It did sound half-mad. It wasn't the idea of other planets, even inhabited planets, that was beyond belief--the arrival of the Votans all those years ago proved that there were other civilizations out there, and if one star system could support life and complex societies it followed there might be others. But for a human to travel to and fro between Earth and this hypothetical other planet, that stretched credulity.

But then, he's seen a lot of things in his life he'd previously thought unbelievable.

"I'm listening."