"Bright girl," chuckled Walt.
"Thank you, kind sir," laughed Christine. "But remember that I was raised in a bright family."
"Come on," said Walt. "We're going to investigate."
"In that cold room?" asked Christine with some concern.
Walt nodded. "You'll get used to it," he said absently, collecting a few instruments.
"Look, Walt," said Christine in a scathing tone, "I'm used to it! That's why I came to Venus Equilateral from Mars. Remember?"
Walt looked at her, wondering. But Christine wore a smile that took most of the sting out of her words.
"Lead on, Walt. I can take a bit of chill. In fact," she said with a half-smile, "under the proper circumstances, a bit of chill is fun."
Walt finished collecting his equipment and packed it into two carrying cases. Then from a closet, he took electrically warmed clothing, helped Christine into hers, climbed into his own, and then they took the long trek along corridors and up elevators to the cold room.
"It's cold even here," said Christine.