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As we entered, Ramu must have touched a button for | saw two very small seats rise as if by magic out of the floor. And at the same time, directly in front of them, | saw our Moon appear in the center of a large screen. | was amazed at how close it looked, and not at all as if pictured on a screen, but with depth of space all around it. So this was the surprise! For a moment | thought we might be actually coming in for a landing. Ramu said, ?You are now looking at the familiar side of your Moon, but we are not landing on it. The image is being reflected on the screen from one of the telescopes which was not in operation the first time you were with us. Look closely as we approach the surface and you will note considerable activity. In the numerous large craters which you see from Earth you will notice very large hangars?which you do not see! Notice, too, that the terrain here is very similar to your deserts. 2We have built these hangars on such a scale in order that much larger ships than this one can enter easily. Also within these hangars are living quarters for a number of workers and their families, provided with every comfort. Water in abundance is piped in from the mountains, just as you have done on your Earth for the purpose of bringing fertility to your desert areas. 2When a ship enters these hangars, a process of depressurizing the passengers takes place. This requires about twenty-four hours. Were this not done, the people would experience the greatest discomfort in stepping out on the Moon. Such a depressurization process is not yet conceivable to Earthlings. They understand too little about the bodily functions and their control. Actually, human lungs are able to adjust themselves to very low as well as high pressure, if deflation or inflation is not done too quickly. If hurried, death would result.? | would gladly have undergone the necessary deflation for the privilege of actually landing on the Moon. There was nothing demanding my immediate return to Earth. But with a sympathetic smile, Ramu said, ?We have many things in store for you besides showing you the other side of your satellite before we return you to Earth. Watch closely now, for we are approaching the Moon’?s rim. Notice those clouds forming. They are light and appear to be coming from nowhere, as clouds often do. Most of them gain no density whatsoever but dissipate almost immediately. Yet, under favorable conditions, some occasionally do gain density. It is the shadows of these which have been seen through telescopes from Earth. ?Now we are approaching the side never seen from Earth. Look at the surface directly below us. See, there are mountains in this section. You can even see snow on the peaks of the higher ones, and a growth of heavy timber on the lower slopes. On this side of the Moon are a number of mountain lakes and rivers. You aa ee ne Rh Ine Dl, Th ee 2 ek 2 ee Ieee Le. 2 ee can see one of the lakes below. The rivers empty into a very large body of water. ?Now you can see a number of communities of varying sizes, both in the valleys and on the mountain slopes. Preferences of people here, as anywhere else, vary in regard to living at one or another altitude. And here, as elsewhere, the natural activities to support life are very similar to those wherever mankind is found. ?Had we time to land and be depressurized,? Ramu went on, ?and then travel about, you would personally meet some of the people. But as far as studying the