Free Demeter by Dr. Alan D. Hansen Page B

bluff, with an atrium that showed eight floors of glass, angling out, revealing a panoramic view of the water and islands below. Apparently the back of the top floor was all that showed from the tarmac. This was the reception area, with a number of small lounges. Miss Li was talking to someone at a desk. The desk looked like it was made out of a huge luminous diamond, but Ryder guessed it was some sort of solid quartz stone.
    As Ryder and his friends loitered around the common area, he could see from various angles that six of the floors were lined with long corridors framing rows of doors, all facing toward the water. The hallways looked to be about twelve feet wide, giving the appearance of very long decks that ran a hundred yards in either direction. The walls were of a black onyx stone, while the floors were made of the same self-illuminating rock they had seen in the tunnels entering Demeter. Apparently polishing the rock increased the intensity of the luminosity. Staring at the floor was like staring at a flashlight.
    The bottom two floors were public areas. The second floor went about halfway toward the front of the atrium, which at that level was almost fifty yards deep. It was some sort of food court. Just seeing the tables, even at that distance, made Ryder hungry. The bottom floor was crisscrossed with walkways. On both ends it looked like tennis courts, although the far ends in either direction were hard to make out. The rest of the area was divided into eight pools with cabanas scattered throughout. He could hear the echoing laughter of people below, which was reflective of indoor pools. Outside, on the bottom level, Ryder could see a huge meadow and rows of well-tended hedges.
    Miss Li gathered everyone. “Okay, we have two suites. Mr. Small will take Randy, Joel, and Ryder to room 317. I will take the girls to room 319.”
    “Is this where we’re going to live?” Athena asked. Clearly Athena was feeling less hostile after viewing the accommodations.
    “Heaven’s no,” Miss Li responded. “We’ll be here a couple of days before we move on to Europe. This is Arion, the port of entry. We’ll do some testing, work out schedules and assignments for your stay here, and give you a chance to get familiar with some of the culture, geography, and most importantly, help your bodies get used to the lower gravity. You’ve all taken a few tumbles. It helped to carry your luggage, but you’ll find that it takes a couple of days just to understand the way your bodies will respond to the environment. We also run a few medical tests, and no, we are not going to dissect you, but some people simply can’t adjust to the physical differences. We’d rather figure that out here than when you’re halfway up a mountain on a field trip and suddenly pass out or something.”
    “Does that really happen? Do people die? How did they get them down? Are we going to be all right? I know I’ll be all right,” stumbled out of Debbie’s mouth as fast as she could talk. She almost sounded like a chipmunk to Ryder, but a glance from Cynthia stopped him from saying so.
    “It’s actually very rare,” Miss Li said. “In the last twenty years, we’ve only had four people actually have to be medically treated and returned to Earth. There was a death from a fall when a friend of mine first got here, but that was over thirty years ago.” She quickly changed the subject. “Let’s have lunch. Then we’ll get ready for the first test.”
    “A test? Already? We just got here!” Joel complained.
    “The test is in two hours, nonetheless,” Miss Li interjected. “The test will be in pool seven.” She pointed below to the swimming pools.
    Several people grinned delightedly, but Ryder commented, “I didn’t bring swimming trunks.”
    Mr. Small had returned to the group and stated, “We have new swimwear for everyone. It’s in your suite.”
    Ryder frowned. “Sounds like PE,” he muttered under his breath.
    Room 317 had a