Copper drew back. “But you said it wouldn’t hurt us—”
“Not now. The heat’s practically gone, but when whoever flew this crate came here, the whole shell could have been as hot as a Samarian summer.”
“But couldn’t they have come back when it cooled?”
“Not with this kind of heat. The hull was probably too radioactive to approach from the outside. And radioactivity cools off slowly. It might take several lifetimes for its level to become low enough to approach if there was no decontamination equipment available.”
“I suppose that’s why the early ones thought the Egg was cursed.”
Kennon nodded. “Now let’s check—oh! oh! what’s this?” He pointed to a metal-backed book lying on the control panel.
“It looks like a book,” Copper said.
“I’m hoping it’s the book.”
“The book?”
“Yes—the ship’s log. It’s possible. And if it is, we may have all the evidence we need—Copper!—Don’t touch it!”