Stars of Charon (Legacy of the Thar'esh Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

lacks native vegetation and carbon deposits,
large amounts of carbon is imported in the form of biological waste, and
deposited throughout the planet. Depending on available shipping resources and
proximity to nearby carbon sources, this process may take from two years, to
several decades.
     
    Stage 4
Environmental Optimization: Environmental
Optimization (EO) process is the final stage in the terraforming process, only
instituted after the magnetic field is established, an Earth-standard
atmosphere is in place, and adequate liquid water and carbon exist on the
surface. The EO process uses a series of high-atmosphere explosives to disperse
aggressive viral nano-genes throughout the planet. The nano-genes perform
restructuring of all carbon-based material, seeding the planet with
earth-standard flora and fauna. By drawing upon a full genetic library of
balanced earthborn genetic options, this process is able to rapidly disperse
and provide an incubated growth period, aging all plant life fifteen years
within the short period of the EO. After the process is complete, usually in
two to three weeks for standard sized worlds, the planet will be fully
vegetated.
     
    After the flora is
seeded, the terraforming ship will then seed the world with cryogenically
frozen fauna, including insects, birds, fish, and small animals to populate the
newly formed world.
     
    My hands
began to shake. I flipped back to re-read the article on Eridani III: “ Eridani
III met all requirements of a Stage 3 terraformed world, and was determined to
be an optimal target for terraforming at minimal cost. Technicians instituted
Stage 4 Terraforming procedures... ”
    I was
having trouble breathing.
    “Stage
four terraformed,” I said it aloud to myself as a whisper. The Slate heard me,
the screen changed again:
     
    Stage 4 terraforming is
a complete and absolute process. Scientists have verified conclusively that it
is impossible for any biological forms, including single-celled organisms and
all native surface and subterranean life up to 600 feet below the planet
surface, to survive the process intact. During this process, all carbon-based
matter is eradicated and replaced with Earthborn standard varieties.
     
    Eradicated.
    The
slices of a life I remembered. The village. The world. The teacher. The life.
    My life.
    My body.
    Dissected,
destroyed, and rebuilt.
    Replaced.
    My hand
went to my face and felt the soft skin.  The horrifying reality overcame me.
Whatever I had been—the strange purple-eyed faces in my memories—had been taken
from me. I was left with only fragments of the mind I used to have. And what of
the world? What of the others? The faces in my memory?
    I
pictured the village from my memories, and imagined the sky changing and going
dark. The beautiful polished wood buildings, the men, the women, the children
playing in the fields, they all turned to dust before my eyes. The dust swirled
in the air and turned into shapes. It turned into seeds, and grass, and trees.
What was here once was now gone.
    My
muscles tensed and convulsed against my will. My eyes burned. I turned on my
stomach, my face into my pillow, and I wept.

 
    Chapter 5.
    “Vengeance,
violence, and victories are archaic abstractions. We have the words for these
things because they were prevalent in our distant past. They are the actions of
the unenlightened, those whose lives are just a brief flame in the fire. Such
things are fleeting, like a name written upon still water, they will ripple and
curl, but soon they will become shapeless and slip into memory.”
    “But
what of the stories you’ve told me?” my voice asked. “Of how Tinaeas first
crossed the tundra and settled the lowland valleys. Those were victories, and
there was violence, when they fought off the packs of kargs in the night.”
    “Ah,
Eli.” my teacher responded. “How many kargs did they fend off on the sixth
night?”
    “When
you tell it there are eight, but when Jonar used to tell it