noon
The control room clocks moved steadily on , counting off the minutes and hours of the trip . The ship entered , then emerged from subspace and went into deceleration orbit around a blue and green world which Barrent observed with mixed emotions . He found it hard to realize that he was returning at last to Earth . The starship landed at noon on a brilliant sunlit day , somewhere on Earth 's North American continent . Barrent had planned on waiting for darkness before leaving ; but the control room screens flashed an ancient and ironic warning : _ All passengers and crew must disembark at once . Ship rigged for full decontamination procedure . Twenty minutes .