universe, was the Moon, together with approximately 
three hundred men and women of Moonbase Alpha.
   Ever since the Moon had been torn from its orbit 
around the Earth and had been wandering out of 
control through the widths of the Milky Way, such an 
intense blackness had never before appeared on the 
screen. A near infinite number of points of light had 
always broken up the cosmic darkness - the near and 
far stars of their home galaxy, glittering symbols of 
hope, of their ability to find a new homeland. 
   Now however, everything had changed. The driving 
Moon had breached the border regions of the Milky 
Way and gone outside into intergalactic space. Only 
a few infinitesimal light spots gleamed in the 
blackness. And these points of light were not individual 
suns, but conglomerations of millions and hundreds of 
millions of stars in other galaxies, far, far removed, 
unattainable for the crew of the Moonbase. 
   The last hope of the Alphans had evaporated. At the 
edge of the Milky Way they had discovered a planet that 
apparently met all their desires for settlement. Then, 
however, this planet on which their research ships had 
landed had proven as hostile to life as all the others 
previously. They had been forced, again, to leave the 
planet. And now they would find no more new ones.
   Out and past. . .
   A peculiar atmosphere had spread through the base. 
The certainty that they would never again enter near 
the proximity of a planet, let alone the knowledge of 
the energy supplies rapidly running short, all leading 
to death as a result - all this had caused

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