The Sirian noted, as he returned, that the flight of one-man-disks seemed gathered about a mushroom-shaped cloud of opaque, gaseous matter, entirely cold except for a modest radio-activity.
When he shot out an open query, the Vegan answered, "They did it! Those incredible little organic creatures down on the surface."
"Creatures? You mean there is an intelligent organic life-form on this planet?" the Sirian asked somewhat incredulously. He had passed this system a hundred times without suspecting such a thing.
"Well, not exactly intelligent in a galactic sense, but likely you'll agree that the principles of fission and fusion are somewhat remarkable to find mastered by a planet-bound life-form as primitive as these entities. They are ordinary, liquid-and-solid, carbon-ring, ferro-protein, bi-symmetrical bipeds—you know, the kind you find scattered about on these oxygen-rich planets. But imagine! Nuclear manipulation!"
The Sirian found the paradox both curious and amusing. Never, to his knowledge, had solid-matter life-forms advanced beyond a rudimentary use of chemical combustion reactions, and even those who did master fire more often worshipped it than made a sensible use of it.
"Interesting! Interesting, indeed. I think I will have a look."
"We were hoping you would," the Vegan replied. "We've done all the investigating we dare."
"How is that?"
"They've spotted us, we think. Every time we come close to the surface they dispatch little gas-expulsion vessels to chase us."
"Why don't you simply land and establish communications?"