“But why—?”

“They’ll probably tell you, but you may not believe it. I’m a ship-driver, not a historian, but I’ll bet you’ll get a different reason for colonizing the place in every city you visit, if you take in any others, ranging from the moral imperative not to displace alien life, through the right to practice human sacrifice freely, to the simple urge to get away from Earth’s legal systems. Probably different groups did have different reasons. I’m going by experience on other colony worlds I’ve seen, by the way; I haven’t asked this crowd. I’ve only been here three or four times. Use a rigid suit until you’re used to the pressure, and start getting ready. If you have recording equipment, keep a close eye on it. The people are as honest on Kainui as anywhere else, but silicon is more valuable here than iridium or platinum. They can get all the metals they need from the ocean, but silicon doesn’t dissolve to speak of in acid.”

“I suppose I ought to watch out for oddball diseases, too,” Mike remarked rather bitterly.

“Only if the colonists have produced them in their own bodies or labs. Evolution presumably moved in with the people, but no one’s found any native life here, big or little. And you’ll need to practice walking in the local gee.”

“You said something about that before. Why? I thought you said Kainui was only a little bigger than Earth.”

“Fifteen percent larger radius. One-third—not one-third greater—surface gravity. Most of the world’s volume is water, I think saltier than Earth’s, but still water. Ocean depth is about twenty-nine hundred kilometers.”

“So no islands.”

“Not real ones. Ice still floats. Don’t bother me for a few minutes. Red is the core of this landing signal, and I want a touch of orange. Landing right on the place would make us unpopular. Check your suit carefully; you’ll have to get to the city by boat. Outside pressure is high, and if you have leaks they’ll let more carbon monoxide in than oxygen out.”