“No, that’s crazy.” His face was plain and unmoved. “Guess they just weren’t used to life on Circadia yet.”
His excuse for Leslie infuriated me. “Does that really matter? People could starve because he isn’t acclimated to Circadian life? What the hell?” My chest rose and fell with anger, and I felt sweat start to bead up around my hairline. “Do you even realize what you just said?”
He looked back at me in shock. “I don’t agree with what they did. I don’t want any part of it. I was just trying to tell you my opinion for their personal reasoning.”
“Sorry. I just really hate the guy.”
“I can tell. So, what’s Idris going to do?” he asked.
“He said just talk to him for now, see if he can get him to understand that it’s not acceptable. There’s nothing we can really do to punish him right now, but later there will be,” I said.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, but eventually we will have to have a society here. Different from Earth, but there will need to be guidelines, you know?”
Smith shrugged and nodded his head. “We’ll see, I guess. Anyways, just wanted to check up on you, see how you were doing. Have fun with your crops, and good luck!” he yelled as he walked backward toward the rest of the group.
WHEN I APPROACHED THE crops, I noticed that the color of the leaves had changed. What once was an orange-brown color was now being replaced with purple, just like the trees. Back on Earth, the color pigmentation was common in fragile plants, but this was happening in all the crops.
The plants were growing at such a rapid pace compared to Earth, that the initial burst of sun being back on the surface was a lot for them to process all at once. With their quick reflexes, the anthocyanin emerged as a defense mechanism.
While this was strange, it was good. Anthocyanin was a great nutrient and protector. The protection that the plants needed must have been drawn from the unusual soil, and probably saved our lives, as the plants would make a speedy recovery. The increase in nutrients or ‘super fruit’ compound would be needed on Circadia. With the plants going dormant for a week and not having a great system in place, the extra nutrients would be much appreciated. It was clear we would have to ration for some time to gather a stockpile of food for the weeks of darkness that we would encounter.
Feeling hope was a great emotion after the darkness, and for the first time in a while, I felt it. While the dark weeks were rough, Circadia’s soil was so plentiful and the resilience it gave to the plants was insurmountable. It was clear we could survive.
I bent down to gently lift a browning purple leaf. It felt so precious at that stage, so vital to our survival, that it was beautiful. Just then, I heard commotion coming from the gathering place I had come from. I could hear someone speaking loudly, too loudly, and chants of protest to whoever was speaking.
Chapter Eighteen
OH, NO. HAD IDRIS CONFRONTED Leslie? Had something gone wrong? On instinct and anger, I picked up the pickaxe that was lying next to me and started running toward the commotion.
As I neared the gathering area, close to the supply hull, I realized just about everyone on the planet was gathered around one person, and that person was Leslie. Slowly and quietly, I stepped closer to the supply hull and knelt out of sight to listen.
“This is not how this is going to work, okay?” he said. “I paid to be here, do you understand that? You people think you're going to dictate how this world is going to work? I don’t fuckin’ think so. No, no, no. Absolutely not. You are here because of me. You should be thanking me. Or you could be down there with the rest of the monkeys, dying. You get that?” The disdain in his tone made me want to vomit. I couldn’t believe what was coming out of his mouth. I was glad I was unable to see him.
I listened as Ronald, the architect, spoke up, “We all work here, we all pitch in. It makes things go a lot smoother. Maybe you would be surprised. It actually feels really good.”
It felt good to have someone speaking on our behalf, until Leslie cut in. I stared at the dirt beneath me.
“I don’t think you're understanding me. You see, I sent you here to make fools of yourselves on television. You were supposed to make me money. All I care about is money and if you sorry assholes think that money has never been a ‘factor’ here on Circadia, you are wrong. That’s the whole reason we made the show, why you were sent here, and why I am here now. You really think the government that’s left on Earth wanted to help you? Wanted salvation for its people?”
Idris jumped into the conversation, although his voice sounded rough. “Why, then?”
“Why? To fill those pocketbooks, of course! You think it’s cheap to wage war? I don’t think so. They wanted our money to be launched up here, so they could afford more ammunition and soldiers. They don’t give a rat’s ass about you, but I do,” Leslie said. I imagined the words slithering out of his mouth.
“What do you mean?” Idris asked. “You paid to be here like other people. You said so yourself.”
“Am I incapable of lying? You see, when you get to a certain level of power, you get to know things other people don’t. I knew the whole nuclear war was just waiting to happen. At first I panicked, but then I realized I could create an entirely new world, one without weapons of mass
