The Truth About Venus

Is it the case that, in 1984, the world was divided between three perpetually warring super-states called Eurasia, Eastasia and Oceania? Well, yes, provided that we are clear that we are discussing the fictional narrative in 1984 by George Orwell. If, during such a discussion, I say, "Remember that, at that time, Oceania was allied with Eurasia against Eastasia," someone else might reply, "That's true..."

What are the conditions on the surface of Venus? What is the context of the question? Of course, if the question remains unqualified, then we must simply refer to current scientific data:

atmosphere 96.5% carbon dioxide, 3.5% nitrogen;

surface atmospheric pressure 92 times Terrestrial;

carbon dioxide and nitrogen supercritical fluids on the surface;

surface hotter than Mercury's;

a warning about climate change.

(It sounds more like a gas giant to me.)

If the context of the question is a particular work of fiction, then we must record only what the author imagined and also must not confuse it with what any other author imagined unless we are consciously creating a new composite fiction as both Alan Moore and Larry Niven did with Mars.

On the Venus in Poul Anderson's "The Big Rain," the sun surprisingly is sometimes visible through the clouds and sometimes not but light is diffused through the clouds even at night and there is also flickering aurora. The tanks for surface travel resemble Martian sandcats but are lower and heavier with a refrigerating tube and a grapple to pull them out of gullies that can appear at any time. Gales can blow gravel in lethal rock storms. Hellish but not as uninhabitable as the real Venus.