Nireem walked into the science lab.
“D^Lanoden. Any news to report?”
“Sir. I’ve got a recipe for food bars that's simple. The next step is to gather the ingredients,” D^Lanoden replied, grinning proudly.
“Good. The food bars are easy to store and are popular. Solracin, how's your project?”
“Well, I built a kiln and am trying to heat a sample to the melting point. I use a ceramic brick for testing and am getting close, but it's still not hot enough. “
“Keep working on it. We may want to melt down some of the metals in the descent vehicle.“
“If it's wiring, most of that I can melt now.”
“That's a good start. Now I need your help. We must learn to make everything we need to live here. I mean basic things like soap, clothing, gunpowder, and bullets for our rifles. We are organizing small groups to work on many projects, but they need technical guidance. Can you teach them some of the basics?”
“Well, they aren’t scientists,” D^Lanoden protested.
“We only have to give them a starting point. We don’t have time for you to do everything. Just provide some general ideas on where to start.”
“We’ll try, sir.”
“Remember, primitive people figured out how to do it, but it took hundreds of years and many refinements. We have the advantage of knowing what is possible and the underlying science.”
“Yes, sir,” Solracin said dutifully.
“Was there anything useful in those samples Nevetsin's men brought back?”
“Yes! There were several useful materials. One, in particular, was an iron oxide in powder form. One of the men who collected it said they scraped this off water plants. We can work with that if we get a larger quantity.”
“That sounds encouraging. Anything else?”
“They brought in several samples of limestone. That's very useful.”
“What else do you need?”
“We need charcoal. Wood is heated to reduce it to black pieces, mostly carbon. It burns hot and is also useful in making gunpowder and other things,” Solracin replied. Then he added,” It would be nice to have a chemist.”
“I’ can’t imagine the Planners had the foresight to send a chemist, but I’ll check. Nevetsin will come up to get the details on what you need,” Nireem said.
“One more thing,” Solracin continued. “I checked our reference files for plants that should grow here and found two with edible roots. They should be easy to plant in gardens and be another food source. Can we ask a group to look for them?”
“Good suggestion. I’ll get a group organized for you to brief. And I am looking for one or two assistants to help you. ” Nireem left the lab, calling Nevetsin on his communicator.
“Nevetsin here.”
“Meet with D^Lanoden and Solracin. They found two of the samples your men collected to be useful and wanted more. He has the details.”
“Will do!”
Nireem left the half-dome and walked down toward the rows of log shelters. He noticed some were stacking wood they had gathered, and others were talking with neighbors. Then he spotted Enaida talking with several Amillikut women and approached them.
“Yes, we can make soap,” he heard one saying.
“Enaida, have a minute?”
She saw him, waved, and came over. “I just learned two of the women made soap on Tridon. So they are going to try making it here.”
“Another piece in our puzzle. I was talking with Solracin. He suggested we plant crops for a more dependable food supply and recommended two plants. There is room by each cabin to have a garden. Would you organize a group to look for seedlings we can transplant? Solracin will brief the group. He has some pictures that will help. And D^Lanoden needs ingredients for his food bar recipe.”
“Will do,” she responded, still speaking like a crew member responding to an order.
“Thanks, Enaida. We don’t have to be so formal here,” he said, smiling.
More Exploration Around Settlement Two
Upon Ecurben's return, he met with Curiden to plan missions to search for raw materials. As before, Ecurben ordered the men to avoid contact with natives. However, he wanted them to observe and identify their numbers and weapons.
Norami, the materials scientist, met with the two patrols and showed them pictures of various minerals. In addition, Norami provided illustrations of rock formations and other terrain features where they would most likely find them. His last words were,” If in doubt, collect some.”
One patrol would head downriver and the other upstream. Each was to push further than earlier trips.
In his log shelter, Ecurben found Ecinajee and told her about the meeting with the Commander's people and the focus on becoming self-sufficient.
“You know a lot of the women. We need to find everyone with experience making or growing the things we use – clothing, soap, food,….anything. We want to organize small groups to work on projects. Gardens in the community would save time searching for food.”
“We need new clothing. What we brought is starting to fall apart and is impossible to clean. I’ll talk to everyone I know and get started.”
Ecinajee was excited to have a new project. Her mind juggled thoughts of all the things they needed. Her priority was anything that would improve their hygiene. During the Cold Times, she felt dirty all the time. Sometimes, she would dream of soaking in a tub of warm water.
Later in the day, Ecurben saw Drachcirn and stopped to talk with him. Over the years, he had learned Drachcirn had eclectic interests and knew much more than navigation. Much of his knowledge came from books. He was an avid reader and had an insatiable curiosity. That's what probably made him an excellent problem solver.
“What did you think of the names chosen for each month in your calendar?” Ecurben asked.
“Well, I preferred using the names of constellations we knew on Tridon, but their choice, using the names of plants with seasonal significance, is fine.”
“Well, it will make talking about specific parts of the year much more straightforward.”
“We should send the calendar to the Commander.”
