that one out
of the way first. Both scientists, by their expressions, indicated that
they did not appreciate being frustrated, hampered, driven--but they did
comply.

Back to Eden they went.

The climate was something like that of the Hawaiian area. Partly this
was due to the variable plane rotation that heated all parts evenly,
partly due to favorable flow of ocean currents. It had been noted that
there was such an interweaving of cool and warm currents all over the
globe that a relatively even temperature was maintained throughout. Some
differential in spots, of course, enough to cause rainfall, but no real
violence of storms, not as we classified hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes
here on Earth.

"Probably no sudden storm to wipe out the colony before they could send
news, then," Wong suggested in an aside to Cal.

"Or a freak one did occur and they weren't prepared because it wasn't
supposed to happen," Cal said.

Wong and McGinnis exchanged a quick glance, and Cal knew Wong had laid a
little trap to see how easily he might be lulled into a premature
conclusion.

The gravity was slightly less, the geophysicist was saying, but only to
the extent that man, newly arrived from Earth, walked with a springier
step, didn't tire as quickly. Not enough to cause nausea, even to the
inexperienced. The oxygen content of the air, in fact the whole make-up
of the air, was so close to Earth quality there were no breathing
adaptations necessary.

So much for generalities. He went on to document them with exactitudes.
He teamed up with a meteorologist to explain the distribution of
rainfall in spite of lack of frigid and torrid air masses. Cal's doubt
was not appeased. Weather prediction was about on a par with race-horse
handicapping, and easy to explain after it happened.

Eventually the geophysicist and the meteorologist completed their duet
to the accompaniment of oceanographers and geologists.

A chorus of botanists replaced them on the tri-di screen, the major
theme of their epic being that an astonishing proportion of the plant
forms bore edible fruit, nuts, seeds, leaves, stems, roots, flowers. A
choir of zoologists joined their voices here to point out the large
number of small meat animals, fish, and crustaceans--with the whole
thing sounding like a pean of thanksgiving.

After two hours, the condensed information added up to a most
interesting fact. In essence, due to quite _natural_ conditions--odd how
much th