Age of Cosmic Exploration

Sara woke up early in the morning. The world outside was still drenched in darkness. She took a look at the clock on the wall, it was 4:40 AM. The Resettlement Manifesto introduced a new way of reading time. Instead of following the old time from Earth, the new time would be told using the spot the Hope landed as the benchmark. Currently, it was spring on the new planet. The sun would rise when it was around 6:30 AM.

The stellar star of this system, commonly referred to as the sun out of habit, was a young star. At least according to the Academy’s observation, it would have no issue burning for another billion years. This information was released through the Hope Weekly so the public could carry on living without fear of sudden solar explosion, like what happened on the meteorite base.

It was definitely too early for Sara to wake up. This was because she was used to Earth’s time, so the sudden change in the time standard needed some getting used to. Even though this was already her fifth day on the new planet, she was still struggling with jet lag. She predicted she would need another 3 to 5 days to fully situate herself into this new time standard.

Then again, as the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm. It was not so bad lying on the plush mattress taking in the fresh smell of dew and seawater in the early morning. It was a sensation she had not felt in a long time. She felt like she was still dreaming and was reluctant to wake up.

Sara was part of the first batch of human settlers. She was family to a hero medal recipient, which made her eligible for the selection according to the second rule. Luckily, she and her daughter were both selected. After taking shots of the Ultimate Vaccine, they were transported to the new planet. When the shuttle touched ground, she had a handle over her emotions, but her 9-year-old daughter, who left Earth when she was 3, lied down and rolled all over the field with gleeful cheers. She had spent 6 years on the Hope, so the only time she had seen greenies was in books, movies, or the rare occasion they were allowed on the biomes. These little brief contacts with nature couldn’t rival the real thing. She picked up a bunch of flowers to make a wreath and scooped up the brown earth in her palms. She then ran to Sara to ask her where the bathroom was. The whole scene made Sara break down in tears. And she wasn’t alone; most of the first batch human settlers knelt on the ground and started weeping tears of joy.

After that, Sara picked a rather compact villa as their residence. Unlike the villas which were meant for families with 3 generations, theirs was smaller in size even though it was similarly 3-storeys tall. It came with a lawn and a private garden. It was a building style Sara liked. A seaside villa like this would cost more than 100,000 US Dollars back on Earth.

The outside of the villa was designed beautifully. The private garden even came with a small vegetable patch. The lawn had access to an automated watering system, and beyond it was a miniature swimming pool. It also had a garage and an attached store. It was better than they expected.

The interior, though, was comparatively lackluster. The flooring was hardwood and there was no carpeting. The furniture was familiar-looking because they were moved there from the Hope. Everything had a mass-produced roughness to it. Basic amenities like a fridge, air-conditioners, and oven were available, and each villa was fitted two computers. This allowed the settlers to connect to the Hope’s main server to lodge opinions or request for aid whenever necessary.

In the 3 to 4 days after arrival, all the settlers, Sara included, were busy setting up their own homes. Details like moving the furniture, tossing out the unnecessary items, adding their personal touches, house-cleaning, and the likes took that long.

Today, Sara finally had the time to take a breather. This was the first time the alertness that was ever present since she got on the Hope was replaced by a sense of contentment.

"Honey, the government treats us very well, and they remember everything you did for is. They plan to build a Hero’s Mountain in the near future, a place to set up the Hall of Remembrance. Everything’s going well for me and our daughter; we’re now living on the new planet, but dear, I really miss you..."

On that perfectly fine morning, Sara suddenly thought of her husband that lost his life on Planet Sahara. Tears streamed out of her eyes, and she buried herself in the mattress so that she wouldn’t wake her daughter. Suddenly, a small hand reached out to touch her hair, she looked up immediately and saw her daughter in her pajamas staring back at her.

"Honey, what are you doing up so early? Are you hungry?" Sara hurriedly wiped her tears and pulled her daughter in for a hug.

The little girl turned her head up to look at her mother and said, with a smile, "Mom, your eyes are red. Didn’t you promise you wouldn’t cry again? Be nice and keep your promise, okay?"

Sara chuckled at her antics. Raised by her single mother, Penny Thompson was a precocious little girl. Even though she was only 9, she would help out around the house, and many times when Sara was feeling down, it was her daughter that cheered her up.

Sara patted her daughter lovingly on her head, adding, "Honey, what do you want to have for breakfast? How about a slice of cake with a sunny-side up? Plus a glass of hot milk."

Penny scrunched her nose, saying, "But I want fruits."

"Fruits?" Sara nodded. "There’s some oranges in the fridge, but don’t eat too many so early in the morning or you’ll get a cold. And remember to pour yourself a glass of milk. Go ahead, honey."

Penny shook her little head. "No, Mom, I want to eat those giant purple fruits, the kind that will dye your teeth and tongue purple after you eat it."

Sara knew what she was talking about instantly. Their new neighbor, a Chinese technician, invited them over for dinner yesterday. Since they could be decades-long neighbors, Sara brought a home-made cake to the dinner. Truth be told, Sara was afraid she or her daughter might not be used to the Chinese palette, but the dinner turned out to be more sumptuous than she predicted. Even though the man wasn’t really a good cook, the mother and daughter had their fill. After the cake dessert, the Chinese teen brought out a plate of sliced-fruit for them to taste. That was the purple fruit Penny was talking about.

This was one of the fruits native to the new planet. The Academy was working overtime to identity and categorize the new planet’s fruits and plants. This was one of the types they recommend. It was packed to the brim with nutrients and was harmless to those that had the vaccine injection. It also could help improve synapse formation in children, and thus was very recommended as a type of kid’s snacks.

The flesh of the fruit was sweet and juicy, kind of like a purple lychee. The only downside was that they were rather rare. At least until mass cultivation, these fruits could be only found by the fringe of the forest. Of course, there was bound to be more inside the forest, but common civilians were banned from entering the jungle without supervision for fear of beast attack. Therefore, these fruits still hadn’t reached the market; they were all hand-picked. The Defense Unit soldiers and certain technicians that worked around the city walls would have easier access to them.

Sara looked at Penny with a pained expression and said, "Honey, those fruits are very rare, so we can’t buy them yet... How about I get you some fresh oranges instead?"

Penny’s mouth turned down slightly, but she didn’t make a fuss. She nodded obediently and followed Sara to the kitchen. After a quick breakfast, she was her old, happy self again.

Penny said, "Mom, when do you think Uncle Liu Qing Yang will invite us over for chinese food again? He cooks so much better than mom, and I like the idea of having so many dishes to pair with a bowl of white rice."

Sara smiled inwardly and pinched her daughter on her nose. "Then how about mommy starts leaning how to cook chinese food from today onward? But Penny has to promise she’ll be mommy’s little helper in the kitchen, okay?"

Penny stood up in her chair and cheered. After Sara told her to sit back down, their doorbell rang. It was about 7 AM. The sun had risen, but it was still rather early; who would come knocking so early in the morning?

Sara felt her guard go up, but then if it was someone or something dangerous, the Defense Unit that had a 24 hour patrol would step in, so she quickly went to get the door.

The door opened to reveal a shy Liu Qing Yang, who stood on her doorstep with a box of purple fruits in his arm. For some reason, Sara felt her heart skip a beat...