“Yes. Do that. It would be best if both settlements used the same one,” Ecurben said. “But I wanted to get your thoughts on the discussion at the joint meeting.”
“I agree with the need to end dependence on what we brought from Tridon. But the natives are self-sufficient. We need to emphasize the technologies that will make us dominant.”
Ecurben's mind replayed the words: make us dominant. Yes, Drachcirn's phrase was the real challenge. Just producing what we need to live isn’t enough.
“I agree. Think of projects that will help us be dominant.”
“I’ll talk to Odraciron. His maintenance crew has some technical expertise. Keeping what we have working is a start,” Drachcirn answered.
“Maintaining what we brought buys us time. Let me know when you’re ready to talk further.”
“Will do!”
Eight Days Later, at the First Settlement
Enaida had organized a group of women to hunt for the plants Solracin had suggested. The weather was mild, and some plants were starting to grow. But, so far, they had only found one of the tubers the biologist had described. Its bright yellow flower rising from nearly flat, saw-toothed leaves made them easy to spot. There was another plant down near the wide creek that had bulb-like roots. The women returned with several dozen of both.
She also spent time with women, listening to their needs and asking about special skills. She found two women who had made soaps. They explained it wouldn’t be as lovely as soap on Tridon because they didn’t have ingredients to add fragrance and different colors. Several others had experience weaving and knitting but lacked the yarn and threads required.
As Enaida walked between the rows of log shelters, she asked everyone along the way if they knew anything about making yarn or thread. Some had read books that mentioned their ancestors spun yarn, but no one knew how.
Gergin received the message describing Drachcirn's calendar. He immediately saw the benefit of being able to record when events happened throughout the year. Currently, they dated everything in Days Since Landing. He felt foolish for not thinking of it himself.
Then he saw the Commander with Nevetsin and asked to join them. They were headed to the shallow river down the slope below the rows of huts to meet a returning patrol.
“Which patrol is returning?” Nireem asked.
“Samohtin's. His group went upstream. That's where they found the iron oxide that was Solracin's priority.”
“Did they explore further than their last trip?” Nireem asked.
“Yes, at least a full day farther.”
The Commander preferred to meet each patrol where they could easily talk without being overheard. He was still worried about natives who might be a danger. He didn’t want to alarm the community if it wasn’t necessary.
While they waited, the three men sat on a rocky outcropping. Nevetsin pointed out a grove of small trees covered in tiny pink flowers.
“Everything is getting green and growing again after the awful cold,” Gergin commented.
“Spending so much time in space, I never noticed the changes throughout the year. Here, it's so dramatic,“ Nireem said.
Then Nevetsin's communicator sounded. It was Samohtin reporting they were nearly there. He was told they were waiting near the river.
“Samohtin sounded excited. I hope the patrol had success finding more of that iron powder.”
“I am curious about what else they’ve seen. I can’t believe this planet is all uninhabited wilderness,” Nireem replied.
“The geologist we sent out with the other patrol told me that soil from decaying matter accumulates year after year. The wind picks it up and reshapes the landscape. That's why archeologists look at the layers exposed where they dig. It's a way to estimate the age of relics,” Nevetsin explained.
“I suppose tree rings would also help them determine age,” Gergin added.
“Our lab guys can date certain remains thousands of years old. It works on organic objects and dates when they stopped living,” Nireem explained.
Then, they saw the patrol in their rhythmical bobbing trot approaching. The packs were full, and the loads looked heavy.
“That's a good sign. The men found something!”
Samohtin led his team over to where The Commander and Nevetsin were waiting. He was smiling like a school kid with news to share.
“Sit down and rest. We are anxious to hear your report,” Nevetsin said, welcoming them.
The men needed no prompting to drop their packs. Their heavy breathing indicated they had been running for several hours and welcomed a rest.
“Sir! This mission was more than successful. First, we found the iron stuff and returned with three packs filled to the top. The ground around the water plants contained hundreds of little nodules. And there is still a lot there,” Samohtin said excitedly.
“Well done. Anything else?”
“We went further upstream and came to a pool. It's more than three hard days farther. This river's source is an enormous spring. But that's not all,” Samohtin said.
“Go on,” Nireem said.
“Beyond the spring, the land rises gradually to a distant ridgeline – a very high ridge. Gradually, the forests thin out, and the trees are mostly smaller with silvery leaves. The land there looks very different and has more rocks, unlike those we find here. We brought samples from the ridge slope plus others we collected along the way.”
“What was the direction to the ridgeline?” Nevetsin probed.
“It was 30 degrees, measured off the Jua rise-set line.”
“Did you see any signs of inhabitants?” Nireem asked.
“Twice we saw distant columns of smoke -- like from campfires. But these were far off, and we never saw any natives.”
“Did you reach that ridgeline?”
“No, Commander. It was high and visible, but at least another five days off.”
“Samohtin. You and your men deserve our thanks. It was a successful mission,” The Commander said.
Nireem wondered what would cause the terrain to change so dramatically.