Right there and then we asked why the men of the other ship had not talked to us the same so that we could have understood their words, instead of using the sign language as they had done. The reply was, "they were not authorized to do so, but what they did tell you in relation to the telescope and other things was just as they told you." Now we wanted to know, "how long has the Moon been so inhabited?" And this is the story as it was told to us: "Twenty thousand years ago the people of Mars became curious about this moon after they had already thoroughly explored their own two moons. Their interest was purely scientific since they were a people with a wondering type of mind who wanted to know what the vastness beyond their own planet was composed of." "Their first scouting expedition brought to this Moon a few men from all the various races then on planet Mars, and a lot of supplies for their well being. From experiences on their own moons they knew they would find atmospheric conditions in which they could live and build for future development, should they find no inhabitants dwelling here." "The spot where that first expedition landed is the site of the present city where the telescope and The House of Records have been placed somewhat as a memorial." "At that time they found no native inhabitants on this Moon so later expeditions brought more men and women, as well as supplies to care for them until they could produce some food here through cultivation. And from that start this Moon has become inhabited as you find it today. There are still some necessities of life which the Moon does not have, but we bring these to the people here from our planet Mars." "This seems to be one way the Supreme Intelligence has of keeping our planet from becoming too densely populated, as you asked the men of the other ship about, for you see, we have many such outposts in space." "In that long ago, the light side of the Moon to the Earth was a steaming side, all the craters were hot water pools. Since then the water has been evaporated through heat. That is the reason you find mountains within the craters that are solid rock, for the water washed away all dirt that clung around the rock, leaving the rock standing." "You Earth men have a wrong conception of the Moon, thinking that the craters were made by meteors. When we take the ship up we will fly over some of these craters. We will not be able to land in any of them since they are all too rugged for safe landing, but we will lower the ship over two different types of craters and with instruments which we have to look through, you will be able to see just as well as if you were walking on the bottom of them or were handling the formations in your hands. You will see the difference between a meteoric crater and a hot water crater."