I was given a factory close to the Gate of the Physicists, at the end
of Kantum Lat. I chose this location because there was a level plain
beyond this gate that would make an excellent flying field, and also so
that I would have my finished plane finally assembled where it could
easily be wheeled out of the city without interfering with traffic to
any great extent.
On the advice of the Sanjong, which took a deep interest in both
this new venture into aëronautics and the, to them, new science of
astronomy, I divided my time between the two.
My time was fully occupied, and I worked far more than the usual
four hours a day. But I enjoyed the work, especially the building of
a plane; and engrossing were the day dreams in which I indulged of
exploring Venus in a ship of my own.
The necessity for relaxation and entertainment is stressed by the
people of Havatoo, and Ero Shan was constantly dragging me away from my
drawing board or my conferences with the corps of assistants that had
been placed at my disposal by Mohar to take me to this thing or that.
There were theaters, art exhibits, lectures, musicales, concerts, and
games of various descriptions in gymnasiums and the great stadium. Many
of their games are extremely dangerous, and injury and death often
accompany them. In the great stadium at least once a month men fight
with wild beasts or with one another to the death, and once a year the
great war game is played. Ero Shan, Gara Lo, Ero Shan's friend, Nalte,
and I attended this year's game together. To Nalte and I it was all
new; we did not know what to expect.
"Probably we shall witness an exhibition of such scientific wonders as
only the men of Havatoo are capable," I suggested to her.
"I haven't the faintest conception of what it will be," she replied.
"No one will tell me anything about it. They say, 'Wait and see. You
will be thrilled as you have never been before.'"
"The game doubtless hinges on the use of the most modern, scientific
instruments of war and strategy," I ventured.
"Well," she remarked, "we shall soon know. It is about time for the
games to begin."
The great stadium, seating two hundred thousand people, was crammed to
capacity. It was gorgeous with the costumes and the jewels of the women
and the handsome trappings of the men, for the intelligence of Havatoo
concedes their full value to beauty and to art. But of all that went to
make up this splendid spectacle there was nothing more outstanding than
the divine beauty of the people themselves.