The Milky Way And A Moment

Poul Anderson, Harvest The Fire, Chapter 9.

While on the hull of a spaceship, a man sees the universe:

"...an abyss where stars beyond counting burned and the Milky Way cataracted frosty through silence." (p. 146)

- and reflects:

"There was no moment of revelation, yet there was a moment when he realized that something irreversible had taken place." (ibid.)

But we will not be told what has taken place until it it is time for us to know. Not a revelation but an Andersonian moment of realization nevertheless.