It did not terrify Cantrell to know he was up so high and going so fast; going higher and faster than any human before him. He would be up even higher the next day; he remembered; going so high and so fast he would not come down again.
It would be a shame to leave Earth; he knew. There was security in her firmness; with no great space underfoot through which to drop down; down; down. Up here there was emptiness all around. Emptiness and; except for the dull throb of the rocket engines; silence. Out there—he looked up—there would be a greater emptiness; a greater silence; an infinity of nothingness in all directions.
It did not terrify Cantrell to know he was up so high and going so fast; going higher and faster than any human before him. He would be up even higher the next day; he remembered; going so high and so fast he would not come down again.
It would be a shame to leave Earth; he knew. There was security in her firmness; with no great space underfoot through which to drop down; down; down. Up here there was emptiness all around. Emptiness and; except for the dull throb of the rocket engines; silence. Out there—he looked up—there would be a greater emptiness; a greater silence; an infinity of nothingness in all directions.