Chapter 4
Updated: 30 November 2004
'I've known you since you were five. Don't even try lying to me'.
Tor couldn't help but laughing. Ziv had probably known about his feelings for Nis before he figured it out for himself. He knew he had a way with people. He could make them relax. He could make them relax. He could make them feel comfortable. Most people wouldn't have guessed that it was his way of diverting attention from himself. He wanted people to like him, to remember him, to feel at ease around him. He could draw people out of themselves, get them to open up. He was comfortable with that. He wasn't comfortable with having that soul-searching spotlight pointed at him.
'I'm not lying, Ziv. Honest. I just... I don't know. I'm not entirely sure what it is I'm feeling'. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. He knew exactly how he felt about Nis, he just wasn't sure he was sure.
'There's something different about her, isn't there'?
He knew what she meant, but he asked anyway. There was something different about Nis. He'd had plenty of girlfriends before, but nothing ever lasted. They always expected more than he could give. They always wanted him to open up to them, the way they did with him. But he couldn't.
Lately his conversations with Nis had been surprising. They'd start off arguing about something: philosophy, war, religion — once they'd even argued about [something trivial and stupid; will come up again later]. Somehow, though, the arguments turned into something more, something real. He had told her things he'd never even acknowledged to Ziv, his best friend for 20 years. He had no doubt they were things that Ziv was perfectly well aware of, but he'd never owned up to them. Not to her, anyway...
Nis took it all in stride. Hell, she probably thought he was this open with everybody.
'We should probably start heading back to the ship. It'll be getting dark soon'. He nodded and turned away from the cliff. They'd been standing at the precipice for nearly an hour. They'd been on the planet less than two weeks, and already it was starting to feel like home. The landscape was beautiful and the air so fresh. Everything was perfectly unspoilt and green. There wasn't much left like this back home. It had been only in the last 150 years or so that people had stopped destroying the planet and started working towards restoring it. It was too late, though. Their efforts to regenerate their ruined planet would eventually succeed, but not before nearly a third of the population starved. Four teams just like theirs had been sent to explore planets with the intention of colonising them.
[Planet 1] was closer than Nova, and both Genesis and [Planet 4] seemed close to physical perfection, but Nova seemed to offer the best all around chances. It had an abundance of plant life, but they had yet to find evidence of any animal life. The gravity was slightly higher than what they were accustomed to, but not enough to cause any physical damage. The air wasn't just breathable, it was clean and pure. Water — both fresh and salt — was abundant. Keeler and the rest of the agricultural team were optimistic about the vegetation.
They would spend the next two years here; collecting samples, running tests, cataloguing items, exploring the terrain. They needed to gather and interpret as much data as they possibly could. Once the two years were up, they’d return home. All the samples and the data would be passed off to the scientists back home. Hopefully, Nova would prove suitable as a colony site. If all went according to plan, the first settlement group would depart for their new home approximately 10 years later. The first colonists would consist largely of farmers, construction workers and their families. Gradually, others would join them.
Tor’s thoughts stayed on Nova and what it would (or at least could) become. ‘It’s strange to think that this very spot could someday be the site of a restaurant or a major highway or a government office’, he said aloud.
‘I know what you mean. It’s hard to envision what it will all look like a hundred years from now. I’m just glad that we won’t spoil this one. We’re lucky our great-grandparents finally saw the error of their ways.’
The walk back to the ship took just over an hour. They talked about the state of the world and how much hope was riding on the four expeditions. Although poverty and hunger had been dramatically reduced in the past century, the planet could simply not sustain the continued population growth. The governments of various countries had imposed luxury rations. Gone were the days when people could drink six cups of coffee or eat meat more than once a day. By the time the Questor’s crew returned home, coffee and meat would likely be reserved for very special occasions.
Nova could change all that. Nova and her three sisters offered them potential to make a new start.
People who chose to make the move would literally make new starts for themselves and their families. Moving to a new, unspoilt planet sounded like paradise — and in some ways it was — but it would be hard work. There was no doubt about that. There were buildings to build, roads to construct, and water and sewage systems to establish. Beyond that, though, there were raw materials to consider. They couldn’t just ship everything here and then put it together with a few simple tools. Sure, some goods would be brought by the colonists, but for the most part the colonies were meant to be self-sufficient.
The conversation occupied them the rest of the way back. Tor was glad to have the attention shifted away from himself. He knew Ziv was probably aware of the reason he changed the topic of conversation, but he was glad she let him get away with it.
As they approached the camp, he saw that Nis was working on one of the new buildings they were putting up. He thought he saw the briefest of smiles pass her face, but if he did, it was gone instantly. She turned towards them, one hand blocking the sun from her eyes and the other reaching up to remove the nails she’d been holding between her lips. ‘Nice of you two to join us’, she said. ‘Lucky for you there’s still plenty of work to be done’.
