You have arrived at the Venus colony. You are a long way from home but not alone. Far below, a dense cloud deck is illuminated by diffused sunlight filtering through the thick acidic atmosphere. Lightning ripples through the clouds, generating soft subsonic booms that cause the transparent walkway you‘re standing in to vibrate. The view is fantastic from 50km up, but the job could kill you.

Fritz envisioned a robotic suit that could explore the surface of Venus. He grinned as he did a quick sketch of how it would look. It would be glorious!

Ted looked at the sketch and tried not to laugh. It looked like an egg from a cartoon where the chick‘s legs and wings were poking out of the shell.