Still River

Chapter One Datum One: Joe

Joe, for the first time in weeks, felt really comfortable. True, the gravity was only half what it should be, but it was real gravity, and in a moment he would be outdoors. Not, of course, that he could feel any difference between acceleration and gravity—there wasn’t any—but having to compromise with beings who walked or slithered or crawled or even flew around weighing two or five or ten times what anything of their size should weigh was uncomfortable. It could even be dangerous, after a while.

There was gas outside, too. More than enough, actually, but gas couldn’t do any real damage, even if the pressure was rather high. These people who had to breathe did tend to be quite choosy about their gas mixtures; it was a nuisance having to wear a sealed garment just for their comfort. Some day he would have to find out just what compounds his skin gave off that made the Human and Rimmore so uncomfortable. Once outside now, he might even shed the suit and feel really free.

Waiting to calm Molly’s worries had been a nuisance, but probably worth doing, and Jenny had certainly been quick enough with her analysis. Of course there was nothing dangerous outside. No oxygen, no chlorine, none of Carol’s stinging nitrosyl chloride. Carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia were all harmless. The ammonium carbamate and other dusts that the gases were constantly forming seemed inactive enough.

He opened the inner lock door, speaking reassuringly as he went—the Human still looked anxious. As quickly as possible without actual rudeness he closed it behind him and keyed open the outer valve. The ship trembled slightly as he did so, and simultaneously the voices of the high-gravity women roared confusingly through his translator.

Even if he could have untangled the messages, they would have been too late. There was no word for wind in Joe’s vocabulary or that of his communication device. His home world wasn’t quite airless—there was pressure enough to keep body fluids liquid—but no one had ever been blown away.

Until now. It was surprising that gas could transfer so much momentum, he thought rather blurrily as the landing boat spun out of sight.

Of course, his species had not used rockets for a long, long time.