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"This would do," Natalia replied and identified herself again as the captain of the exploration ship.
"Would you please describe the location," Olaf added. He revealed to them the extent of our mapping information.
"Come to the point of the spit where the two oceans almost meet, we will have a communications link installed by tomorrow. We expect you at the identical time. Also, please limit your delegation to six people. We will select six delegates of our people to meet with you...."
One of the reasons of the planet's dense cloud cover, we had determined, was the high temperature of the larger of its two oceans. The temperature was slightly lower than in a Jacuzzi. The entire ocean therefore resembled a giant hot pool. I couldn't help wonder what kind of a seaside resort this would turn out to be.
Olaf ordered a gift for the 'O' people to be brought from his garden, consisting of five dozen red roses arranged in a modern vase purchased from Earth! And from the ship's kitchen he ordered a picnic package as an emergency reserve, enough to supply six people for two days. Captain Natalia suggested that only those should go on this mission who were familiar with the Bohr/Miller effect.
Olaf shook his head while she was still speaking. "That won't be necessary!" he interrupted her.
"But it won't hurt," she insisted.
Olaf nodded, but didn't say anything in reply. He was well aware of our last moments on Gamma .8 and the panic of the massacre that had taken the life of so many of her fellow ship-mates. How could he have denied her the right, or even suggested that she not be as cautious and protective of her people as her understanding of the situation moved her?
The landing party therefore consisted of the captain, Olaf, Jill, Odessa, Olaf's friend, Miller, who called himself Werner Heisenberg, and myself. And so, once again, this time precisely at 09:15 A.M. of the 28.3 hour day of the 'O' planet, one of our landing shuttles dropped through the trap door and floated away from the ship towards an alien world. This time too, the majestic Waltz of Richard Strauss came to mind as it did over Gamma .8. There were differences, however, that set this flight apart from the earlier landing. Olaf was on board with us, and he was totally relaxed. He had his feet on the flight control console and leaned comfortably back into his chair.
"Fifteen minutes!" he said and grinned, pointing to his watch. "We will be on the ground within two seconds of the appointed time. We'll impress the hell out of them!"
I suppose he couldn't have done anything more effective to put me at ease, than putting his feet on the console. Natalia and Jill might have felt the same way.
Jill took control of the ship during the final ten thousand feet of descend. She was the most familiar of the landing party, with the mapping details and landmarks that we were told we would see.
She brought the shuttle down on what looked like a parking plot, which we promptly melted into a sea of boiling tar that began to burn once we turned the engines off. But the tar was quickly flooded with water and a welcoming committee met us. It consisted of three fat persons in black suits wearing a red cummerbund around their waist, each with a different design or crest stitched into them. The design of their crests was as different as our clothing was. Olaf wore his golden suit; Odessa a red dress that matched to color of the roses she presented to the three men; while the rest of us were more conventionally dressed. Jill wore black. Natalia and I wore the ship's light-blue uniform, and our friend Miller looked like he was ready for Hawaii. He arrived in white pants, wearing a Aloha shirt of brilliant colors.
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Stories about
Sex
from novels by Rolf A. F. Witzsche
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