were wondering about the events on Cleo, but they also wrote them down for later.

 Allen stood up to stretch his legs. He fell back into his seat. The sphere seemed to accelerate, yet there were no objects zipping by, to show they were moving at all. A good time to take a better look around the sphere, said Kirby. Are there any food samples here from Cleo, he asked? Beem pointed to a tray on the corner of the table. On it, were sticks of what looked like red celery? Kirby tried one. It was bland tasting. That is a staple vegetable on Cleo, said Beem. It is about as popular as lettuce is on your planet. I'll stick to lettuce thank you, said Kirby. Do the people of Cleo need vitamins, like we do? They need certain basic food elements, but they don't call them vitamins, replied Beem. Having "anti-water" to deal with, produces many different compounds that you would not find elsewhere. For example, when you are painting with water base paint and you want to thin it out, you naturally add water. When you want the paint to thicken quickly, you add anti-water. This same effect is used for thickening gravies, soups, etc., when cooking. Try this wydom. It is similar to your potato. It is a staple in most meals. Kirby and Beem spent the next few minutes trying everything on the Cleo tray.

Kelly decided to use the washroom. She was fascinated by the mirror, as Marie had been. There was no water in the toilet and when you flushed it, it was sucked down by a gust of wind. Kelly laughed; wondering what would happen if it was flushed while she was still sitting on it, doing her thing. She made a face into the mirror and then turned it up to magnification ten. Frightening, she thought to herself and laughed again. When she spotted the automatic manicure machine, she had to try it. She pushed the button for color selection and stuck her fingers in. In a few seconds, the machine shut off and her manicure was perfect. Her hair looked a little droopy she thought, so she tried the curling machine. It worked perfect too. now I really look great she thought, while looking in the mirror. She turned the mirror up to maximum magnification like Marie had done. She watched the blood flow through her face corpuscles. It was like watching a complex fluid control network. She turned the mirror back to one, made one last check on her appearance and left the room closing the door behind her.

The sphere seemed to be changing direction thought Allen, because he felt some outward pressure or centrifugal force. Soft music was playing during the interlude. Sarah and Marie were busy helping to reload the cameras. They were talking and laughing while doing their work. Look at Allen, said Sarah. He was, it seemed, in deep concentration about something. He didn't even know anyone was looking at him. Allen was wondering how they were going to see Balenn, if it was invisible to the human eye. It had to be astral travel the thought to himself, how else could they see it? Beenan overheard his thoughts and answered, yes, it will be a form of astral travel, he said, but we will assist. There will be no more to it, than there was transposing here. Oh good, replied Allen. Sorry to be thinking so loudly. Beem chuckled. There is no such thing as a loud thought, but I know what you mean. Don't worry about the astral trip. It will work just fine.

Kelly came back into the room, still chuckling to herself about the washroom. You guys look so serious, she said, is there a problem? No, not really, said Allen, we were just discussing astral travel, etc. Oh, that does not sound too serious to me. Lots of people are doing it these days. Have you ever tried it, Allen asked? No, but I would not mind trying it some time. You may get your chance sooner than you think. Part of our tour here, is an astral trip. It is the only way we will get to see the Ehesti as they really are. Okay with me, said Kelly, but I'll need some instructions. Kirby and the girls came back in. Cameras all reloaded and ready, said Allen. how long until show time Bishop, asked Allen? Any time now, answered Bishop, if possible, could you all remain seated for this next display? Move your chairs over by the sphere edge if you like, but try to remain seated. Everyone was a little anxious now, following that request. Marie was wondering just what might happen if they didn't remain seated. Allen was expecting the sphere to shake or lurch enough to knock things over. He moved his chair over to the sphere edge. He helped Sarah and Marie move their chairs over closer also. Okay, fasten your seat-belts, joked Cliff. We’re ready for blast off.

