“If the instruments read all right, who goes down in the armor the next time? The thought makes my knee-joints stiff. I’m scared of the idea, and don’t mind admitting it.”
“So am I.” Ken remembered the uncontrollable emotion that had swept his being the first time he had seen Planet Three. “It’s a ghastly place, beyond doubt; but I still like to find things out, and I’m willing to take a chance on my health to do it.”
“Health — huh! You’d be a ready-made memorial statue five seconds after the first pinhole appeared in your suit,” retorted the mechanic. “I almost feel it’s a dirty trick to send good instruments down into that, even when I know they can take it. Well, I’ll break out a suit of armor, if you really want to try it. There are plenty of torpedoes.”
“How can you carry it by torpedo? You can’t possibly get it inside, surely.”
“No; there are rings on the outer hull, and we can clamp the suit to those. We’ll just have to be careful and go through the atmosphere more slowly, this time.” He glided down the length of the shop to a set of lockers at the far end, and from one of these wrestled a suit of the much-discussed armor into view.
Even under Mercurian gravity it was difficult to handle. Owing to the peculiarities of the Sarrian physique, a greatly superior leverage could be obtained from inside the garment; but even knowing this, Ken began to wonder just what he was going to do if he succeeded in reaching the surface of the massive Planet Three in that metal monstrosity, under nearly four times his present gravity. That thought led to a question.
“Feth, what sort of body chemistry do you suppose these natives have? They move around — presumably— under a whopping gravity in a temperature that should freeze any organic material. Ever thought about it?” The mechanic was silent for some time, as though considering his reply.
“Yes,” he said at last, “I’ll admit I’ve thought about it. I’m not sure I want to talk about it, though.”
“Why not? The place can’t be that repulsive.”
“It’s not that. You remember what Drai said he’d do if anyone gave you information about the stuff we got from the planet?”