When Ransom was regaining conscious, he found himself in a dark, hot room with a severe headache. On one side of the room it was very dark, and on the other side was bright light with star, moon-like objects, and he had a bruised left eye. That atypical ambiance drew him up to a sitting position. He was recovering pretty quickly. When he tried to stand up, the sharp contact with the skylight flung him down on the floor. He felt an unnatural lightness of body and heart. Another curious observation was that the room was walled and floored with metal, and was in continuous vibration.

As he continues to regain his senses, he realized that he was not in a house, but an airship. So why was there a moon? Walking toward Nadderby, there was no moon—why would there a moon now? So he becomes frightened to the point where his hair moved on his scalp. At that moment, he heard the sound of an opening door, which calmed his fear a bit. When he turned his head, it was Weston, who informs him, as his request, it is the earth instead of the moon that he saw.