Prequel

In the story that takes place before Grabon met Heron, before Gordon and Hanna were even born, when humans first left earth to travel to a distant planet intent on not polluting, not over using resources, because old earth was a mess. Pollution was a big issue, poisoned winds blew across the continents, holes in the atmosphere let in solar radiation, and potable water was expensive.

There was disease, there was famine, and there were huge money hungry corporations exploiting workers and resources to get richer while poisoning the lives and survival of others. Somehow governments and big business got together and justified the destruction of the planets we inhabited in order to finance their elevated lifestyles.

When one of those corporations offered a habitable planet to environmentally conservative thinkers to relocate under a charter that agreed to low tech survival and to send back half of what they collected,, mined and made, poor people from all over the world jumped at the opportunity.

Many of the first volunteer candidates were disqualified, others paid ridiculous amounts of bribe money for a place on the ship. Still others won the lottery that the corporation set up, but they were still responsible for bringing their own food, gear, and supplies. In no way was it an easy trip, but it was a chance to breathe free air, drink as much water as you wanted and live simple but clean lives for generations to come.