{"product_id":"2940014103916","title":"Zen","description":"_Because they were so likable and intelligent\u003cbr\u003e and adaptable--they were vastly dangerous!_\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[Illustration: Illustrated by ASHMAN]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt's difficult, when you're on one of the asteroids, to keep from\u003cbr\u003etripping, because it's almost impossible to keep your eyes on the\u003cbr\u003eground. They never got around to putting portholes in spaceships, you\u003cbr\u003eknow--unnecessary when you're flying by GB, and psychologically\u003cbr\u003einadvisable, besides--so an asteroid is about the only place, apart from\u003cbr\u003eLuna, where you can really see the stars.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere are so many stars in an asteroid sky that they look like clouds;\u003cbr\u003elike massive, heaped-up silver clouds floating slowly around the inner\u003cbr\u003esurface of the vast ebony sphere that surrounds you and your tiny\u003cbr\u003efoothold. They are near enough to touch, and you want to touch them, but\u003cbr\u003ethey are so frighteningly far away ... and so beautiful: there's nothing\u003cbr\u003ein creation half so beautiful as an asteroid sky.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou don't want to look down, naturally.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e       *       *       *       *       *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI had left the _Lucky Pierre_ to search for fossils (I'm David Koontz,\u003cbr\u003ethe _Lucky Pierre_'s paleontologist). Somewhere off in the darkness on\u003cbr\u003eeither side of me were Joe Hargraves, gadgeting for mineral deposits,\u003cbr\u003eand Ed Reiss, hopefully on the lookout for anything alive. The _Lucky\u003cbr\u003ePierre_ was back of us, her body out of sight behind a low black ridge,\u003cbr\u003eonly her gleaming nose poking above like a porpoise coming up for air.\u003cbr\u003eWhen I looked back, I could see, along the jagged rim of the ridge, the\u003cbr\u003ebusy reflected flickerings of the bubble-camp the techs were throwing\u003cbr\u003etogether. Otherwise all was black, except for our blue-white torch beams\u003cbr\u003ethat darted here and there over the gritty, rocky surface.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47145922724080,"sku":"2940014103916","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014103916_p0.jpg?v=1763600632","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014103916","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}