It was twilight on Venus—the rusty red that the eyes notice when their closed lids are raised to light. Against the glow, fantastically twisted trees spread claws of spiky leaves, and a group of clay huts thrust up sharp edges of shadow, like the abandoned toy blocks of a gigantic child. There was no sign of clear sky and stars—the heavens were roofed by a perpetual ceiling of dust-clouds. A light glimmered in one of the huts. Feminine voices rippled across the clearing and into the jungle. Ther