It started with a music change. The sound of wind and rustling leaves emerged, accompanied by an organ like, background music. The pale blue again gave way to what looked like miles and miles of white sand dunes, spreading all directions. They were of various sizes, but all well rounded and wind eroded. No sign of tracks or marks of any Kind appeared in the sand. An orange sun, like on Saturn, shone over the dunes. At first glance, there appeared to be no sign of life on this barren landscape. The only obvious sign of motion was the sand blowing off the peaks of the dunes. There were indentations in the sand running between each dune, as though someone had walked between them before the sand storm came. Waves of heat could be seen rising up off the sand.

Allen made a note of the fact that all the dunes were of equal height and size. Normal sand erosion would tend to create uneven dunes. It would even bury some of them. He stared intensely at the closest dune. It seemed to have a ring around it, a few centimeters down from the top. On the down beat of the music, all the caps of the sand dunes flipped open, like the lid on an army tank. Blue shafts of light protruded skyward, from each dune. The sight gave the impression that there was a brightly lit city down below the sand dunes and someone had just opened up all the vents to let some fresh air in. Although the light was mostly blue, like the appearance of clean burning gas, it was competing with a less intense yellow light. The sound of music and laughter came up. It was to add to the illusion of the underground city, thought Cliff. There is probably no one around at all. The intensity of the light diminished and the noise stopped. A green dot rose up in the light shaft and settled on the sand next to each shaft. The dune caps closed. The green dots began to fly. They looked like lime green fireflies. They flew around in formation for a while, like fighter planes. They swooped lower and lower, until they crashed right through the dunes, leaving holes in them, like fearless Fosdick, the cartoon character.

 Soon the sand dunes were riddled with holes. The entire scene looked more like a giant chunk of cheese. Each hole, that the green dot had made, emitted light just like the dunes. If there are people down there, thought Cliff, they must be well ventilated by now. Maybe they are preparing for rain he thought, and this is how they let the rain in. The green dots regrouped and stood by, while, in each hole, blue foam rose to the surface. Out of this foam popped flowers of all colors and shapes, until you could no longer see sand, just a massive display of flowers, like in the Bouchard Gardens. The green dots swooped down and each dot picked a flower of a different specimen. They approached the sphere. As they approached, everyone could see that they were not just green dots, but little men and women, dressed in green, like leprechauns. The men all had beards and the women all had braids. They were grinning from ear to ear, as though they had just found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. They all had red hair. Their belt buckles were sparkling silver and they all wore shiny black boots. Their green outfits were, dark green on the top and lighter green below the waist. Their Robin Hood style hats were emerald green with a black satin band. The point on the hats held a small broach; each one was in the sitting position, as if resting on an invisible stool.

The girls were taking pictures frantically of these loveable little creatures. The leprechauns floated right up to the sphere, next to everyone watching, each still holding a flower, while smiling and waving. They floated around, like they were in space; forming different patterns. One of the patterns they formed was the flag of British Columbia. They positioned themselves around their sun, with each leprechaun becoming a spoke of light ray, projecting outward from the sun. They returned to the front of the sphere and formed together, in the shape of the Canadian Maple Leaf. They dispersed and re-assembled next to the sphere, queued up, as if waiting for a bus. The only leprechaun with a red feather in his cap, moved right up to the sphere, passed right through the glass and floated around inside the sphere with everyone. As he passed through the wall of the sphere, it dented inward, but no opening was visible. He didn't hit the sphere head on, but entered sideways, as though he was passing through a very narrow doorway. He smiled at everyone and did a few cartwheels across the room in mid-air. His feet never touched the ground at all. He continued his display by spreading his arms and flying around like an airplane. He stopped in the middle of the group and resumed his sitting position, on the invisible stool. Hello, he said, in a high pitched voice. Welcome to Balenn. He glided over to the center of the room and left his flower on the coffee table. He then exited the sphere the same way, only about twenty feet from where he had come in.

