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arrivals to a reception building in the service area clear of the launch areas. It was their first taste of being out of doors since leaving Venus. Kyal had never seen a landscape of such dazzling clarity under the clear blue sky. The Sun was noticeably smaller than he was used to, but impressively radiant. Venusian days were hazy even when the cloud cover broke, which was seldom. The other striking thing was the dryness of terrain, extending away as a brown, dusty plain on the far side of the launch area to craggy hills rising in the distance. Venus was humid and soggy everywhere. Supposedly, Earth had been like that once. He tried to imagine the surroundings without the launch gantries, servicing hangars, or any of the other constructions, empty and desolate, as it had been fifteen years ago when Armin Harra set the first Venusian foot on the surface of Earth. There wasn't a Venusian who had never seen the recording of that memorable moment, or a schoolchild who couldn't recite the immortal line that had gone down in history. It was only years later that the diligent research of a zealous student journalist established that the first words actually uttered on the surface of Earth had been, "Is the camera running yet?"

    Inside the building, a knot of people were waiting to meet the incoming arrivals, and the two groups dissolved into a flurry of pairs and more finding each other, and a few lost souls looking around for sources of information or inspiration. Casselo had arranged for Kyal and Yorim to be met by a clerk from the local admin office called Vereth, who had called them shortly before they boarded to let them know he would be there, identifiable by a red cap and a light blue jacket. Yorim spotted him first as they halted and looked around.

    "There's our man, over there—in front of the wall with the map and the posters. I think he's seen us."

    "Yes, he's coming over." Kyal sent a confirming nod and raised a hand. Vereth was somewhere in his twenties, lean and bony, with short-cropped hair and dark skin that set off his teeth when he smiled. He took off his cap and made a short bow. Kyal and Yorim inclined their heads.

    "Master Reen and Fellow Zeestran?"

    "Our pleasure," Kyal returned.

    "A pleasant voyage and a comfortable descent, I trust? Welcome to Earth." Vereth replaced his cap.

    "Decidedly so. May life be as kind to you."

    "Nice hat," Yorim said.

    Vereth didn't seem sure how to respond and looked around. "The staff in here are all going to be tied up taking care of people with pre-arranged schedules," he said. "But I've talked to somebody in the Site Operations Support office who has been making arrangements for you. It's just a short way along the block outside. Please come this way."

    He led them from the reception hall and out through some doors on the opposite side of the building to that where they had entered. The bus had delivered them to a glass-fronted dock, so this was their first real exposure to Terran air. It was invigoratingly fresh and clean, but cool. The oxygen content was higher than on Venus.

    Yorim drew in a slow breath as ambled beside Kyal in long, easy strides, the bag he had brought with him for the week slung over a shoulder. "Say, this feels alive !"

    "Chilly, though" Kyal said. "I'm not so sure I could go for this swimming idea of yours."

    "Aw, I don't know. it's pretty high up here," Yorim said. "And it'll be warmer farther south. I'll find a spot."

    "Very dry too," Vereth said. "Best to use cream on the skin until you get used to it. Especially the lips."

    They had come out onto a roadway running between the reception building and an adjoining shed that looked like a vehicle depot. A couple of side roads opposite disappeared among a conglomeration of metal and plastic buildings butted together in ways that spoke of sporadic additions and extensions in whatever way was expedient, intermingled with shacks, communications masts, storage tanks, and tangles of pipes. Apart