The ship  landed in a medley  of noises. There was  the far-off hiss¹ of theatmosphere cutting  and sliding past the  metal of the ship.  There was thesteady drone  of the  conditioners fighting the  heat of friction,  and theslower rumble  of the  engines enforcing deceleration. There  was the humansound of men and  women gathering² in the debarkation³ rooms and the grind ofthe hoists⁴ lifting baggage, mail, and freight to the long axis⁵ of the ship,from  which they  would  be later  moved along  to the  unloading platform.
Gaal  felt  the  slight  jar that  indicated  the  ship  no  longer had  anindependent  motion of  its  own. Ship's  gravity  had been  giving way  toplanetary  gravity  for hours.  Thousands  of passengers  had been  sittingpatiently  in  the  debarkation   rooms  which  swung  easily  on  yieldingforce-fields to  accommodate its  orientation⁶ to the  changing direction ofthe gravitational forces. Now  they were crawling down curving ramps⁷ to thelarge, yawning locks.
Gaal's  baggage was  minor⁸.  He stood  at a  desk,  as it  was  quickly andexpertly taken  apart and  put together again.  His visa was  inspected andstamped. He himself paid no attention.
This was  Trantor! The air seemed a little thicker  here, the gravity a bitgreater, than on his  home planet of Synnax, but he would get used to that.
He wondered if he would get used to immensity.
Debarkation  Building  was tremendous.  The  roof  was almost  lost in  theheights.  Gaal could  almost  imagine that  clouds could  form  beneath itsimmensity. He could see no opposite wall; just men and desks and convergingfloor till it faded out in

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