energy to power their hyperspace drive and their weapons: the Wanderer is running on empty. As alien as Tigerishka is, Paul becomes besotted with her. Tigerishka eventually yields to his advances. At the same time, Don Merriam has been rescued with his ship by the Wanderer's other spaceships. He is reunited with Paul aboard Tigerishka's ship. Now they must testify in the Wanderer's trial, for the police have arrived. A second planet, "The Stranger", colored a dull gray where the Wanderer is bright purple and yellow, appears and threatens battle. Don and Paul give their testimony as to the good treatment they have seen, along with thousands of other humans appearing by some kind of holographic projection. However the trial goes badly. Paul and Don are evacuated in Don's ship, placed into position close to Earth by Tigerishka. Tigerishka takes Miaow with her back to her planet. Then the final battle takes place, and both planets disappear. In the final scene, Margo and her companions walk to Vandenberg Spaceport as Don's ship comes in to land. Characters The three friends Margo Gelhorn, Paul Hagbolt and Donald Merriam have been friends since High School. Don became an astronaut, and Paul followed him into NASA by using his journalism qualifications to become a publicist for the agency. Margo eventually bestowed her affections on Don and became his fiancee. This left Paul with unrequited feelings for her, although Margo tells Paul that his feelings for Don are "more than brotherly". The three form an odd triangle. Margo herself is manipulative and exploits both Paul and Don to serve her ends. Don is a loner at heart, however. The triangle is set to fly apart. Their collision with the Saucer Symposium provides the trigger. The Saucer Symposium When Paul and Margo encounter the Saucer Symposium on the beach near Vandenberg, they give the participants nicknames. "Doc" (Rudolf Brecht) is a relentless debunker of UFO myths and a top-notch piano salesman. He is one of the symposium organizers and chairmen. "Turban" (Rama Joan) is a mystic who wears a turban and a man's tuxedo. She was once the wife of a New York stockbroker but abandoned the comfortable lifestyle to lecture on mysticism and participate in events like the Symposium as a search for enlightenment. "Beardy" (Prof. Ross Hunter) is a sociologist from Oregon State University. He originally began studying UFO groups but became interested