The other leprechauns followed his path inside the sphere, dropped their flower and left where their leader did. There were thirty of them altogether and each one left a different flower and had a different thing to say. One said "Joy to You", another said; "Follow your dreams", etc. like children that had rehearsed their lines for a play. They floated by each person in the sphere and shook hands. It was a funny feeling shaking such a tiny hand, thought Kirby. He was trying not to hold their hands too tightly, they seemed so fragile. Marie was very impressed. She loved tiny things, including children. The leprechauns regrouped and lined up to exit. They finally all left, leaving a pile of beautiful flowers behind. They flew around their sand dunes and flowers, faster and faster, until everything started to spin. The spinning dunes diminished in size and disappeared like water pouring down the sink drain.

The outside returned to pale blue and the music returned to it's steady pace. Everyone applauded loudly. The flowers were too nice to leave alone. Cliff and the girls sniffed them and picked them up. Each one was still alive and full of its perfume. The girls gathered some of them together and put them in vase shaped objects that were on various shelves around the sphere. Kelly tried to arrange them artistically with color co-ordination. She kept the reddish colors in one section and the blue colors in another, etc. When she returned the vases to their respective places, her artistry was more evident, Each set of three vases in succession, carried one color. The outside edges of the outside vases in the set, contained flowers the color of the next set of three and so on. The colors seemed to flow into one another. The perfume from the flowers filled the sphere, but not too strong, like with a deodorizer.

Boy, those little guys were sure cute, said Marie. They passed through our sphere, like it wasn't even here. She pushed on the sphere while saying it. It gave like elastic. Oh, she jumped back. I thought it would be hard like glass. Everyone snickered at her reaction. She laughed at herself too and at the same time pushed it again. It sprung back as soon as she released the pressure. It might not be solid like glass, said Sarah, but it is definitely solid. Those leprechauns couldn't have been physical and still pass through a solid object, could they? She was looking at Beem. You shook their hands when they left, replied Beem. Did they not feel physical? Before Sarah could reply, Beem continued. You will see many more sights today that seem impossible. Make a note of your skepticism and later we will try to explain how it all works.

What's up next hollered Cliff, as if Bishop was hard of hearing? Don't be so rude, said Sarah. Bishop will come on in good time. The music died down. No problem, said Bishop, I was about to speak to you anyway. I believe it is about noon and time for lunch. We have a surprise for you, for lunch, if you are ready. Give us five minutes before you start, please, asked Allen? Five minutes it is, said Bishop. Please keep the center area of the living room cleared for this event.

The music came back up. Allen took this opportunity to hit the sand box. Cliff and Kirby decided to take a second look at some of the flowers. They noted no sign of insects on any of the flowers. The blue flowers that looked somewhat like giant Snapdragons seemed to move when you squeezed the stem. The reddish group, were also peculiar, in that they looked like watertight vessels. The flower petals did not separate except near the mouth of the vessel. They felt soapy to the touch. Sarah and Kelly helped clear the center of the living room as Bishop had requested. Marie was chatting with Beem and Bo about the sphere they were in. Bo was explaining how the sphere was made, from all pliable substances, so that no one could hurt themselves in it. It certainly works well enough, said Marie. It is quite comfortable in here and it feels secure.

The music died down again. Please take your seats, asked Bishop. Lunch is about to be served. Everyone hurried excitedly, to their seats. I'll have a Big Mac and a side of fries joked Cliff. Allen replied; we'll have to make sure that, when diplomatic ties are established between Balenn and Earth, we get permission to open up a McDonalds on Balenn first thing. I think that could be arranged, said Beenan, but you would have to let us open up a business on earth in exchange. We could use a solid structure that will withstand centuries of use, for a transpose terminal. It would be sort of a direct line to Balenn. That sounds like a fair trade to me, said Allen jokingly. The music came back up.

