Before the first ship from Earth made a landing on Venus, there was much speculation about what might be found beneath the cloud layers obscuring that planet's surface from the eyes of all observers.
One school of thought maintained that the surface of Venus was a jungle, rank with hot-house moisture, crawling with writhing fauna and man-eating flowers. Another group contended hotly that Venus was an arid desert of wind-carved sandstone, dry and cruel, whipping dust into clouds that sunlight could never penetrate. Others prognosticated an ocean planet with little or no solid ground at all, populated by enormous serpents waiting to greet the first Earthlings with jaws agape.
But nobody knew, of course. Venus was the planet of mystery.
When the first Earth ship finally landed there, all they found was a great quantity of mud.
We have nothing they can use. What would you give them—United Nations coin? They'd just try to eat it."
"How about something they can eat, then?"
"Everything we feed them they throw right back up. Planetary incompatibility."
"But there must be something you can use for wages," Kielland protested. "Something they want, something they'll work hard for."
"Well, they liked tobacco and pipes all right—but it interfered with their oxygen storage so they couldn't dive.
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