(Page 1 of 2) Cold Harvest (unfinished) by Gerald JenningsSUMMARY: To my knowledge the concept of harvesting the Kuiper Belt for new terraformable worlds is something that has not appeared in a SF story before. Please let me know what you think so far.Gerald A. Jennings
304 East Main Street Gilboa, Ohio 45875
c. 2005 G. Jennings
Cold Harvest
by
Gerald A. Jennings
He had been told for years that the effect was totally psychological. Maybe so--but however warm the ‘lock was when he took off his suit, his teeth would chatter and he would shiver uncontrollably for some time before the feeling of terrible cold would leave him.
Entering the bridge, he saw Alexei intent on the lines of code scrolling across his vidscreen from CORA, the computer that monitored all the harvest operations for the AMUNDSEN. He could hear Carter and Benjamin talking in the sleep bay. Through the closed door their voices, though recognizable, were reduced to incomprehensible rumblings. He didn't hear DeBrandt. Probably already asleep.
"Got us a read on the final specs, Karalov?"
The Russian didn't look up, just waved, eyes never leaving the vidscreen. Finally he sighed, leaned back, and stretched.
"Close. I'll have them in an hour or so, but I don't expect any major adjustments." His English was flawless, with not a trace of an accent, though Klaasen knew he had been born and raised in Novgorod. "Point eight six Earth mass, point seven three Earth gravity, point six three Earth metallicity--a rich one for this far out. Enough frozen surface gasses already present for point one three Earth atmosphere after gassification, easily supplementable to Earth normal plus or minus point oh four with Kuiper or Oort material already cached. It's a great one, better even than Phaedra in '09. We've got a hot one, Dan. Could easily support a population of two billion with plenty of elbow room for everyone."
A hot one, thought Klaasen, smiling wryly at the irony--as if something a hundred-thirty plus A.U. from the sun could be described as a "hot one" when its surface temp was only a silly degree or two above absolute zero. And that on a nice summer day at the perigee of its slightly elliptical orbit. Yeah, a real hot one.
"They got a name for it yet Alexei?"
"DeBrandt says they're thinking of Guinevere. They've run out of most of the Greco-Roman mythological names now, and they're going to the Arthurian legends for names. They're also talking about giving it a moon. I think Fischer, Yanetz, and the crew of the ROSS will get that job."
Klaasen shook his head in disgust "They sure like to complicate things, don't they? Why a moon? That about triples the risk factor. Orbit?"
"Slightly intra-Terrene. Point eight six four A.U. One eighty though--opposite side of the sun."
"It's getting crowded in there. It's going to get harder and harder to adjust for the variables. And then they tack on a damned moon."
Karalov shrugged. "Not our call. We just put the damned things where they tell us to, right?"
Both men fell silent. Two days from now I get on that gee-ship and in six months I'm home, thought Klaasen. Time to sleep.
June Klaasen checked another day off the calendar.
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