Outside the sphere appeared a cluster of thousands of tiny stars, as the sky darkened. The stars grouped themselves into what appeared to be a circular buffet table with short legs. The table and its legs appeared to be made from cut diamonds. They twinkled with every motion. As it moved closer to the sphere, it left a vapor trail behind it, like a comet. It hovered outside the sphere for a few moments, like a helicopter, waiting for further instructions. It approached the glass wall, tipped on its side and proceeded to pass right through into the sphere. It centered itself over the cleared spot and lowered itself down slowly. It never quite touched the ground, but stabilized itself about fifty millimeters off the floor. The table surface was reflective and convex, giving anything near it a larger look. The legs were curved, like a piece of antique furniture. Although it hovered just above the floor, it remained quite stable. Kirby pushed down lightly on the table, but it didn't move. He tried again, harder, but still no movement. It feels like it is resting on solid, invisible spacers, he said. Allen examined it closely, with his scientific mind. It will be interesting to see how the food gets here, he commented, although nothing would surprise me. He thought he saw motion on its surface.

There appeared to be tiny flaws in the glass. The flaws began to grow. They grew larger and larger, until they erupted like a volcano; only the volcano became a dish, knife, fork and serviette. Nine place settings appeared around the crystal table. It looks like you are having your question answered now, said Kelly. I wonder if we are supposed to order what we want, or if we take what it gives us? You'll have to take what you get for this meal, replied Beem. Your main meal, at supper, will have all the variety you could want. There are still other flaws in the glass, that haven't done anything yet, said Allen. I'll bet that's where our food comes from. The inner flaws began to expand and erupt also. One became a huge salad bowl, one became a plate of garlic toasted rolls; one became a bowl of chili and finally nine individual glasses of clear wine. The chill was steaming hot and the rolls were just a little cooler.

Cliff had grabbed his video camera as soon as the buzzing sound occurred and had a good film of the entire event. He kept his camera in his hand for a few minutes after Jelly left, just in case there was a quick follow-up. There wasn't, so he put it down and returned to his lunch. Everything was still as warm as when lunch began. Cliff had neglected his lunch to capture it all on film. In his enthusiasm, he forgot his lunch for a while. He looked around and he was the only one left eating. No need to hurry, said Bo, there is still lots of time. I'm beginning to understand why you chose those Sasquatch bodies now, said Cliff. Sometimes, it is advantageous not to have to eat. He put aside his equipment and decided to finish. Everyone had pretty well finished their lunch and some were snacking on fruit and nuts. They had put their plates down the slot in the table, when they finished, so all that remained left on the table, were the glasses and dessert.

Cliff hurried to finish his chili. He put his plate down the slot. I have to ask about your terrific dishwasher, said Kelly to Beenan. I thought one of you might, replied Beenan. This dishwasher, as you call it, works on molecular control, just like everything else on Balenn. The dishes merely disperse their molecules, as we do, when we transpose. The plates are made the same way. We fabricate them, as we need them. We could sure use one of these at my place, said Kelly. It would cost us a fortune in dishes though. Thanks for explaining it. Beenan smiled and nodded his head.

 Now that all the plates were done, down the slot, the crystal table, being about two meters in diameter, moved again. The table reduced its diameter, by one half, down to one meter. The hovering glasses, etc, moved inward toward the table and repositioned themselves on the smaller table. This smaller table was touching the floor, not hovering like before. It took up very little space now, so everyone could get up and walk around. Now there's another neat trick, said Kelly. This molecular power you have makes everything to simple. I feel like an African native must feel, when he first enters someone's home in the city. He would be overwhelmed at the gadgetry and automation, just as I can't believe what I see here. Get it all on film, said Marie, so people will believe you when you speak of it.

Kirby decided to inspect the table further. He reached over and grabbed one of the legs firmly. He let go rather quickly, but not as quickly as from an electrical shock. The crystal felt like soap. It is as if I grabbed a bar of wet soap, he said. Try it Allen. Allen bent down and touched it with one finger. He moved his finger around a little. You are right. It feels like wet soap, but it sure doesn't look like soap.

