Each one was a hero. Their contribution to science and space exploration will never be forgotten.

NASA spent millions of dollars inventing the ball-point pen so they could write in space. The Russians took a pencil.

A blade of grass is a commonplace on Earth; it would be a miracle on Mars. Our descendants on Mars will know the value of a patch of green. And if a blade of grass is priceless, what is the value of a human being?

So. Our little pearl of warmth, our spinning orrery of lives, our island, our beloved solar system, our hearth and home, tight and burnished in the warmth of the sun—and then—these starships we are making out of Nix. We will send them to the stars, they will be like dandelion seeds, floating away on a breeze. Very beautiful. We will never see them again.

From this day forward, the benefits of any agreements we reach will flow only to those nations that abide by our democratic clause,

I will fulfill my mandate and focus entirely on governing from now until February 2004 -- at which time my work will be done and at which time my successor will be chosen,