With Ellead not expected back for months, Syra and James started organizing the next phase which was to expand the first settlement to meet the needs of its citizens. New housing would need to be set up, increased demand on all resources would require everyone to speed up the research in the departments they oversaw in Central.
The seasons on Earth II were very similar to Earth and since so much research was already put into settling on Earth, that information really came through for them on Earth II.
As housing was completed from the replicator, which was very slow, and pods were returned to the Zhian Sphere and docked into their perspective slots. What it did was replicate panels that connected to each other, they simply snapped in place as did the roofs and walkways between their living quarters and Central.
Each evening, Syra and James enjoyed their time in their new living quarters. Each new dwelling had been redesigned for a more permanent structure by replicating connecting panels.
As the settlement grew in design and size, nothing was wasted, and everything repurposed.
It was time to relocate some of the departments from Central, so they could function more efficiently. With the new residents expected in about six more months, much still needed to be done.
Gardening had outgrown the section allowed it in Central. So, a hydroponics building was constructed where the best source of piping water in from the waterfall was convenient, and they could grow vegetables year-round.
Some outdoor planting had been done as an experiment to find out what would grow best in the rich soil Earth II had.
The animal and plant life were things the settlers had not had much time to research, mostly because the settlement took up much of their time. This was on the top of their priority list once the next group arrived from Earth.
With the Zhian Sphere high on the mountaintop, in the evenings Syra and James would sit outside and look up at the sphere. This time of year, the two moons spun in much the same view and made for a spectacular view every evening for all the settlers.
But most of the settlers preferred Earth II’s fall because of the plant life. Most of the trees had very large leaves that were oddly shaped, and the colors almost glowed at night as the moon shined on them.
It was Earth II’s winter that citizens dreaded as anyone would. They could not go outside for the dropping temperatures and strong cold winds. The settlement was located at the bottom of the mountain by the waterfall, which created a draft, and some wished they had rethought the location.
But all in all, everyone was happy about their new home and preferred it over Earth. The main reason was they did not have to fear to be the invader. Living in peace was the one thing they wanted most.
There were many days they wondered how their friends were doing back on Earth. But communication was not available to everyone. However, it was always critical the one main channel be available.
Each citizen was unsure if the next transport would have their family or loved ones on it or not. There were no names given and it would be a surprise everyone looked forward to, on finding out who relocated and who did not. Not even Syra nor James knew who would take that ride to Earth II.
With each transmission from Zach, Syra started to raise concerns to James of the status on Earth. Zach was saying less and less about alien sightings and if she did not know any better, she’d think that nonsense had stopped.
Syra never saw herself or her people as aliens. They were just as human as those on Earth, and the only difference was they were genetically advanced. This she knew could have been caused by evolution, planets lived on and hundreds of other possible causes.
What really surprised Syra and James both is they had already had 12 births in the settlement just since they arrived about a year ago. Many of the women already had anywhere from three to five children each and the educational unit would soon need expanding.
Each day James had a lot of advice to offer and anytime anyone could get him to share his ideas they were the better for it.
Syra and James paid visits to the Zhian Sphere at least once a week and James was finally learning that sphere almost as good as Syra. At least he joked about it most of the time and it always got a smile out of Syra.
But this visit to the sphere was especially exciting because the sphere could detect anomalies Central could not, so it was important to consult with the Central Core of Zhian Sphere often.
The sphere had been monitoring the entire planet and had detected many different types of crystals, gems, and gold equal to what Earth had. The entire planet was rich in minerals of many kinds and would need future study.
Some vegetation had a great deal of promise for medicines that could enhance the well-being of all on Earth II. The sphere was looking for such potential findings and had a lot to report to Syra on.
The animal life was in abundance and was healthy. None looked much like what was on Earth but was strikingly similar to what used to exist back on Zhian, thought Syra.
The sphere was monitoring the health of the oceans and reported back that it was good and had a lot of marine life. Some seemed quite intelligent and may require an expedition soon.
That’s when Syra looked at James and said, “Do you still remember how to sail a boat?”
“We don’t have one but if we did, I’d need to take a refresher course, but I think it’s best to leave the sailing to the younger men!” James replied with laughter and delight. That was one of the things James enjoyed year after year when he visited Florida. But those days were long behind him now.
The message came in that Ellead would soon be approaching Earth II and to expect a landing tomorrow morning. With the information fed back to Central, Syra and James left the Zhian Sphere and headed back to the settlement.
That evening everyone in the settlement was too excited to focus on anything and everyone was talking about the reunion!
