“And what,” Ellen asked, “does that mean in English?”
“It’s breathable, Miss Wherry. A bit high in nitrogen and low in oxygen compared to Earth air, but nevertheless definitely breathable.”
He was a caution, that young man was, when it came to being precise.
“Then what are we waiting for?” I wanted to know. “Your orders, sir.”
“Shucks with my orders, Johnny. Let’s get the door open and get going.”
We got the door open. Johnny stepped outside first, strapping on a pair of heatojectors as he went. The rest of us were right behind him.
It was cool outside, but not cold. The landscape looked just like Thor, with bare rolling hills of hard-baked greenish clay. There was plant life, a brownish bushy stuff that looked a little like tumbleweed.
I took a look up to gauge the time and Sirius was almost at zenith, which meant Johnny had landed us smack in the middle of the day side. “Got any idea, Johnny,” I asked, “what the period of rotation is?”
“I had time only for a rough check, sir. It came out twenty-one hours and seventeen minutes.”
Rough check, he had said.