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“Vega,” Adam said, in wonderment. “It grows whiter and whiter, cloudier and cloudier. What is the meaning of it?” “That,” she replied with a smile of contentment, “is the outer atmosphere of Venus. We are approaching home base. It belongs more to you than it does to us, even though you feel as a stranger. You see, it is the closest sister planet earth has in its own solar system. We are visitors, Adam, but you are a son. We shall honor your every mature wish. We visit, but we do not conquer and impose. We observe, but we do not intrude and interfere. We inherit our estate, because we remain meek. We enter gates where so many meet with destruction. Adam, hold your head high always, but always in the fresh air of humility, of understanding. Let your soul cry, but let not your mind be dampened by its tears.” By this time the planet Venus filled their entire field of vision. It no longer seemed as though they were going toward it horizontally, but rather as if they were falling down into the clouds. Thus Adam learned that the perspective of going down is only virtual. When an object fills the entire field of vision the sense of going down is experienced instead of the reality of going toward it. Gravity helps to produce the illusion of a downward cu fall. Yet the surface of Venus must have been a great distance away, because Vega put her hand to Adam’s eyes, telling him not to look until she removed her hand from his vision. During the next crucial moments she spoke mere nonsense to him, to help the time pass by. Suddenly there was a steady roar, and the ship vibrated sharply. Adam knew the ship had entered the dense cloudbeds of Venus. For the first time he could sense a slowing down by the grind of the ship against the atmosphere. He was glad he was being spared watching this phase of the landing, and his regard of Vega swelled once more into love. She was so expert in her manifold roles, so spontaneous in her expression of appreciation for the opportunity that had been hers to serve 74 SON OF THE SUN With those words she removed her hand from her eyes.