Dying World

They only took 300 civilian volunteers, in addition to select militia and scientists, to go to our new home in the solar system. Our planet had been rapidly dying for the last 100 years and it was becoming unlivable. With brutal weather, infrequent rain, and ever-increasing temperatures, it was getting to the point where we could hardly grow food or keep animals alive. People were starving and billions more had died from a disease that thrived in the extreme heat. It was rare that babies were born because everyone understood the fate of our dying world. Although Earth was vastly degraded from what it had been even 10 years ago, we still mostly functioned like normal. We had jobs, schools, hospitals and for once in a long time, a fair government.

It had only been my brother, Acer and me, Lindy, for the last 5 years. My parents had become ill, like so many of our people. After our mother died, our dad was in constant physical and emotional pain. He was out of his mind more than he was in control of it. One morning, when I went to check on him, the machines Acer had built to keep him alive, were off and he was gone.

Acer was a genius; he could build literally anything. He just knew how things worked. He and his team had been working tirelessly on the spacecraft that would become our opportunity to emigrate to a healthy, undying world. They were building two, but they put all their focus on one to get us there faster. The plan was to finish the second craft while the first group traveled to what would become our new home. My confidence in my brother was the only reason I volunteered to go.

****

When we discovered Kordot a few years ago and landed to determine its viability, we quickly realized it wasn’t an empty planet. The inhabitants are human, or at least so similar we can’t visibly tell the difference, but in complete contrast to conspiracy theories about alien planets and intelligent life, we are the more sophisticated beings. The people of Kordot live how you might describe as advanced cavemen, because many of them truly lived in caves. We spent years learning about them and building positive relationships. After several visits to their planet, our researchers learned they had hot springs everywhere and used them to stay warm, cook food and for their many health benefits. They appear to have no government or leadership, yet live as a truly peaceful community, and share literally everything. They wear animal skins and furs that feel like silk and carefully manage their population. Last year, before the emigration, we sent four ambassadors from Earth to trade places with four of their people. The exchange program allowed each to learn the language and customs of the other. It took little time for the majority of both peoples to agree to the emigration. In exchange for letting hundreds of thousands of our people onto their planet, they simply wanted the benefits from the resources and innovations we had to offer.

Apparently, Acer convinced our leaders that I was a significant asset to this first crew. They put me in charge of giving all the citizens who had volunteered for the first migration an assigned job. My dad, like Acer, had been extremely smart. He was an inventor, but not really a builder. He and Acer had always worked together; Dad would come up with a brilliant idea and Acer would make it happen. This spacecraft was one of my father’s last rational ideas. He always wrote his ideas and drawings in a little black notebook; I rarely saw him without one. I used to think it was always the same notebook, until I discovered hundreds of them when he got sick. Many of them were filled with things I couldn’t make sense of and some were blank. The suitcase of personal items I was allowed to bring, is almost completely filled with those books. I just couldn't leave them behind, and there was nothing else as important.

I used one of the empty notebooks to interview each passenger about their past life, jobs, interests, and talents. I found cooks, teachers, laborers, farmers, nurses, bankers and writers. Over the course of the trip, I assigned everyone a job and then assigned a backup. Even though we had an idea from the exchange program, we weren’t completely confident as to what we were going in to. Our government wanted to show the people of Kordot how we functioned economically, so we were encouraged to trade and buy things from them as a way of introducing an economic system. The idea is to convince them to adopt our ways, and hopefully our currency. Basically, what we were doing was a peaceful invasion.

******

The trip to Kordot took us eighteen days. Nearly all the Kordotians had learned greetings and pleasantries and many others could put together sentences fairly well and a few were basically fluent. We were learning more about what types of resources were lacking so the returning crew knew what would be most beneficial to bring back. My group was supposed to get settled in while our ship returned to get more people, then both crafts were to come back with more people and supplies.

