This is the story I wrote for the Starbound December writing contest, you can vote for it here (my entry is, obviously, titled "The Wonderful Planet'') *** - What a wonderful world! We have discovered a true paradise for people! - said the Apex captain of the Spaceship, trampling the soil of the unknown planet with his boots. - Yes! - Picked up the human officer, throwing a bait into a nearby creek - You are absolutely right, my captain! It seems almost as if everything here was created specifically for our prosperity! All the mountains, the steppes, the forests! Oh, and what unique creatures roam this planet! - Oh my! - the second officer said as he beamed down behind the captain - Just look at this planet's seas, the oceans - now that is something! Back when we were still orbiting the planet, even then it was a sight to behold! - Oh, well! - sighed the hairy captain - We have to fly further. This world will develop just fine without us! A year later, another Spaceship landed on the same planet, alongside experts in developing worlds. - Knowing your surroundings is the most important thing! - said the statistician and counted all the plants, mountains, deserts, rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, continents, islands, and volcanoes - both active and non-active. He conducted a detailed inventory of all the animals, birds, reptiles, fish and insects. He wrote the descriptions of all the bacteria, viruses and all the complex molecules spread across the planet. After that had been done, he, alongside a Hylotl geologist estimated the natural reserves of copper, silver and coal. With the sense of a ‘’job well done,’’ they both made their way to the wardroom, where there was already a large table filled with local delicacy waiting for them. All the other world development experts were already sitting at the table and beginning to discuss this planet’s future. The climatologist soon joined them as well: - Not bad! Not bad at all... - he muttered, as he inspected the contents on the table - The aroma is just divine! However, - the climatologist said, after giving it a little thought - It’s relatively cold on this planet. A chill is being drawn from somewhere! I say the polar caps need to be removed! - Agreement. We can do that. - agreed the Glitch engineer and used the gravitational cutter to cut the planet’s ice shell, starting from the South to the North poles of the planet. It endured that. - Mountains in the central parts of the continents are too big! - The Avian landscape specialist wedged into the discussion - I think it is necessary to lower them, let's say... for about two kilometers. - Agreement. That is not difficult at all! - once again agreed the Glitch engineer, flicking on the gravity hammer. - And what shall we do with the deserts? - asked the ameliorator - I don't intend to tolerate this outrage! I suggest getting rid of them, starting digging canals and begin creating gardens. - Wait a minute! Wait a minute! - Interrupted the architect - Did you think about the needs of others? Where, do you think, will we take the scarce building materials? Do you expect me to haul sand here from across the Galaxy? Did you think about the wastes of future production? The desert is an excellent place to dump garbage! We need it just as we do air. - Yes... - sighed the ameliorator - Looks like the deserts will have to stay. - No! They must not just stay, they must be expanded! - corrected the architect - Something, though, we will have to reduce - either the forests, or the steppes. - But foressst is our treasure! - said the startled Floran biologist. - Well, then the steppes! Not all of them, of course - the architect corrected himself, noticing how pale the others got - Around sixty per cent of them can be left untouched. - Thank you. - the Floran bowed her head slightly. Everyone around the table breathed out with relief, just as the growing expert added: - And what about the crop areas? - he thundered threateningly - Where will the pearlpeas grow? How shall we feed the future inhabitants of this planet? Forests will have to be reduced a bit more, so that we can begin planting, and harvesting crops. - Let's forget about the crops for just a minute, okay? What about the transport? - interrupted the transportation specialist - Our Hoverbikes won't be able to drive around this terrain! We'll have to chop off another twenty percent off all the forests, the mountains and the steppes, to create proper roads. - What about the settlements? Where shall we build them? People have to live somewhere, right? - The architect once again stepped it. Everyone in the room shrugged. - It appears we will have to cut the forests a bit more... - the architect grimly answered his own question - And the mountains will probably have to be smoothed in some places. Shift them slightly into the ocean in order to produce some more of the already scarce land. At the mention of additional land all experts nodded approvingly. The energy specialist added his two cents, stating that there might be a possibility of using the internal energy of the planet’s core, and that they could use the planet’s core fragments to upgrade their various utilities. His suggestions immediately received roars of approval. - Excitement. Magnificent suggestions! - benignly said the Glitch engineer, just as all the volcanoes have been extinguished and wiped off the face of the planet. - Sssince we now have moved onto a more ssserious topic - the Floran biologist got her say - we should consider the issue of predatorsss! During my last inssspection of the world I noticed a large number of harmful beastsss. They are obviousssly dangerous for the future inhabitantsss of this planet. I propose to eradicate them! The others supported the idea. - You keep forgetting the crops! - snarled the growing expert - all the pesky, crop eating insects must be fought, too! Where is the chemist?! The chemist, who was peacefully dozing in his chair, woke with lightning fast speed. The others quickly explained the problem, and not soon after, a fair dose of chemicals were released into the atmosphere to battle the insects. ''Battalions'' of automated robots were deployed into the nearby forests to exterminate the harmful creatures that posed a threat to the planet’s inhabitants. The material for fences and warning signs was wrongly selected as timber, and soon enough, forest as such became no more. Time went on, and the planet changed very fast. The experts were now preparing for the arrival of the selection committee. They were going to review the job the experts had accomplished in their time on the planet. Their Spaceship was met with quite the fanfare. Signs were put everywhere, saying ‘’Welcome to the wonderful planet!’’ The Committee members beamed down to the planet and walked down the red carpet, prepared by the experts. The Chairman, a tall Apex man with a black moustache and pensive eyes looked at his surroundings, dumbfounded. From one horizon to another stretched out a flat, concrete surface of the planet, fenced with freshly painted, green fences. Hundreds of thousands of chimneys could be seen emitting a brown, and toxic cloud of smoke. - I may be speaking for myself here, but all of this is very concerning - said one of the committee members looking at the oil and fuel stained sea. - We have already adjusted the release of anti-chemicals... - quickly noted the architect. - Yes, indeed - supported the chemist - And treatment plants are almost in place, too! Taking his time, The Chairman spoke up: - In that case, I heartily congratulate you on the successful… - there was a slight pause - well... the early completion of our new home planet! - New home planet? Aren’t we going back to Alpha Kappa Cas 855 II? Now that all the work here is done? - asked the astonished architect. - Our old homeworld? Why would we... - the Chairman stopped mid-sentence after seeing the architect’s icy stare - Oh, yes, you don’t know yet. Our last homeworld has already been ‘’upgraded’’ to a rather large extent by another world developing group… We will now be forced to live here. Permanently.
I really liked your story, MisterPixel! It started out slow, but the ending was worth it. Goes to show that it doesn't pay to mess with a planet too much, eh?
It very much reminds me of how in the actual game, people tend to flatten planets to make room for very large builds. Even if that's an unintentional parallel, I thoroughly enjoyed the read!
I sense a really deep meaning here, but I'm too tired to think about it. But this was a really great story that I enjoyed reading. From the moment they removed the ice caps I knew that the situation would go downhill. Anyway, nice job!
I actually got the idea for the story from a Starbound Dev blog post, back when it wasn't even in Early Access yet.
