Spencer sat back in his chair and laughed at the large man. “Well, yeah! It’s a big deal. It’s not like we can just rush someone to the hospital or fly a transplant organ up there real quick! Pork is used in a lot of things, and baby piglets are a lot lighter than a calf and easier to support on a ship. We did some thinking, I promise.” He gave the man at the podium a playful wink.
“For those of you who are lost, this is Spencer Manning. He is our resident livestock specialist. Great with animals, and somewhat good with people!” The large man joked then laughed.
“Hey, you gonna introduce yourself or am I going to have to do it for you?” Spencer shot back at him, grinning.
“Oh, yes, so sorry folks. My name is Idris York. I am the leading officer in this program and will be overseeing all the different facets of the colonization of Circadia.” He bowed his head briefly. “It’s an honor to meet every one of you. I am constantly learning something new every day, and look forward to learning more. I can’t wait to see what you all can do.” He clapped as if to applaud us.
Everyone in the audience, including myself, stood up and applauded him. It was exciting to know that he was going to be our leader. He seemed both knowledgeable and humble. What a relief that someone other than Leslie stood up.
A sigh of relief could be heard throughout the room as he spoke again. “I promise we will have more answers next time. We will be meeting with you and your respective teams to gather information, share details about available resources, and determine what else you will need. Before you leave, be sure to check the sheet posted just outside the door to see which team you’re on and who your team members are. Next to each team name is a date and time. That is when your next meeting will be; same location as now. For tonight, I think we are finished. Yes?” He looked at Leslie, who waved dismissively. “Yeah. Enjoy the meal we’ve provided, get to know your new colleagues, and have a good time. The real work will start soon!”
Chapter Three
The food was gone before the film crew introductions were finished. We all finished socializing rather quickly since most of us were anxious to find out which team we were assigned to and who our teammates were. We made our way to the bulletin board in droves, like high school kids anxious to see who made the cast list for the yearly play. Quickly scanning the sheets of paper for my name, I finally found it on the third page.
Team 11: Agricultural
Spencer Manning
Aella Toms
Jane Barnes
Garrett Wells
Smith Greene
A few of the names jumped out at me. Jane shook my shoulders, yelling, “We’re on the same team! Isn’t that great? Not what I expected, but I’m excited! We’re going to be a great team!”
I smiled slightly and resumed studying the names.
When I returned to my hotel room, I typed the names into the search engine on my laptop and began my research. First on the list was Spencer Manning. Spencer was a livestock specialist, the man you would call in if your farm was failing. He would fix it for you and make your farm sustainable. He even had his own company name, Sustain Still. Obviously when Grow recruited him, they had sustainability on Circadia in mind. I assumed we would be working closely together as I was crops and he was livestock. The two always seemed to go hand-in-hand.
Jane and I were next on the list. I felt like I knew enough about her after our lengthy conversation earlier in the evening while the camera and production crews introduced themselves. We’d grown bored with their spiels, so we’d talked instead.
Scrolling down past my name, I came to Garrett Wells. Once I typed his name in, the picture that populated in the search bar made me want to vomit. The dark tousled hair, the long nose, the baby face—all of it appalling. I was instantly shaking with anger. It was the man who had sat behind me at the meeting, the one who called me a ‘farmer.’ The outspoken prick was going to be on my team. I was not happy about that, but it was going to have to work. Looking further into my search, I was reminded that he was a lunar astronomer. Why we needed one on our team, I had no idea. What were they thinking, hiring him? Quickly finding that he was only one of seven of that type of expert in his field, it made sense. It also probably had a lot to do with his arrogance.
Next up was Smith Greene, a biotechnologist. Seeming to be a jack-of-all-trades, he was constantly finding out how living organisms could improve current technology or ways of living. His most recent research for the government involved creating fuels from bacteria. An interesting person to have on the team. I assumed I would learn a lot from him and was excited to meet the man.
The team was an interesting mix, for sure. An agronomist, an explosives engineer, a lunar astronomist, a livestock specialist, and a biotechnologist. Together, we represented a lot of diverse yet similar knowledge. I had never really been a team player, but I was intrigued.
I closed my computer and crawled into bed. Winter was much more tolerable in Cali, but it was still nice to curl up under a warm duvet after a long day. I wondered what the weather would be like on Circadia. I also wondered what my bed would be like, and what I would be allowed to bring. Looking out the window, I could see Circadia’s looming shadow as I slowly drifted to sleep. I dreamt about the strange planet all night.
THE DAYS DRAGGED ON and on as I
