It must be good for a star rover to see human habitation below when approaching a planetary surface even if his reception by the locals seems hostile. On Nike, Roan Tom sees:
part of the north temperate zone;
dawn reddening the eastern horizon;
a valley with what look like large agricultural estates;
villages along a shining silver river;
ships and barge trains (again, "water ships" are differentiated from spaceships);
a swampy delta before a great, glimmering, narrow-mouthed bay;
lights twinkling around the gate of the bay and on the shore;
to the north, rugged, forested, uninhabited hills rising steeply toward a smoking mountain.
People live there. That is what matters.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And Roan Tom had to prove to the Nikeans he wanted to be their "camarado," not "friend."
Ad astra! Sean
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