Finally, Wilder meets a Martian. Each sees the Mars he is accustomed to: Wilder sees ruins, while the Martian argues the presence of a festival. The other person is transparent to him and has the appearance of a phantom. Neither knows if he precedes the other in time, as they each argue that the other resides far in the past. The point here is that any one civilization is ultimately fleeting. Wilder then takes his family into the ruins of a Martian city, saying that they will live there and learn the Martian way. The first night, he burns the copies of and "The Wealth of Nations." After promising his family the sight of real Martians, he points into a pool of water at the family's reflection to state, ""Those" are the Martians", thus indicating that the humans will be the new citizens of Mars. Finally, he pushes a button on his remote control to blow up the last remaining rocketship which could return them to Earth.