ready to adopt those human manners, methods, and institutions which seem useful to them. This is especially true of the Royal Giants of the Trapezus, who have a settled existence in their caves. They derive their livelihood by a kind of agriculture, and their lichen terraces are extremely interesting. They are a gentle folk, and arouse themselves only against the rogues and outcasts who are of course much less amiable.
“I am sure we shall profit by our visit to Sirius Planet; more than this, we may be able to implant some glimmer of our musical heritage into a people curiously deficient in this regard. Who knows? Perhaps our visit will trigger a complete revolution in the life of the byzantaurs!”
Dame Isabel had a few more words to say: “You may well feel a certain awkwardness in performing before an alien people. All I can say is: do your best! We may of course make a few minor changes to conform with local sensibilities; you may feel a certain emptiness or lack of responsiveness in the audience — again all I say is: do your best!”
During the remarks of Dame Isabel and Bernard Bickel, Roger had sat to the back of the saloon, gloomily drinking champagne. Earlier, he had attempted to see Madoc Roswyn, but, as on all his previous attempts, she had refused to speak with him. Tiring of the babble and laughter, he left the saloon, paced the circumference of the ship, through each of the five globes and connecting tubes. Passing the bridge his spirits were not raised by the sight of Madoc Roswyn and Captain Gondar standing together by the forward port, looking ahead toward Sirius — or rather toward that image of Sirius converted by a dephasing mechanism from the compressed columns of light impinging upon the ship from ahead, and projected upon a screen. Captain Gondar had given over his office to Neil Henderson the Chief Technician, and moved Madoc Roswyn into the cabin thus vacated; she was wearing a pale blue coverall from the ship’s stores.
Roger watched them for a few seconds. They were engaged in earnest conversation: a matter apparently concerning the route of the ship, for as Roger watched, Captain Gondar pointed off to the right of Sirius and Madoc Roswyn followed the line of his finger with her eyes.
Logan de Appling, the astrogator, appeared in the corridor: a slender young man with a craggy face, a poet’s mop of curly brown hair, bright blue eyes. He looked at the bridge, shook his head in deprecation. “Do you know what I think?” he told Roger. “Captain Gondar is besotted. That’s what I think.” He turned swiftly and walked away.
Chapter VI
Sirius Planet hung ahead, a dim gray world with heavy caps of overcast at the poles, a series of shallow equatorial seas, a pair of major land-masses, consisting of flat gray plains, mountain chains and smouldering volcanoes. The Phoebus swung in orbit twenty thousand miles above the planet; Captain Gondar located Sirius Settlement and radioed down a notification of arrival.
Acknowledgement and landing clearance presently returned; Gondar fed an appropriate landing program into the automatic pilot; the Phoebus veered off and down at a slant.
The dim gray ball grew larger, atmosphere soughed and hissed around the ship. Sirius Settlement was situated at the edge of Padway Plain, in the shadow of the towering Trapezus mountains, and here landed the Phoebus .
During the previous three days the atmosphere in the ship had been adjusted to the pressure and composition of the local air, and carefully metered drugs had been administered to passengers and crew to minimize the biological side-effects of the change, so now there was no delay. Directly upon landing the ports were opened, the off-ramp extended. Captain Gondar stepped forth with Dame Isabel, Bernard Bickel and other members of the company coming after. Overhead the sky was dark gray; Sirius shone with a cool white glare. A quarter-mile distant a line of white concrete buildings suggested a barracks
“I am sure we shall profit by our visit to Sirius Planet; more than this, we may be able to implant some glimmer of our musical heritage into a people curiously deficient in this regard. Who knows? Perhaps our visit will trigger a complete revolution in the life of the byzantaurs!”
Dame Isabel had a few more words to say: “You may well feel a certain awkwardness in performing before an alien people. All I can say is: do your best! We may of course make a few minor changes to conform with local sensibilities; you may feel a certain emptiness or lack of responsiveness in the audience — again all I say is: do your best!”
During the remarks of Dame Isabel and Bernard Bickel, Roger had sat to the back of the saloon, gloomily drinking champagne. Earlier, he had attempted to see Madoc Roswyn, but, as on all his previous attempts, she had refused to speak with him. Tiring of the babble and laughter, he left the saloon, paced the circumference of the ship, through each of the five globes and connecting tubes. Passing the bridge his spirits were not raised by the sight of Madoc Roswyn and Captain Gondar standing together by the forward port, looking ahead toward Sirius — or rather toward that image of Sirius converted by a dephasing mechanism from the compressed columns of light impinging upon the ship from ahead, and projected upon a screen. Captain Gondar had given over his office to Neil Henderson the Chief Technician, and moved Madoc Roswyn into the cabin thus vacated; she was wearing a pale blue coverall from the ship’s stores.
Roger watched them for a few seconds. They were engaged in earnest conversation: a matter apparently concerning the route of the ship, for as Roger watched, Captain Gondar pointed off to the right of Sirius and Madoc Roswyn followed the line of his finger with her eyes.
Logan de Appling, the astrogator, appeared in the corridor: a slender young man with a craggy face, a poet’s mop of curly brown hair, bright blue eyes. He looked at the bridge, shook his head in deprecation. “Do you know what I think?” he told Roger. “Captain Gondar is besotted. That’s what I think.” He turned swiftly and walked away.
Chapter VI
Sirius Planet hung ahead, a dim gray world with heavy caps of overcast at the poles, a series of shallow equatorial seas, a pair of major land-masses, consisting of flat gray plains, mountain chains and smouldering volcanoes. The Phoebus swung in orbit twenty thousand miles above the planet; Captain Gondar located Sirius Settlement and radioed down a notification of arrival.
Acknowledgement and landing clearance presently returned; Gondar fed an appropriate landing program into the automatic pilot; the Phoebus veered off and down at a slant.
The dim gray ball grew larger, atmosphere soughed and hissed around the ship. Sirius Settlement was situated at the edge of Padway Plain, in the shadow of the towering Trapezus mountains, and here landed the Phoebus .
During the previous three days the atmosphere in the ship had been adjusted to the pressure and composition of the local air, and carefully metered drugs had been administered to passengers and crew to minimize the biological side-effects of the change, so now there was no delay. Directly upon landing the ports were opened, the off-ramp extended. Captain Gondar stepped forth with Dame Isabel, Bernard Bickel and other members of the company coming after. Overhead the sky was dark gray; Sirius shone with a cool white glare. A quarter-mile distant a line of white concrete buildings suggested a barracks
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