 Why is Peter's status so important when he wakes up?
Outside, the stars were as before: tiny, myriad points of light, infinitely far away. It was I who had changed: something inside me was dead, like the machinery, and like Peter. I do not think it was what Peter called an emotion; and yet it had nothing to do with logic, either. It was just an emptiness—a void that could not be filled by eating or drinking. I did not even wish that Peter were not dead, for reason had told me that he had to die. But the void was still there, unexplainable and impossible to ignore. Then there would remain only the task of blasting the great, shining ship out into the carefully-calculated orbit that would be its home. He could see, too, the level on level of laboratories and storerooms that filled its interlocking segments; the meteor deflectors, the air renewal system, the mighty engines at the stern—all the children of his brain. The ship would be filled with the sounds of busy men and women, wresting secrets from the reluctant ether. He stared at them dully, and then he reached over to the newsbox on his desk, and switched it on. NO COMMUNICATION FROM ANTARCTICA IN 6 HOURS STRANGE FORCE DEFLECTS PLANES FROM SAHARA AREA WORLD POLICE MOBILIZING The item below the last one said: Pacifica, June 7—The World Police are mobilizing, for the first time in fifty years. The order was made public early this morning by R. Stein, Secretary of the Council, who said in part: "The reason for this ... order must be apparent to all civilized peoples. "The peoples of the world, then, know what they are, and know that we face the most momentous struggle in our history. "Since the Invaders first appeared in Wood River, Oregon, 24 hours ago, they have not once acknowledged our attempts to communicate, or in any way taken notice of our existence as reasoning beings. They have treated us precisely as we, in less enlightened days, might have treated a newly-discovered race of lower animals. They have examined us, dissected us, driven us mad, killed us with no discernable provocation; and this is more intolerable than any normal invasion. "I have no fear that the people of Earth will fail to meet this challenge, for there is no alternative. Not only our individual lives are threatened, but our existence as a race.
 He's a scientist. Scientists are part of the last hope as people who could potentially piece together how to fight the aliens.
 He's one of the few people to have survived an encounter with the aliens.  He's a scientist. Scientists are part of the last hope as people who could potentially piece together how to fight the aliens.  He's a scientist. Scientists are part of the last hope as people who could lead a new life in the underground.  He's one of the few survivors of the new world. They need every healthy person they can get.