They were supposed to come back right away, but they didn’t. I allowed for the return trip and back plus an additional couple of weeks for extra preparations based on the extensive list of resources we sent back, but I have no excuse for 6 extra months. I mourn Acer everyday. I just go through the motions, doing what needs to be done. Though some of our people have adopted the ways of our new hosts, most of us are still living on the craft, hanging on to whatever modern thing helps us feel normal. We don’t have the resources to make efficient shelter very quickly. Our main focus is to further communication and attempt to make our crops grow in their environment. Some of our people have done remarkably well at learning their language, but on both fronts, we’ve had decent success. The backup job classifications are helpful as well. We’ve needed more laborers and farmers than most other skills so far and most everyone is stepping into their role happily. I feel that if our new hosts are truly going to adopt our ways, like our leaders are hoping, they too will need jobs. I walk to my cabin for another one of my dad’s little black notebooks before I start with my next set of interviews. I grab a pair that are rubber banded together and look unused. I open one and am stunned when the contents fall out onto my open luggage. Hundred-dollar bills spilled from a hollowed-out center in the notebook. When I snap out of the shock, I grab the book that had been bound with this one. It too had a stack of one hundred-dollar bills nestled into a hollowed-out center. I count ten thousand dollars in each book. I shake my head and smile, thinking how my dad always hated banks. I set the notebooks aside and grab another one, peeking in to see if it has the same hollowed out pages as the other two, it doesn’t. I have no clue what to do with all this money, in a place that doesn’t even have a firm system down yet. I put the distraction aside and focus on my mission of helping the Kordotians find where they fit in the job loop. I find butchers and bakers who agree to teach our cooks how to work with the resources on this planet. Translators who have learned our language are willing to teach those who have not yet learned theirs. Many accept the task of laborers and a few seem like natural born leaders, so I introduce them to ours. There is not one Kordotian who isn’t eager to help our people, they truly are a peaceful people.

****

I’ve settled into a routine now and communication issues are virtually non-existent. Everyone seems to be getting along, some more than others based on the romantic relationships I’ve noticed. Since the area we settled is made up of mostly caves in the way of shelter, that has been our new goal. The plan is, once we can get more people out of the ship and into a better living situation, we will begin the task of building a town. As the days go on and the tiny structures we’ve managed to build slowly become something that can be used as shelter, I’m beginning to feel extremely discouraged. Though I absolutely do not let it show, I dread the task ahead. Very few seem to share my concern that this process is taking way too long, and I refuse to be the source of others’ worry. We have gone back to the literal stone ages, with minor advancements. This was supposed to be faster. We were supposed to bring them modern innovations and great advancements compared to what they have. But all we have done is bring them more people to have to share with. Not only do I feel like we are going to suffer for longer than planned, but I also feel like we have failed these people--- These people who are running in all directions… yelling something unintelligible. “What on Earth…er…Kordot is going on?” I correct my own thoughts, as I search through the throng of people looking for someone I recognize. Then I hear a noise that sounds vaguely familiar, but I cannot remember where I’ve heard it until I saw the source. A craft! Two of them! Now, I too am one of the crazy people running around. The ships look a little different than the one we arrived on, but I know it’s Acer. It must be. They had already landed and were piling out by the time I made it to the site. I did not stop running until I crashed into my brother’s arms. “What took you so long?” I blurted as I crushed Acer with a hug. “It’s been almost a year!”

“Good to see you too Lin,” he said with a tight squeeze back when I wouldn’t let go. “We built two more ships, they’re on their way. And I had to build a compact control system for the satellites we brought with us to put us on a grid. Also, I couldn’t leave the ones who wanted to stay without some way of communicating, so I built a communications system. We brought a few solar panels too, clean energy this time,” he said humbly.

“Of course you did…” I replied, feeling guilty that I had just chastised him for being late. We each talked more about what we’d done since we had last seen each other as we walked around so he could tour the area we were in. I told him about the money I found in Dad’s notebook and he said he wasn’t surprised.

“It’ll be nice to have later on if everything picks up with our economic system and money,” he said optimistically.

“And if it doesn’t, then it’ll be a great museum piece,” I added.

“That’s actually a great idea. You’d be the perfect person to get something like that going.”

“You think? That would be so fun! A lot of people brought sentimental things that maybe they’d…”

“Lin?” Acer started, waving his hand in front of my eyes. “Are you ok?” he added, glancing behind in the direction I was staring with mounting confusion.

“I just saw... there was…someone just…” I stammered, not able to complete the thoughts out loud. Acer kept looking from me to where I stared, unblinking as if something would appear out of thin air, and it just might, because that’s how it left.