 Morbius describes how, one by one, the rest of the expedition was killed by a "planetary force" and that their starship, the "Bellerophon", was vaporized as the last survivors tried to lift off.Only Morbius, his wife (who later died of natural causes), and their daughter Altaira were somehow immune.Morbius offers to help them prepare to return home, but Adams says he must await further instructions from Earth.