The majority of them were fashioned from a dull blue-gray wood and Dane
knew that if he picked one up he would discover that it weighed close to
nothing in his hand. That was lacquel bark--the aromatic product of a
Venusian vine. And each little animal or reptile lay encased in a soft
dab of frothy white--frosh weed--the perfumed seed casing of the Martian
canal plants. One or two figures on the second tray were of a red-brown
wood and these Van Rycke sniffed at appreciatively.
"Cedar--Terran cedar," he murmured.
Weeks nodded eagerly, his eyes alight. "I am waiting now for
sandalwood--it is also good for carving--"
Jellico stared at the array in puzzled wonder. "You have made these?"
Being an amateur xenobiologist of no small standing himself, the shapes
of the carvings more than the material from which they fashioned held his
attention.
All those on board the Queen had their own hobbies. The monotony of
voyaging through hyper-space had long ago impressed upon men the need for
occupying both hands and mind during the sterile days while they were
forced into close companionship with few duties to keep them alert.
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