In the Virginia countryside, Tuesday…

"There's that. There's also disease. They aren't protected from viruses and bacteria out there. Malaria, polio - you know all about them. You're not protected because we're trying to insure that you don't take any of that out to the stars. Just the pure human stock, boys and girls, just the pure stuff."

It was a favorite theme of his. RP1 thought Dr. Tyler even looked fatherly as he smiled first at RP1 and then the rest. He was a big Santa Claus of a man, with a bulbous nose with veins standing out on it, and large black bushy eyebrows flecked with white. His hair was graying around the ears, too. He had a big Santa Claus belly which also shook when he laughed, which was often. He just didn't have a beard.

RP1 knew better than to believe in Santa Claus. He read the e-zines and watched the newsnets channels, even though they were pre-recorded and censored for them (the Center staff called it 'editing'). The world was indeed a mixed-up place. That's why he was sometimes scared of Dr. Tyler. RP1 knew Santa Claus really didn't exist.

"So why did they leave?" asked RP1.

"I don't know. Maybe some of you know more than me. I'd like to think that they just wanted to get out and explore."

"Maybe they thought we're in a prison," observed SW2. "People try to escape from prisons."