They adjusted helmets and manipulated the manual locks of the double
doors, with some experiment. John finally convinced himself that he
could re-enter without difficulty. Then the two Earth people stepped
out into a weird atmosphere under a strangely small sun. The sky was
dark blue, tending toward black. Stars glittered, though it was still
day. Their helmets provided a mixture of oxygen with the planet's
natural atmosphere.
"It's like a dream, John."
The hills were old and worn out but there were no trees. Deep shadows
folded into the distance in the cold slanting sunlight, tracing sandy
curves with velvet-like smoothness.
John answered her thought, "Those vivid colors and deceptive distances
remind me of my boyhood in Idaho. I'll bet there's the same difference
between light and shade, too. Let's step into the shadow of that rock
and see if it isn't suddenly much cooler."
He led her to a pyramid-like rock projecting about twenty feet out of
the sand, and casting a shadow toward them.