local gravity is 40% greater than Terrestrial although trading post staff are protected inside their compound's forcefield;
the air recycler in Dalmady's airsuit must cope with the hydrogen that seeps through everything (in "A Little Knowledge," the problem is helium seeping through everything);
the planetary core is overlaid by ice mixed with rock and "...penetrated by tilted metal-poor strata." (The Van Rijn Method, p. 527);
because the planetary radius is 17,000 kilometers, Dalmady cannot discern the horizon of the ammonia sea through the red mist;
the city has an elaborate pattern but no streets;
the culture is fireless and neolithic;
most traffic is pedestrian;
animals, draught or ridden, are vaguely dinosaur-like;
Dalmady hears wind, waves, feet and wagons;
Suleimanites do not talk casually but do communicate continually by gesture, fur ripples and scents;
their year equals twelve and a half Terrestrial;
Suleimanites provide labor, saving the cost of automatic machinery, and are becoming dependent on metal, plastic and energy-cell trade goods.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
If I remember correctly what I read in THE GAME OF EMPIRE, Anderson thought humans could prosper and live on planets with gravities up to 30 percent more than a standard Terran g. So 40 percent would be too much for most humans, except for short periods.
And I wonder how far a race can go if it was unable to use fire? Hmmm, I should soon reread "Esau."
And it wasn't just trade goods the Suleimanites wanted. I recall how one of the local king's advisers, dismayed by the Baburites unfriendly intrusion. exclaimed that he had hoped his race would learn from the humans and better themselves. That would not have been the case if the Baburites succeeded in forcing Solar Spice & Liquors to abandon the trading base on Suleiman.
Sean
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