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Chirakis

The Emerald Planet

The Emerald Planet

Dr Jeremiah Brubaker and his dog, Whippet, had spent the last ten years alone on this planet, so the presence of others had lifted their spirits considerably.  The remnants of his crashed shuttle provided all the comfort of home, and then some.  His garden thrived in rich soil, and the water that bubbled continually from a source far below ground served its purpose well.  

There were few animals, but nothing that threatened people or dogs. At least he had not found any.  Small water creatures that resembled frogs enjoyed the pool. Butterfly-like winged creatures pollinated plants, a few snakes preferred flies to dogs or people, but there were no large predators.  It was a sort of utopia in that regard.

However, the planet was varied to the extreme, and he wondered why.  How did the soil in this area become so rich when, just a few kilometers away and on the opposite side of the hills, the soil was desolate.  On earth, even the desert bloomed once in a while, but in the last ten years there had been no plants at all in the desert.  Both areas received the same amount of sun and the same amount of rain.  The desert sand was fertile enough, though not many creatures lurked there, and it was not salty at all.  It was strange.  Of course, diversity was the theme of nature, but this planet seemed diverse to the extreme.

To deal with this conundrum, Jeremiah had explored as much of the planet as possible, and in so doing he had learned quite a bit.  Rather, he had discovered what he had not anticipated.  Exploring the rolling hills of what had become his home led him to the other side of the planet—which was actually a planetoid if you want to be picky about it—and a cave whose entrance looked like it had regurgitated its contents a few eons ago.  Using Whippet’s keen sense of smell and a lantern from the crashed shuttle, they entered the cave and proceeded as far into it as possible.  It didn’t take long to realize that the cave was more of a conduit to the core of the planet, and eventually they both decided—yes, even Whippet—that they would go no farther, and it was time to turn back.  

In the hand written diary that Jeremiah preferred over technology, he noted that inside the cavern, one side was frozen to icicles and the other side was very warm. Not incredibly hot, mind you, but warm enough to make the area above ground a desert.   In other words, the sun provided one source of heat and the internal warmth of the mountain provided the other, creating a desert hot enough to keep indigenous plants from growing.  Likewise, the hills that were closer to the planet’s icy core received the same amount of sunlight, which balanced the temperature above enough to allow indigenous plants to grow.  Of course there were areas between the two, but Jeremiah’s main focus was on what seemed strange to him.

What he chose not to mention in his diary was the presence of a certain stone.  Of course, he didn’t expect anyone to find him in this remote area of space, otherwise they would have rescued him years ago, so why did he choose not to mention them?  He didn’t believe that their presence mattered, except from a scientific point of view. 

Half way into their exploration of the cavern Jeremiah spotted vibrant green beryl crystals protruding from layers of a calcite and shale mixture.  He broke off several crystals, some of which were quite long, to use them as decoration in and around his shuttle-home.  Once in a while he thought of his mother and his sisters, remembering how much they loved the color green. He returned to the cavern several times, not only to explore it for geological specimens, but to gather a few more emerald crystals.  When strung together and hung outside by the garden, they made wonderful chimes that soothed him when he longed for home.  Today, a gentle breeze stirred them into a tuneful melody.

“Ah, there they are, Whippet,” he called as the dog bounded puppy-like toward the children.  “Be careful, girl,” he said following after at a spritely pace.  “One of them needs special care, but you know that, don’t you?”
 

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