They tested the surface of the table also. This feels like talcum powder. Cliff knocked his knuckles on the table, to see how much impact it could take. It caved in, like it was made of warm wax, but it returned to its shape within two seconds. The same stuff as the sphere, said Cliff. Is that right; he looked at Beenan? That is correct, smiled Beenan. There is nothing in this sphere that can break on impact. When we build a life support system, we try to make it close to the same texture as the bodies of the people who would occupy it. This reduces the possibility of injury by a large percentage. Although there is much that appears to be glass here, like the sphere and the mirrors in the bathroom, none of it will break, like your glass.

When you see Balenn, on the astral trip, you will see much more that looks like crystal, but is not. It is your human eyes that see the crystal. When you see all this with your astral eyes, it will look quite different. We will show you some of the regions on Balenn, using this sphere to get you there. When we astral travel, we will return to these regions, so you can see the difference. Will we remain in this sphere until it's time for that astral trip, asked Marie? Yes, replied Beenan, except for one journey, in which you will have your own individual spheres. That sounds neat, said Marie. Where will we go, with them? I don't want to spoil the surprise, replied Beenan, so just be patient for a while longer. When do we go on this astral trip, asked Cliff?

Bishop, are you there, asked Beenan? Yes, I am, he replied melodiously. Your astral trip will be the last item on your schedule, before you return to earth. That will be about seven p.m. on your watch, about six hours from now. Before six hours is up, we hope to entertain you with equally enjoyable escapades in the sphere. We haven't shown you how fast this sphere can travel through space; we have been only idling along so far. You don't want to miss the castle either. We have lots more entertainment for you, so relax and enjoy.

The music came back up. Let's talk about circus rides for a moment, interrupted Beenan. How do you people feel about the various rides at a fair? Do you go on them? I do, said Kelly. I enjoy the ones that don't go round and around. I like the Ferris wheel and some others. What about the rest of you, asked Beenan? I go once in a while, replied Marie, but I'm too old for that now. Are you going to take us to a circus, asked Cliff, grinning with anticipation? No, not quite, replied Beenan. I was leading up to the anti-gravity ride in the wind tunnel. That sounds even better, said Cliff. When do we go? Soon, replied Beenan. Beenan telepathically warned Beem and Bo of what was coming up. Allen heard it too.

Kirby went back into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. He found he almost leaped four feet in the air, with just the effort of getting up. The gravity force has been reduced to fifty percent, said Beenan, just to give you a new perception on things. He tried to walk normal, but every step was a broad jump. Everyone started laughing and they all got up and started jumping around and laughing; like children jumping on a springy bed. It was difficult to stop the jumping, but soon everyone adjusted to it and moved very slowly. Cliff found that, by keeping his feet close to the ground, he didn't tend to lift up so much. The others copied his motions. After about ten minutes, everyone had adjusted perfectly and there was no more jumping and jerking. This is a weird feeling, said Kelly. It won't hurt us, will it? Not a bit, said Beem. It will give your heart a rest and increase your circulation. When you sit, your blood will not be restricted as much and you will feel much better in about half an hour. It kind of makes you feel giddy, suggested Sarah. That effect will wear off soon, said Beem. We are adding a little more oxygen to the air as well, said Bo, to make you a little more alert. There is one other advantage to reduced gravity, said Allen. No wrinkles. Your facial wrinkles are caused by the tug of gravity on your skin. Take a look in the mirror, if you think I'm joking. He's right, said Cliff. We learned that from the space flights. Marie felt her face. It doesn't feel any different, she said, as she felt for wrinkles. You're not old enough to have wrinkles in the first place, said Cliff. You say the nicest things, she returned jokingly. Bishop's voice came up again. I wonder if one of you wrinkle-free people would mind clearing the table of anything you would like to keep. I'll get it, said Kirby, as he grabbed the tray of goodies and fruit. Okay, take it away, he shouted. The table faded away along with everything that was left on it. The music faded again.