"Half-Breeds on Venus" was the twentieth story written by Asimov, the tenth to be published, the first sequel to an earlier story, and the first to "make the cover", i.e. to be the source of the magazine's cover illustration. At ten thousand words, it was also the longest story Asimov had had published up to that time. In commentary in The Early Asimov, Asimov says that the character of Irene was named after a fellow chemistry student at Columbia University that he had developed a crush on. Half-Breeds on Venus begins shortly after the final events in "Half-Breed". The three Tweenie ships have landed on Venus, and over a thousand Tweenies, led by Max Scanlon, emerge onto an upland plateau. As Max is getting on in years, he gives his elder son Arthur the task of preparing the underground settlement where the Tweenies will live, keeping out of sight of the planet's human settlers.