The Dream Factory

Golden Apples of the Sun

Golden Apples of the Sun

10023.10.006 Here at last! The third planet of the twin suns of Qu Ruk. The crew looked at me a bit oddly as they assembled my prefab quarters -who would want to stay here, in this strangely daunting place. I waved the ship goodbye into the copper sky and immediately began unpacking my equipment, nerves tingling with excitement of the discoveries I'm going to make. I have four periods until they return, easy enough if I'm to be as busy as I expect. Time will fly.  

10023.10.007 My first night was not at all restful. The strange noises coming from the forest around me were most disconcerting. Even though Helen Baxter's journals describe nothing dangerous I'll admit I rose and locked the door to my quarters. I woke to the welcoming sight of the suns feeling tired and somewhat jaded. My camp is set on a rocky outcrop sitting just above the forest which stretches out in each direction as far as the eye can see. To the north the distant mountains gape like ragged yellow teeth across the horizon. I have spent the day unpacking my equipment, it all looks to have withstood the demands of the trip and is in good order.  

10023.10.008. Another exhausting night with the noises of the forest keeping me awake with its screeches and squawking and odd ringing noises. I've spent my second day exploring the shadowy forest. It is a depressing, colourless place full of drab stained yellows and dull greys. Of the animals that kept me awake all night, I can see nothing. I hear movement in the tree canopy and the sudden rustling of the leaves as I approach through the undergrowth, but nothing shows itself to me. I tried one of the burnished fruits Helen Baxter described as being so delicious in her journal. It was so disgustingly bitter that I spat it out. Yet something is eating it- the ground is strewn with left over, half eaten cores. The place I see does not seem to fit the vibrant forests of Helen's records. 

10023.10.009. Back in the forest today. I can hear the animals scurrying round ahead of me but still encounter none. The birds I can see are far off, gloomy sulphur painted beasts climbing the thermals over the mountains. I'm beginning to think the ship has dropped me off on the wrong planet and I'm stuck in this pallid, lipid gaol, with its insipid grey palette and elusive wildlife until it returns. I feel that in the mind blowing numbness of it all I might go mad. My initial hopes for my studies have changed - this looks like a thankless bleak yellow stained inhospitable place which is far from what I was led to expect. 

10023.10.010. One sun here burns with the bright yellow of burning sodium, the other white magnesium. The effect on the landscape as they follow their independent paths across the sky is unsettling -pallid copper hues, bland yellows, washed out whites. I'm getting used to it now, the blandness of the colours. I've called the suns So and Mag which raises my spirits a little. 

10023.10.020. I find this place strange, a little frightening. I try to absorb myself in my work, taking samples, doing tests. I must keep busy until the ship returns. Last night I retreated early to my quarters. The sounds of the forest echoed up the rocks gully to me. At night the woods ring with unnervingly eerie noises that keep me awake. I don't dare leave my quarters for fear of what I may find. Another fitful night. 

10023.10.025. I take some comfort in sitting in my cabin rereading Helens test results. Even though she was here long before me, a pioneer, I feel I'm doing my bit too. Following in her footsteps. Science has advanced so much over the two hundred years that have passed. I read of her struggling with this or that test, whereas I can do the same in just a few moments with the equipment I have with me. But I cannot see the wonderful sprites she speaks of, the brilliance of the coats of the wildlife, the beauty of the forest. None of this is apparent to me. I find it bleak and inhospitable. I know now I've made a mistake coming here.