When the Atlas came silently out of the sky, landing cloaked in the Campbells' front yard, Christine made them all have lunch before Dr. Ranon and Sally left.
"This is really the best food I've ever had," Dr. Ranon said.
"Right," Christine said, not believing him. "Surely they could make food better in the future."
"Actually, all our food is synthetically replicated. Not quite the same as the real thing."
"Oh," Christine said, "I see."
"But it suits our nutritional and economical needs," Dr. Ranon added.
When they had all finished their meals, Dr. Ranon and Sally packed up their possessions and stored them in the shuttle. Dr. Ranon then prepared the shuttle for departure.
The Campbell family, Professor Farrell, Ben, and Anna and Daniel, who had come over, watched as Dr. Ranon and Sally entered the Atlas.
Dr. Ranon and Sally stopped inside and turned around. "Thank you, all of you, for all your help."
"Don't mention it," Christine said.
"It was worth it," Professor Farrell said.
"I hope we see each other again some day," Dr. Ranon said. "Perhaps some time you could come and visit the 24th century."
James was about to question the safety of such a visit, when Dr. Ranon continued: "If we can find a way to properly solve this paradox, that is. At any rate, now that you all know about us, coming to visit the future can't make things much worse."
"Maybe some day," Nathan agreed.
"Feel free to drop by some time," Christine added. "Even if we can't visit the future, you can at least come and visit us again."
"We'll see," Dr. Ranon said.
Dr. Ranon and Sally turned and entered the shuttle's inner compartment. Sally waved as she pressed the button to close the door. Instantly the door vanished behind the cloaking device.
They could all hear the soft humming of the shuttle's engines, as it lifted itself from the ground and sped into the sky.
There was nothing more to see, so they all went indoors.

"I can provide accommodation for Ben for the moment," Professor Farrell said to Nathan and Christine. "We'll see what happens from there."
"Good," Nathan said. "Come, I'll take you and Ben to your house."
In the meantime, Daniel walked home, and James and Anna talked for a while.
"My parents won't be coming home until tomorrow," Anna said. "They don't know where I've been." "At least you're in a fairly comfortable position," James said. "So, if you want to, you can always come over and visit us."
"Don't worry," Anna replied. "I'll be back." She began to walk to the door. "I'd better be off for now."
"Okay." James opened the door for her. "I'll see you later then."
Anna turned to him and kissed him, then walked out of the doorway. She waved as she passed along the path, going home.
James waved back until she was out of sight. He looked outside for a moment, his gaze drifting up into the sky, as he thought about the strange things that were out there.
Then he closed the door and went back inside.
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