Eden Read Free Page A

If we cool the hatch, it will contract, and we might be able to open it."
    "Water won't do it. There might still be some ice—in the refrigeration units," said the Captain.
    One after another, they dropped into the corridor, which began to echo with their steps. The Captain remained in the chamber with the Engineer.
    "It will open," he said softly, as if to himself.
    "If it hasn't fused," the Engineer murmured. He ran a finger along the rim to check its temperature. "Ceramite starts melting over three thousand seven hundred degrees. You didn't notice what the shield registered at the end?"
    "At the end the dials were useless. When we threw on the brakes, it was over two and a half, if I'm not mistaken."
    "Two and a half thousand degrees is still not much."
    "Yes, but later on!"
    The Chemist's flushed face appeared over the edge of the platform. He had tied the flashlight around his neck. In its swaying light the pieces of ice in his bucket gleamed. He handed the bucket to the Captain.
    "Just a minute. How are we supposed to—" The Engineer broke off. "I'll be back." And he disappeared into the darkness.
    More steps could be heard. The Doctor arrived with two buckets of water, ice floating on the top. The Chemist held the light while the Doctor and the Physicist poured water on the hatch. The water flowed across the floor and into the corridor. After dousing the hatch for the tenth time, they heard a faint sound coming from it—a squeaking. They cheered. The Engineer appeared, wearing a reflector (from a suit) taped to his chest. Its glare made everything brighter. He threw an armful of plastic pieces taken from the control room onto the floor. The men began packing the hatch with chunks of ice, keeping them in place with the plastic, with air cushions, and with books that the Physicist kept bringing in. Finally, when their backs ached and little remained of the ice—the hot metal melted it very quickly—the Cyberneticist grabbed the wheel with both hands.
    "Not yet!" shouted the Engineer. But the wheel turned with astonishing ease. Everyone jumped up. The wheel rotated more and more rapidly. The Engineer grabbed the center handle of the triple bolt securing the hatch and pulled. There was a sound like thick glass cracking, and the door fell inward, gradually at first, then suddenly striking those who stood closest. A black avalanche rushed in, covering them up to the knees. The Chemist was thrown; the hatch pinned him to the side wall but left him unharmed. The Captain, barely managing to jump free at the last moment, practically knocked the Doctor over. They all froze. The Doctor's flashlight had been hit and went out; the only light came from the reflector on the Engineer's chest.
    "What is it?" asked the Cyberneticist in an unsteady voice. He stood behind the others, near the edge of the platform.
    "A sample of planet Eden," the Captain replied. He was helping to extricate the Chemist from behind the door that had been pushed open.
    "Yes," said the Engineer. "The whole hatchway is underground!"
    "Then this must be the first landing beneath the surface of an unknown planet," observed the Doctor.
    Everyone began to laugh. The Cyberneticist laughed so hard, tears came to his eyes.
    "Enough!" said the Captain. "We can't carry on like this until morning. Get your tools, men, we have digging to do."
    The Chemist bent down and picked up a heavy, compact lump from the mound on the floor. Earth protruded through the oval opening. Now and then blackish bits trickled down the surface of the heap as far as the corridor. The men withdrew to the corridor; there was no longer room enough on the platform. The Captain and the Engineer were the last to jump down.
    "How deep are we, do you think?" the Captain asked the Engineer in a whisper. In the corridor, a patch of light moved far ahead of them. The Engineer had given the reflector to the Chemist.
    "It depends on many things. Tagerssen penetrated two hundred and fifty feet."
    "Yes,