The landing area was being set up, so they could provide a big welcome to all that was aboard Ellead. Additional foods were being prepared, chairs set up and arrangements made so those newcomers would have a temporary shelter while theirs were being produced.
News had come in that there were 50 more plus a full load of all the resources from Zhian each of them owned. Nothing was left behind but a small stash of Zhian technology known only to Syra and Zach.
Syra knew this meant very few were left on Earth but her children and a few that did not want to relocate as long as Zach and Zoey were on Earth. They were loyal to them and would not leave without them.
Most of the bots had already left and were stored in the Zhian Sphere for future use from the spheres trip.
By the next morning, they could see Ellead break through the clouds and everyone was cheering at the top of their lungs with excitement.
It was difficult not to just run up to Ellead the Explorer ship and hug it. That is just how excited they were. But everyone took their seats and waiting for the all clear and the shuttle doors to open.
They would stay seated until all 50 occupants had exited the vessel and were out before greeting them over at the stage area. This gave the bots the freedom to unload the cargo without interference.
But the most difficult thing any of them had ever done was wait on Syra to make her welcome speech before running to their loved ones for a long embrace!
The welcome message was beautifully worded and just about everyone had tears in their eyes. Then, Syra called for the entire settlement to join their families in celebration and they did!
For the rest of the day, there was dancing and music, the food was in abundance and all ate their fill and celebrated seeing family and loved ones once again.
After a few days and time to interview each one that chose to volunteer to relocate to Earth II, Syra felt saddened to the core of her heart.
Her people were not happy on Earth. Never had they had to keep their real identities from anyone. And they feared an uprising if any of them were ever discovered.
&nbs
p; They believed that any future contact should be made in advance, before landing. Syra agreed.
As she reflected, it was a good experience for all of them and hopefully, it would be her children that would allow the merger of aliens from Zhian to happily live among humans. One thing for certain, they could do so on Earth II. But it was looking less likely for that to happen on Earth.
A few Zhians that wanted to stay were willing to move back to Earth should an invite from the President or whoever is in charge asked them to return. Should it ever be that aliens and humans could walk the streets freely on Earth, most of the citizens agreed they would love the chance.
Most felt that their arrival on Earth was far too soon in Earths development. In their opinion, it was the lack of trust that most had and the fact that those who ran the country kept too many secrets from their people. This is what caused a fear of the unknown beings from other worlds, and they were thought of as enemies and dangerous.
Much was learned from the citizens that arrived on that trip and when Zach arranged a visual with his mother, he explained that is why he didn’t say anything. He needed her people to tell her themselves.
Only the gifts for Earth were left behind still tucked away somewhere on James’ ranch.
Then, there were Syra’s children, their spouses and her grandchildren who lived in Washington, D.C. A few Zhianites who now traveled closely with her family were continuing the mission in hopes of preparing Earth for visitation but next time with an open invitation.
The settlement had now expanded to twice its original size and was growing so Syra discussed the possibility of setting up a new Settlement II in the future, and everyone agreed it would soon be time for that and plans were already being made on how to design it.
Settlement II would be much larger and designed to expand easily. It would contain many worker bots from the sphere to help build it. So, an expedition was sent out to search the grounds and look for a water source and other things that would make it compatible as site two.
Meanwhile, calls came in routinely these days from Zach and once-in-awhile from Zoey. Zach would be running in the next presidential race and Zoey had already made a difference in many millions of lives through her and her husband’s organization, Save The Planet.
With her brother in Washington, D.C., it would make all the difference and that was what they were hoping for.
It became obvious from the calls that none of her children were the wiser that they had many guards around them and Syra always knew of their location. But allowing them to feel like they were working freely allowed them to try harder and harder to make a difference.
They didn’t just want this for their mother as it was always her wishes, but for themselves as well. They were truly the silent ambassadors keeping a low profile and no one was the wiser that their mother was from another world.
Still, Syra worried all the time for their safety while she helped set up Earth II for their future, for all the people she knew and loved.
Then the day came that the expedition party arrived after searching the area up close and not too far from the first settlement. Not only was it perfect for site two, but it also had many resources to offer.
The water sources were underground, but the plant life was lush and fertile land for gardening was plentiful. It showed great promise to one day become a large city.
But everyone knew that in order to build a larger settlement, they would have to change a lot. They would not be able to continue running the replicator for such projects as they had already stretched its resources and it was now being used sparingly.
But when they discovered some material that showed great promise for replication as a building material, but they needed to run it through a battery of tests. The expedition did not want to build anyone’s hopes up unnecessarily, but the material could be extremely useful.
There were also other possible routes to take such as cutting down the trees to build with, but they were so beautiful no one would agree to that.
