Sunday, May 2, 2021

Story A Day In May - Day 2

 

Journal of Aber Crombie

By J. Smith Kirkland

Day 58

I still have not come to grasps with the giant sun in the red sky. Herbert says the sky is red because the sun is a red dwarf. And the sun is huge because the habitable zone around a red dwarf is much closer to the sun than what I am used to. And that's because the sun is cooler. That's what Herbert tells me anyway. And that's the reason it is so much colder here than I am used to. There are a lot of things here I am not used to.

We went to the greenhouse this morning. Like every morning. The automation control for the microbe system gets off schedule sometimes, and we have to adjust it manually sometime. I'm glad Herbert is smart and knows all this stuff. But as long as the system works at all the plants seem to do fine. But I think Herbert just like to walk around in there. The green plants are a nice contrast to the dry cracked ground outside. And as much as I would hate to admit it to Herbert, it is nice to have some sort of routine. I used to think it would be great to have no responsibilities, nothing that had to be be done. But after having nothing that has to be done all day for 58 days, I need some sort of routine or I think I might go mad.

After breakfast in the green house, we pick a direction on the compass, one we have not used before, and start walking in that direction. We are looking for new things. A type of rock we have not seen before, a soil anomaly, signs of a creature. We have seen no signs of creatures at all. Not even with the microbe detector. Of course, the literature all says there is no life on this planet other than what the transport company has brought to the weigh station, but Herbert says people that believe everything a company tells them will never discover anything new. And honestly, the people at the company were the ones that told us we would only be here for two days before the next ship arrived. So, we go looking for new things.

We only walk for 8 kilometer before we turn to go back. The days are short here, and you don't want to be outside when the red sun sets. I complain about the cold a lot. I grew up near an equator. I like it warm. Herbert promises the next stop will be warmer. It has a yellow sun. He says it has beaches like my home too. And people. He suspects I won't complain if we get stuck there for a month or two. I have never been to earth, but he makes it sound nice. Though I am starting to wonder if we will ever get there. Herbert still talks as if the ship is still on the way, but I am starting to think there may not be anymore ships.



THE PROMPT

Write a story or a scene in a setting you have never used before. It can be somewhere you have been or somewhere you have always wanted to go. It can be real or imagined.

The goal is to try something new.

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