‘Yes, there is,’ Ralph replied. ‘When we came here, I thought this was another world. But if these are the same stars and planets we have at home, then this is our home.’
Ralph and Doc both turned to Pran, expecting an explanation. But he said, ‘There is no point in asking me to make explanation when I can provide you with none. I used to ponder upon such things myself, and have never yet heard any given reason that rings truly in my ears, or satisfies my mind. For this, my friends, I have no answer.’
Doc then recalled a letter he had received from a certain linguist, concerning the two tongues spoken by Malina. And he wondered to himself whether he and his friends now walked in some forgotten avenue of the past, or whether this was in truth no world at all, but rather a dream, seemingly with no waking.
An hour or so later, the road cut sharply left and rose steeply, then turned right and levelled off once more. The perpetual roar of the river, as it tore through its constricted throat of rock, suddenly diminished as the road left it behind. The surrounding ambience, too, had changed, as the left bank had disappeared, replaced by a flat, wide open space. It was hard to tell in the dark, but the ground seemed entirely covered by thick grass, and around the perimeter of the cleared space, the shadow of an evergreen forest blocked out the starlight along the horizon.