Colonization (The Seamus Chronicles Book 3) by K. D. McAdams Read Free Book Online

I have no point of reference.
    The temperature is still hot. Being in the shade and out of the direct sunlight provides a measure of relief. The leaves here all seem to be broad and strong. If they work like the plants on Earth the leaves are making food for the plant. Their texture is very different and makes me think of the plating on dinosaurs. In addition to making food these may also provide protection.
    What I don’t know suddenly overwhelms me. Just here in the one hundred square feet around me there are a dozen different plants. How do we classify and name all of them?
    Who was it that figured out how sap flows in a tree? Do we have the means to conduct that experiment to see if it is consistent here on Locus? Human knowledge of Earth took centuries to evolve and it did so while humans were evolving.
    Now we are at ground zero. There is an entire planet that we know nothing about. If we hope to thrive instead of just survive we are going to need to experiment, explore and record.
    Paper and pencils didn’t make the cut for our packing list. They are too easily destroyed and consume too much space and weight. The laptops and tablets we opted for made much more sense. Unless of course we left them on the plane while it was flooded by the rising tide.
    There is nothing available to record data or document hypothesis. I’m going to say something to my mom about this and I know everyone will ridicule me. I don’t care.
    My body aches all over and I struggle to get to my feet. Sofie lies next to me and she is sound asleep. Her back rises and falls slowly and I am glad she is at peace.
    I walk for a few steps before I come across my mom and dad. Dad is face down and I can hear him snoring. Mom is sitting up and licking the chocolate from the inside of a protein bar wrapper.
    “Mom?” I call to her softly.
    “Hey Seamus.” She slowly gets to her feet. If my body is sore and achy hers must be stiff as a board.
    Mom stands beside me and stretches her hands over her head. She is not smiling but her face is not as grim as I feel like it has reason to be.
    “Do you have anything to write with?” I ask.
    “I’m surprised you made it this far resisting the urge to record data.” Now she’s smiling.
    “Actually I want to start recording hypothesis first. Like I’m pretty sure that these leaves have a form of armor that protects the tree trunks from radiation. We might be able to use that.” I know that the right questions are almost as important as the data collection.
    “I’m glad we have your analytical mind trying to figure things out. I grabbed your backpack from the plane and tossed it in one of the rafts. You might want to save the batteries though. Maybe Henry has a pen in his shirt? Seems like something a pilot would have. You could write on a piece of cardboard until we figure out something else.” My mom was always good at keeping kids busy in restaurants and this has a similar feeling.
    “You know we have to go back to the plane.” I say to her, nervous that she’s going to forbid it.
    “Yes. Maybe the first data you should record is when the water rises and falls and how long we have between tides.” She gets that the water is moving due to the gravity of the moons.
    “Good idea. Is there anything else you think I should work on or think about?” It feels arrogant, but I have been known to solve some complicated problems.
    “Lets think on that for a bit, at least until everyone is awake and we can all offer suggestions. I’m going to rest some more, why don’t you take it easy too.” She pats me on the shoulder before turning back towards dad.
    Rest doesn’t interest me now. I head off in search of Henry; I hope he has a pencil and that he’ll let me use it. Can you imagine a world where there is only one pencil and it is protected like a prize?
    When I finally find Henry he is sound asleep. He’s lying right next to Jake. I don’t know about their relationship before but now they seem