'I've known you since you were five. Don't even try lying to me'.
Tor couldn't help but laughing. Ziv had probably known about his feelings for Nis before he figured it out for himself. He knew he had a way with people. He could make them relax. He could make them relax. He could make them feel comfortable. Most people wouldn't have guessed that it was his way of diverting attention from himself. He wanted people to like him, to remember him, to feel at ease around him. He could draw people out of themselves, get them to open up. He was comfortable with that. He wasn't comfortable with having that soul-searching spotlight pointed at him.
'I'm not lying, Ziv. Honest. I just... I don't know. I'm not entirely sure what it is I'm feeling'. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. He knew exactly how he felt about Nis, he just wasn't sure he was sure.
'There's something different about her, isn't there'?
He knew what she meant, but he asked anyway. There was something different about Nis. He'd had plenty of girlfriends before, but nothing ever lasted. They always expected more than he could give. They always wanted him to open up to them, the way they did with him. But he couldn't.
Lately his conversations with Nis had been surprising. They'd start off arguing about something: philosophy, war, religion — once they'd even argued about [something trivial and stupid; will come up again later]. Somehow, though, the arguments turned into something more, something real. He had told her things he'd never even acknowledged to Ziv, his best friend for 20 years. He had no doubt they were things that Ziv was perfectly well aware of, but he'd never owned up to them. Not to her, anyway...
Nis took it all in stride. Hell, she probably thought he was this open with everybody.
'We should probably start heading back to the ship. It'll be getting dark soon'. He nodded and turned away from the cliff. They'd been standing at the precipice for nearly an hour. They'd been on the planet less than two weeks, and already it was starting to feel like home. The landscape was beautiful and the air so fresh. Everything was perfectly unspoilt and green. There wasn't much left like this back home. It had been only in the last 150 years or so that people had stopped destroying the planet and started working towards restoring it. It was too late, though. Their efforts to regenerate their ruined planet would eventually succeed, but not before nearly a third of the population starved. Four teams just like theirs had been sent to explore planets with the intention of colonising them.
[Planet 1] was closer than Nova, and both Genesis and [Planet 4] seemed close to physical perfection, but Nova seemed to offer the best all around chances. It had an abundance of plant life, but they had yet to find evidence of any animal life. The gravity was slightly higher than what they were accustomed to, but not enough to cause any physical damage. The air wasn't just breathable, it was clean and pure. Water — both fresh and salt — was abundant. Keeler and the rest of the agricultural team were optimistic about the vegetation.
They would spend the next two years here; collecting samples, running tests, cataloguing items, exploring the terrain. They needed to gather and interpret as much data as they possibly could. Once the two years were up, they’d return home. All the samples and the data would be passed off to the scientists back home. Hopefully, Nova would prove suitable as a colony site. If all went according to plan, the first settlement group would depart for their new home approximately 10 years later. The first colonists would consist largely of farmers, construction workers and their families. Gradually, others would join them.
Tor’s thoughts stayed on Nova and what it would (or at least could) become. ‘It’s strange to think that this very spot could someday be the site of a restaurant or a major highway or a government office’, he said aloud.
‘I know what you mean. It’s hard to envision what it will all look like a hundred years from now. I’m just glad that we won’t spoil this one. We’re lucky our great-grandparents finally saw the error of their ways.’
The walk back to the ship took just over an hour. They talked about the state of the world and how much hope was riding on the four expeditions. Although poverty and hunger had been dramatically reduced in the past century, the planet could simply not sustain the continued population growth. The governments of various countries had imposed luxury rations. Gone were the days when people could drink six cups of coffee or eat meat more than once a day. By the time the Questor’s crew returned home, coffee and meat would likely be reserved for very special occasions.
Nova could change all that. Nova and her three sisters offered them potential to make a new start.
People who chose to make the move would literally make new starts for themselves and their families. Moving to a new, unspoilt planet sounded like paradise — and in some ways it was — but it would be hard work. There was no doubt about that. There were buildings to build, roads to construct, and water and sewage systems to establish. Beyond that, though, there were raw materials to consider. They couldn’t just ship everything here and then put it together with a few simple tools. Sure, some goods would be brought by the colonists, but for the most part the colonies were meant to be self-sufficient.
The conversation occupied them the rest of the way back. Tor was glad to have the attention shifted away from himself. He knew Ziv was probably aware of the reason he changed the topic of conversation, but he was glad she let him get away with it.
As they approached the camp, he saw that Nis was working on one of the new buildings they were putting up. He thought he saw the briefest of smiles pass her face, but if he did, it was gone instantly. She turned towards them, one hand blocking the sun from her eyes and the other reaching up to remove the nails she’d been holding between her lips. ‘Nice of you two to join us’, she said. ‘Lucky for you there’s still plenty of work to be done’.
posted by sic at 23:24
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