I paused not at Dubhe, but sped onward to one of the busy worlds that revolve around it, which I shall call Plasden.  This is two hundred times as large as our world, and “slin” covers seven-eighths of its surface.  Slin is a liquid much resembling water and serves practically the same purpose.

Plasden is truly a wonderful water world.  Its inhabitants are not confined to the under-water life like those found in Stazza, neither are they strictly compelled to remain in the atmosphere, although that is their normal condition.  The Plasdenites can sustain life under water, but only with discomfort.  They have three times as many ribs as we possess, and between them are openings into which air or water enters for life sustentation.  These flabby ribs slowly rise and fall continuously and involuntarily.

I would describe the upper portion of their bodies, but they would seem so contrary to our ideas of beauty that I will pass on by saying that to my eye, now trained in the larger school of interstellar harmonies, these Plasdenites are lovely and lovable human creatures.  They have reached a high state of civilization and, being gifted with the spirit life, they are still forging ahead toward perfection, unconsciously competing with their fellow spirits in millions of worlds.

Plasden is an old planet.  Human beings have lived thereon for thirty thousand years, and consequently, ages ago, the land area became so densely populated that there was not enough room to accommodate the increasing millions.  This perplexing problem was solved in a very peculiar manner by an experiment on the part of a wealthy Plasdenite, who, seven thousand years ago, took advantage of the extremely light mineral products of this world and built for himself a floating mansion which covered about ten acres according to our measurements.

This fairy palace was floated on the great oceans from one continent to another, propelled by the wind and controlled by a series of motors.

After a few years he returned to his native shore and conceived the idea of building around his palace a water village.  All foundations were made of strong aluminum-like substance mixed with molten granite which, upon hardening, formed a compound of marvelous lightness and durability.  With painstaking care and unceasing energy the water village was transformed from a fanciful dream into a tangible reality, and in process of time one section after another was added until a veritable city floated on the bosom of the deep.

But this is only a brief description of a marvelous accomplishment.  I did not pause to mention the factories and mills that were attached to this city, nor have I told you that in less than one thousand years after this first water city was finished, there were floating, on the oceans of Plasden, no less than two hundred cities of various sizes, each a manufacturing center devoted to one or more lines of industry.