Because I can't. I... had an experience... I can't prove it, I can't even explain it, but...

Panel member:Doctor Arroway, you come to us with no evidence, no record, no artifacts. Only a story that to put it mildly strains credibility. Over half a trillion dollars was spent, dozens of lives were lost. Are you really going to sit there and tell us we should just take this all... on faith?Michael Kitz:Please answer the question, doctor.Ellie Arroway:Is it possible that it didn't happen? Yes. As a scientist, I must concede that, I must volunteer that.Michael Kitz:Wait a minute, let me get this straight. You admit that you have absolutely no physical evidence to back up your story.Ellie Arroway:Yes.Michael Kitz:You admit that you very well may have hallucinated this whole thing.Ellie Arroway:Yes.Michael Kitz:You admit that if you were in our position, you would respond with exactly the same degree of incredulity and skepticism!Ellie Arroway:Yes!Michael Kitz: Then why don't you simply withdraw your testimony, and concede that this "journey to the center of the galaxy," in fact, never took place!Ellie Arroway:Because I can't. I... had an experience... I can't prove it, I can't even explain it, but everything that I know as a human being, everything that I am tells me that it was real! I was given something wonderful, something that changed me forever... A vision... of the universe, that tells us, undeniably, how tiny, and insignificant and how... rare, and precious we all are! A vision that tells us that we belong to something that is greater than ourselves, that we are *not*, that none of us are alone! I wish... I... could share that... I wish, that everyone, if only for one... moment, could feel... that awe, and humility, and hope. But... That continues to be my wish