5
“The temperature today is a balmy minus eighty-five degrees,” Keltie said, evoking laughter from the salon. “But with Macalestern’s patented global warming technology, we can increase it to near-Earth level surface temperatures.”
She turned the corsair and fanned out over the rocky continent, toward a spiral of smoke rising from the ground.
“The gravity here is similar to Earth’s,” she said. “Many of you on this ship may not get that reference, so the nearest comparison would be the planet Forrest.”
Several passengers nodded in understanding.
“If you look to your left, you’ll see a basin of ice. This basin stretches around most of the planet near the equator. With a bit of warming, it’ll become liquid water, just like what you’re used to at home. With a bit of chemical treatment, it
