Lehal Library

The glowing figure began to move. I stayed close by until suddenly it started to dwindle. My response was automatic. The energy pattern of the Earth dissolved into blackness ... then out of the blackness a landscape emerged. Just ahead of me, the glowing INSPEC waited motionless. We were some thousand feet over a wide valley, which appeared to be eight to ten miles long and about five miles wide. Snowcapped peaks surrounded the valley on three sides. Beyond the open side were forests and fields extending to the horizon. A bright sun hung in a blue sky studded with small cumulus clouds. Directly below us was what appeared to be a large settlement stretching nearly to the base of the mountains. There was a mass of trees of a variety of shapes and sizes with variegated foliage in every possible shade of green. Among the trees was a complex and extensive network of narrow paths. But there were no houses or buildings, no smoke or smog. The air was totally clean and clear. I turned to the INSPEC.