Since the material seemed flexible it could be shaped to fit the design and if the testing came back that it was safe, they would need to set up a manufacturing site to start building the panels that would be used for construction.
This was the most exciting day so far on Earth II.
Most of the citizens of Earth II from Zhian never really needed to do manual labor because it was always done for them by the many worker bots. It would be much different here on Earth II.
Finally, they would be able to do things hands-on and this was one of the many reasons why they loved Earth II so much.
Syra ordered the testing immediately and to also test some of the other materials found., all the while chronicling the exact location for these materials and its abundance as well.
It was now time for Syra to order the drilling equipment be removed from the sphere and transported to that area to see what else they could find below ground.
If that area was rich in material as was suspected, it may have to be reserved for future excavation if they do not disturb the trees, which was Syra’s biggest stipulation. If it meant finding a new location for Site II, they would continue their search.
That is when it was decided to send out more teams to search for resources as quickly as possible. The point was not to use materials that would harm the environment or cause any health issues to others.
Syra knew that Earth II was a place they could do things right, things better and different than what and how Zhian and Earth did. They had a chance to set the record straight and build a civilization based on lessons learned from the past from those two worlds.
The opportunity here was that all intelligent life forms already had an advantage that they did not have to live off the land in order to survive.
But Syra knew it would be very difficult to live on Earth II and not leave a mark.
So, their first law was created and that was to not build or create anything that would have a lasting negative effect. The idea was to not leave a footprint so huge that it would be visible from the sky. All dwellings would need to be constructed to look as natural as possible. No one resource would be overused or abused. And everything would be recycled and repurposed to conserve.
The Department of Food Production needed help on how to cook more efficiently and since James was good at cooking Earth food, he would be of great help. All the seeds were basically the same as the seeds found on Earth but enhanced to assure planting success, growth, productivity and nutritionally better.
In James' head, he had a walking cookbook available. Since no one wanted to use the food replicator anymore, or as it was known as nutritional charge unit, James got to work right away. Thus, the first cookbook was created on Earth II.
It was far too soon to set up any type of government and much had to be figured out how things should operate. So, it was decided that until the population grew to 2,500, they would work on that.
Then suddenly an urgent message came in from Earth!
I have won the election and am now the new president of the United States. You will see a lot more of me on the news as it is fed through the message system.
It was a long and hard battle to win the highest office, I had the previous president fighting against me, and he wanted a third term which was not allowed.
I will send regular transmissions to keep you informed!
With all my love,
Your Son, President Zach Caldiron
When that message was read aloud to all the citizens of Earth II, every person cheered and celebrated his success and was happy for Syra and James.
James just could not believe his son Zach won! No Caldiron had even been in politics. He had come from a long line of ranchers going back many generations in his lines.
Many knew that if anyone could make a difference on Earth and pave the way for Zhians or any other alien race be welcomed on Earth it would be Zach! Since they did not see themselves any different than humans, it was
difficult to understand the resistance.
But since no contact had ever been made officially, and openly for all the people of Earth to witness for themselves, it was no surprise that any other lifeform was life-threatening.
It was at that time that a channel was live for all to view any time, so all eyes and ears could see Zach Caldiron as President. All of Earth II wanted up to the minute news from Earth and the few Zhianites left.
Zach and Zoey were half Zhianite and half human and all of Earth II wanted to monitor their success on Earth.
It didn’t matter what country Zoey and her family were in, Earth II always had visuals and locations of them.
However, with Zach now living in the White House, more caution had to be taken so no one would be aware of the monitoring of Zach and his family.
With this close monitoring, Earth II saw how the government works in the United States and would use only some of it as a model when they designed their own government one day.
One thing for certain, the US government body lacked perfection and would need much tweaking. Everyone agreed if anyone could make a positive difference on Earth and the United States, it would be Zach and Zoey.
James and Syra were checking in on their twins every day for their progress and most of the time it was positive and filled with hope.
Syra started to carry her portable com unit in her transportation pod once Zach became president, so she would have up-to-the-minute news of her son and how he was doing. Even though those messages and visuals were sometimes days after the event happened, it gave her comfort.
Almost daily, the expedition teams would report back of yet another great discovery. Cataloging these discoveries became a priority and Syra was notified of every single one and received visuals of them as they happened.
Many of the discoveries, if found on Earth, would have made all the difference and showed great potential.
It was beginning to show that Earth II may become very valuable to Earth in many ways. Resources that Earth no longer had or if they had it, would change the quality of life for everyone.
The Chronicles of Syra Omnibus Page 16