 What isn't a reason that Charlie came to visit?
And yet, at the same time, to be filled with a terrible, gnawing fear—a fear locked in my mind during the day and bursting out like an evil jack-in-the-box at night. They're going to bring us the metals and minerals that we desperately need. They're going to find new land for our colonists, good rich land that will bear food and be a home for our children. And perhaps most important of all, they'll make other men think of the stars and look up at them and feel humility—for mankind needs humility." My parents had died in a strato-jet crash when I was four, so I hadn't needed many of those "You are cordially invited" cards. Just one, which I'd sent to Charlie Taggart. I remembered how, as a kid, I'd pestered him in the Long Island Spaceport, tagging after him like a puppy, and how he'd grown to like me until he became father, mother, and buddy all in one to me. They expect us to make a new kind of civilization and a better place out of Earth. And you, Laura, were with him. Charlie scorned the skin-tight uniforms of the government service and wore a shiny black suit that was a relic of Everson's early-day Moon Patrol. You shook hands and said, softly: "It's a privilege to meet you, Charlie. "Charlie has only twenty-four hours liberty. "Ben," he called, "don't forget that offer. A moment later Mickey said, frowning, "What was he talking about, Ben? That's what most of you want, isn't it? I looked at you as if you were Everson himself, because you seemed to understand the hunger that could lie in a man's heart. Then your last words came back and jabbed me: "That's what Mickey used to want." Charlie was muttering under his breath, smoldering like a bomb about to reach critical mass. They were simple and solid and settled, like green growing things, deep-rooted, belonging to Earth. Afterward, you and I walked onto the terrace, into the moonlit night, to watch for crimson-tailed continental rockets that occasionally streaked up from White Sands. Charlie doesn't like to be sentimental, at least not on the outside. You kept looking at me until I had to ask: "What are you thinking, Laura?"
 he wanted to convince him to stay on Earth
 he wanted to convince him to stay on Earth  he cared for him like a father  he wanted to celebrate Ben's graduation  he wanted to say goodbye