Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 67 — page 80: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE LONG JOURNEY “Was there one?’ said Stanley. ““We build upwards, but would other races neces- sarily do the same? Perhaps the building had a thin shell of rock and soil which has eroded over the years. Maybe that explains the metal they used, weak but with high strength for lightness. Those walls are incredibly thick, the building itself resembles a sponge more than anything we know, and they could have built downwards for increased strength.” “Or perhaps the upper detritus is merely the accumulation of the cen- turies,” said Hemridge thoughtfully. He looked at Klien. “Any idea of what they must have looked,like?”’ “Big, as I said, and my guess is that they were multiple-limbed. No stairs,” he explained, “‘just ramps and inclines. Stairs are peculiar to bipeds; if you’ve ever watched a dog climb stairs you'll know why.” “Anything else?’ ““No corners. No flat sur- faces, either. And yet they must have machine-finished 79 the interiors. That metal is smooth.” “Machined?” Stanley frowned. ““Without any flat surfaces ?”’ “It could make sense,” defended Leman. ‘“‘Just be- cause we find plane surfaces esthetically satisfying doesn’t make it universal. Maybe they liked curves.” He grinned. “Speaking of curves, how about setting up the viewer and getting an eyeful of some real ones?” “Later. How are you going on with the mineral analysis, Klien?” “The planetary one?’ The geologist shrugged. “As I suspected. The place seems pretty low on minerals. All the sand around the structure is devoid of the slightest traces. There should be plenty deep down though; the detec- tors kick like hell whenever I point them towards the core.” “Fair enough. This won’t ever be a colonists’ world, anyway. The scientist will grab it for investigation of the ruins and set up a project here.” Stanley looked wistful. “I'd like to stay and see the conmicloooks.com