The Circadia Chronicles: Omnibus: The Complete Colonization Sci-Fi Series by Heather Heckadon (books to read to get smarter .txt) 📗

proteins available in the plants by testing the nitrogen levels. All protein contains nitrogen, so they tested for that one specific element, and this gave them an idea of how much protein was available.

The chem team was everyone’s resource.

After the third day of testing, it became regular to have fresh veggies and leafy greens available to us during meal times. Berries from Circadia were my favorite. All of them were pungently sweet and delicious.

The architectural group began harvesting more supplies for housing, and this took up the bulk of their time. They would be responsible for housing not only the four hundred people about to be on this planet, but countless immigrants from Earth seeking solitude from the nuclear fallout. I could only imagine the amount of stress they felt.

The solar team was hard at it, continuing on their strenuous task of setting up solar panels. Since electricity was so important, and the solar panels were flat, they had been allowed to bring many of these solar panels with us. Walking past an entire field filled with solar panels felt futuristic and basic all at the same time. It was beautiful. Natural, but modern. Seeing the energy fields gave me a lot of hope for Circadia’s future.

My team and I also began working vigorously. Jane worked with the chem team to develop explosives so we could begin harvesting the metals and minerals Circadia was sure to have. Once these were exposed, she would have a team assembled from members of the new workforce. They would work on forging metal, creating tools for the masses, and building materials for the architectural team. I began plotting out fields for optimal crop growth, sampling the soil, and preparing the seeds we’d brought for planting. I would need tools and plenty of laborers to help me finish tilling the fields and plant the crops. To stay productive in the meantime, I began assembling the center pivot watering system with Garrett and Smith’s help. Garrett had not quite found his purpose on Circadia yet, and Smith had many things he could have been studying or engineering, but felt that his efforts were better focused helping others for the time being.

We all worked tirelessly until the landing date of the labor force arrived.

FOUR DAYS AFTER THE day we were notified of the plan, a new spacecraft arrived on Circadia. Their craft was much larger than the one we had arrived in, but it separated into ten pieces just like ours. Our space team had informed us of this as they grew closer to our planet. Even though they were only observing from the ground, they were able to tell us quite a lot about what the new ship was like.

We all huddled around our supply site, since we knew that Earth had its geographical location marked on the map and would not program any of their pods to land anywhere near that area. We assumed that they would land close to us, though, so that they would have help available.

While waiting, all of us decided it would be a good idea to clean up before anyone new landed on the planet. We had dragged through the mud while building huts, sweat had poured from our bodies, and some of us had not done a whole lot of clothes-changing. We all thought it would be best if we tidied up before we had company so that we didn’t scare them.

The water felt cool and refreshing as we waded down through the creek. Bathing was a very public affair on Circadia. At first it had been repulsive and embarrassing, but it was beginning to feel more common. Nudity on Earth was sexualized, but here it was just a necessity to be clean. It was a stark difference to the way society was back home, and I appreciated it immensely.

The soap that some of us had brought felt magnificent against my skin. Smells that I hadn’t even realized I was putting off were washed away, providing immediate relief. Most people brought their clothes with them, as well, to wash them out and let them dry in the branches of the trees surrounding the cool pools.

While we were all washing, we heard a large boom from the sky, followed by more. When the pods entered the atmosphere, it made a large bang, and when they began to descend, it sounded like bottle rockets until they slowed. I could feel the anxiety hovering, and everyone began to quickly get dressed.

The teams walked together in silence through the trees and the field to get back to the supply site. How did they choose these people? I wondered. Did they volunteer, or were they forced to come here? Would they be like us and eager to help? Or would they mess up everything that we have created? My anxiety was getting the best of me. My brain wouldn’t stop. I was so ready to meet these people so that my questions could be answered.

Our teams split up to find all of the pods. Tromping through the flower weed, the agricultural and architectural teams came upon a giant white pod. The pods were enormous compared to our tiny ones. Walking around it, I heard something from the top, as someone opened the hatch. It was a few moments before we saw a man stick his head out to take a peek first, then stand up and wave at us.

“Holy shit!” the man yelled. “This is amazing! Why are the trees purple?”

“We can explain that later!” I yelled back, laughing. “How many of you are in the pod? They didn’t tell us a whole lot about your group!”

“There’s thirty-five of us in here! Man, are we glad to be here!”

“Thirty-five? Wow! We only had five!” Smith yelled. He looked at me and shook my shoulders. “This is going to be awesome!”

“Well, how do you think we should get down from here?” the man asked.

“We just slid out of our pod, but yours is