Arcot agreed to have it moved to a spot just outside the city, where the
water could be procured directly from a stream. The drinking water would
be ready when he returned to the city.
The _Solarite_ was moved to the bank of the little river and the
electrolysis apparatus was set up beside it. During the previous day,
and ever since they had landed on Venus, all their power had been coming
from the storage cells, but now that the electrolysis apparatus was to
establish such a heavy and constant drain, Arcot started the generator,
to both charge the cells, and to do the work needed.
Throughout the day there could be heard the steady hum of the generator,
and the throb-throb-throb of the oxygen pump, as the gas was pumped into
the huge tanks. The apparatus they were using produced the gas very
rapidly, but it was near nightfall before the huge tanks had again been
filled. Even then there was a bit more room for the atomic hydrogen that
was simultaneously formed, although twice as much hydrogen as oxygen was
produced. Its task completed, the _Solarite_ rose again and sped toward
the distant city.
A soft red glow filled the sky now, for even through the miles of clouds
the intense sun was able to force some direct rays, and all the city was
lighted with that warm radiance. The floodlights had not yet been turned
on, but the great buildings looming high in the ruddy light were
wonderfully impressive, the effect being heightened by the planned
construction, for there were no individual spires, only a single mass
that grew from the ground to tower high in the air, like some man-made
mountain.
Back at the Capital the _Solarite_ again settled into the broad avenue
that had been cut off to traffic now, and allotted to it as its resting
place. Tonlos met them shortly after they had settled into place, and
with him were five men, each carrying two large bottles.
"Ah-co," as Tonlos pronounced the Terrestrian name, "we have not been
able to make very much of the materials needed for your gas, but before
we made any very great amount, we tried it out on an animal, whose blood
structure is the same as ours, and found it had the same effect, but
that in our case the iodide of potassium is not as effective in
awakening the victim as is the sorlus. I do not know whether you have
tried that on Terrestrial animals or not. Luckily sorlus is the most
plentiful of the halogen groups; we have far more of it than of
chlorine, bromine or iodine."
"Sorlus? I do not know of it--it must be one of the other elements that
we do not have on Earth. What are its properties?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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