On the flat surface stood a cluster of ultramodern structures. Standing apart at one edge were dormitories. Laboratory and office buildings were scattered in a loose pinwheel formation around the perimeter.
From its center rose a long, massive boxlike rectangle. The concrete building was windowless, its thick walls broken only by ventilating shafts. This was the building to house the atomic pile. It would be encased in concrete, deep within the building’s double walls.
As Tom circled once over the area, Bud asked where they would land.
“About ten miles from here,” Tom replied, flying away from the plant, “halfway between the nearest town and the Citadel. More convenient for all of us that way.”
Presently he cut the forward engines and set the jet lifters in motion. Then, gradually, he cut power and the ship touched ground. As the travelers got out, Phyl remarked:
“Look at all this space! Just rocks and desert as far as you can see!”
110 TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT ROBOT
Tom cautioned the girls about wearing their boots at all times while walking around. “Watch out for snakes and poisonous Gila monsters,” he warned.
It had been arranged that Bud and the girls would live in the Sky Queen, with Chow as chaperon. They would carry on their sightseeing from there by helicopter. Tom would commute back and forth to the Citadel by jeep.
“If that cloud of dust out there is what I think it is,” he said, “a fleet of our trucks is coming to meet us now and carry the equipment back.”
A few minutes later the trucks rolled up to the plane, kicking dust and sand in every direction. Three of the vehicles were to take Tom, Sterling, Hanson, and equipment to the plant. The fourth was on its way to the only nearby settlement to pick up mail.