The Meteor is sunk in a lake with its after section flooded but its nose above water. Two men and the main reactor have gone through a hole in the side of the engine compartment. Screens and ventilators are dead. The only light is from dim, green "evershine panels." (p. 30)
Outside:
the huge, red sun is dim enough to look at;
the sky is deep purple;
there is eternal twilight;
the lake sheens crimson;
the land is barely visible;
leathery-winged creatures croak hoarsely as they fly above;
the air is dank and tropical.
Argens is not sure that he wants to live but Valland insists that it should only take them a few years to get off the planet and Mary O'Meara is waiting for him. As Neil Gaiman's Desire says of the Emperor Norton, his madness keeps him sane.
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