Even though the gravity was about eight per cent lighter than on Terra, the boys found walking not too easy. The terrain was mostly rough, although there were many spots of slick, glare ice. Too, there were many hillocks, and cracks and crevasses between the slippery places. So, even though they had added caulks to their metallic suit-boots, walking was unsafe and hard. By the time they reached the base of the first low hills they were winded and glad to rest a few minutes. "Not a thing so far," Jak panted into his suit-mike. "I can't see even a bit of color--just this white glare." "'Annie' hasn't let out a peep, either. Guess this is a dead 'un all right." "At least this district looks it." "Let's climb a ways, and if we don't find anything there, go back to the ship and try somewhere else." "I'll buy a chunk of that." They started up the hill before them. The climbing was difficult because of the ice and because in most places the side of the hill was not a gradual slope, but a starkly steep climb. It was evident there had been no gradual "weathering" here, to produce rounded edges and rolling slopes, although there were occasional smooth places. These, though, the boys knew could not be climbed at all without special equipment which they did not carry. "This isn't frozen-water ice, is it?" Jon asked as they panted upward. "No, silly. There can be no water vapor here, any more than there is on Neptune or Pluto back home. This is mostly frozen carbon dioxide." "Well, it's just as cold and just as hard to climb as polar ice." They climbed the quarter mile to the crest of the first hill and peered eagerly over its top. In front and slightly below was another valley--not as deep as the one in which their ship lay, but even larger. From their higher position the floor of this new valley seemed quite smooth. "But that can be just an optical illusion," Jak answered Jon's statement, adding, "the glare of white would make it look smoother from a height." Jon ignored the tone of superiority. "Good thing our suits have tinted lenses. Do we go down?" "Natch." Jak had already started. "Off there to the right and part way down are some darker places. I want to look at them." "Could lichens grow here?" "Some could, possibly, though not exactly like the kind we'd find on Earth. If there's life here, it's probably a type that can convert energy directly from the elements in the ground or ice, instead of using photo-synthesis or other methods of obtaining nourishment we know about." Half-sliding, half-climbing, they made their difficult way to the little patch of gray-greenness, which Jak examined with growing delight. "Hey, that's gneiss." "What's nice about ... Oh!" Jon grew red-faced at having been caught that way. "You and your education!" he snorted.