Trapped on Venus Read Online Free Page A

curls.”
      “What was that,
Marty?” Stimson asked from Earth Control One. “Did you say it was like copper?”
      “No, not exactly
copper. It’s just that... well, I’m trying to describe it and it does seem to
have some of the characteristics. Then again, maybe that’s just the heat
influence. I can’t say for sure. I’ll be able to tell you more after I’ve done
some tests. That’s why I want to get started.”
      “Roger,” Stimson
answered. “Keep us posted.”
      Together, Scott and
Fisk dragged the instrument package from the ship. They unfolded the silver
liner protecting it as they would a picnic blanket, then removed the
experiments one at a time. Scott moved the first one a short distance away, and
activated it.
      “The gravitometer is
in place, Earth One. Are you getting a signal?”
      “Affirmative, Scott.
It’s working perfectly.”
      He then dragged out
two other experimental packages meant to measure the planet’s composition, radioactivity,
atmospheric pressure, temperature changes, rotational fluctuations and other
properties, activating them as well. They functioned perfectly.
      A little over half an
hour had elapsed by this time, and with both Scott and Fisk well-rehearsed in
the procedures, wasting a minimum of time and energy in setting up the
experiments, they were now able to begin their individual studies. There was no
specific objective for this, their first excursion. They were merely to gather
as much information as possible, familiarizing themselves with the terrain,
recording data, gathering samples, making tests, investigating anything which
seemed of interest in determining the nature of the planet. They were eager to
begin.
      Marty was already busy
taking surface samples for his tests when Scott replaced the liner in the
ship’s storage compartment. He carried a small drill with him which he twisted
into the surface with several quick, thrusting turns, finding the Venusian
crust firm, yet not entirely solid. It seemed to have body, but offered little
resistance. The drill bit slicked through the powder with little effort and
made his work much easier than he expected. In fact, it was almost too easy.
      As the drill plunged
the shallow six to ten inches into the soil, a tiny housing in the shaft
retained a sample of the substance for analysis. Marty twisted the rod as it
reached the proper depth, then extracted the sample and placed it into a
canister where it could mix with other chemicals and give him a reading. He was
surprised that he got an almost immediate reaction. The powdery substance
sloshed like mercury in the container and he held it up, overjoyed at the
success.
      “Scott!” he exclaimed.
“Scott, I got a reaction already!”
      Scott had returned to
one of the experiments only a few hundred feet away, but stopped to awkwardly
turn in Marty’s direction. The bulky suit and soft, almost mushy topsoil made
it a cumbersome movement, but habit forced him to want to see as well as hear
Marty’s good news.
      “A reaction?” he asked,
somewhat startled by Marty’s excitement. “What kind of tests are you running?”
      “The Aqua Rigia
series. The stuff seemed to dissolve almost immediately. It... it’s reading out
at...” He held the container closer to his helmet to make out the small digits
on the face of the scale. “It’s reading out at just between 8.0 and 5.6 on the
analyzer. I’d say it... it’s some kind of unstable, water soluble substance.
It’s even showing traces of smectites and zeolites.”
      “Are you sure, Marty?
Check the scale again.”
      Marty checked. “Yes,
I’m sure. The reading’s still holding.”
      “Then... that would
mean that the surface isn’t solid at all, but...” He hesitated a moment, awed
by the significance of the discovery. “...but, a liquid!”
      It was a remarkable
scientific find, yet came as a shock to both astronauts. How could the very
substance they were standing on,