"If so, they're more civilized than we are."
"Maybe the Martians have had more time in which to become civilized," she replied.
"Civilization has a way of turning back," I said. "If they had the bomb once, they can build it again."
As we continued southward, we saw another domed city raise above the horizon. This was no ghost town. The dome was whole, larger than the one we had seen by the dried-up canal. It stretched across the horizon for five miles, at least, for the horizons of Mars seemed to be shorter than those of the earth.
I flipped the switch of the transmitter and called our base. Axel answered.
"We're not far from Pnyx," I told him.
"Have they spotted you yet?"
"No, but I haven't seen anything to report, either," I said. I squinted toward the city for a couple of minutes before I saw there was movement on what seemed to be an east-west highway running past the dome. A cloud of dust hung there and I thought I saw figures moving.
"It's too far off to see clearly," I said, "but there seems to be a lot of traffic on the main highway."
"Highways yet? You got money for toll?"