Phase one took almost a week, but finally it was finished. The accommodation blocks in the dome were utilised again as a temporary measure. Steve had commented to Clare at just how many more apartments were needed now, all these years after their arrival.
"Has it really been ten years Hun?" She asked, sighing.
"Very nearly Sweetie," Steve replied, "but what an adventure we've had! No other humans have done what we've done."
"And hopefully, they'll never have to," she came back at him.
"We must take better care of this world than we did the last."
"Amen to that," Steve concluded.
A couple of days rest were allowed before Phase two began. Phase two would take somewhat longer, as it involved the erecting of dwellings. Some building materials had been stored, but not nearly enough, so it was decided to plunder the domes, starting with the bigger central one, which had been damaged anyway.
Bycrylic turned out to be rather useful for this purpose. It was very light, and easy to cut, yet surprisingly strong. Its one-way opacity was useful too, it meant that each dwelling was effectively made of glass when looking out from the inside, and yet solid when viewed from the outside.
Dwellings were quickly erected, and some of the designs were quite novel. When the settlement was finished, the animals were released to graze on the unlimited grass.
"We'll need some fences," Gareth told Steve, "or they'll wander for miles."
"Listen!" Hope suddenly cried out. Everyone went silent. "Birds," she said, "there are birds singing." And so there were.
"We'd better plant some trees," Clare said, to Gareth.
"What a brilliant idea," Gareth replied, "I'll go and see what we've got in the seed store." He wandered off whistling happily to himself.
Fences were laid, and crops planted. Water was piped up from below and the waterfall they created was magnificent. Gareth planted trees along the banks of the stream and at various other places around the settlement.
"Shame I won't be around to see them mature," he muttered to himself, "but someone will, and that's all that matters."
Clare heard it and gave him a hug.
"We'll name some of them after you," she said, reassuringly. "I dare say, none of us will be forgotten by those who come after us. We are the founders, and founders are always remembered."
Whilst all this was going on, Eric had been busy routing power to the settlement. A small sub station was erected with trees planted around it. Steve then went with him to close down Lark. All the section heads had mothballed their individual areas of Lark, so it only remained to turn off the 'gravy' machine, and shut off the extra turbines. This done, Steve and Eric headed for the surface one last time.
"I'll miss this place," Steve said, as the huge lift doors closed behind them.
"Me too Steve, but Hammond's vision is complete, I wish he could see now just what he achieved."
"He was truly a great man," Steve said, patting Eric's shoulder, "we owe everything to him."
It was a short walk from the remains of Moon Base Alpha to the new settlement, and the two men covered the distance in silence. The rolling green hills and distant mountains were quite a spectacle compared to how the moon used to look.
"We'll need more water on the surface." Steve said to Clare on seeing her later.
"We should form a lake," she said, "there are lots of small craters close by that will be perfect for it."
"Perhaps we could use the waterfall to fill one up," Steve said, "it might take a while though."
"Well," Clare replied, squeezing his hand, "we've got all the time in the moon!"
❧
The day of the wedding finally came. Chris and Katy had been very patient, they had agreed to wait until the settlement was established, and use the wedding as an excuse to bring it together as a community. It was, after all, the first wedding on the Moon.
Everyone was gathered in the centre, where a special place had been set aside as a focal point. As leader, Steve stood to perform the ceremony.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here...He stopped. "We need a name for this place, has any one got one." There was silence for a few moments, then Lisa said,
"How about...Eden?"
"Sounds good to me," Steve said, "Are we all agreed?"
"Eden!" came the response with a loud cheer.
"Then let's get on. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in Eden to wit..." He stopped again, because Hope had stood up pointing.
"What is it Sweetheart?" Steve asked turning to see what she was pointing at. The Earth was just coming up over the horizon.
"Look, it's Earth rise," she called out with tears coming down her cheeks. "I've never seen it before, it's so blue."
"It certainly is Sweetie, it certainly is...Now where were we? Ah, yes. We are gathered here together in the sight of God so that..."
"Yap," barked Rufus.
Chapter Ten
Book Two - The Return
Chapter 1.
Eden
Eden had become well established and life was good. The climate settled into a perpetual mild light summer that was just about perfect. Water was plentiful though rain had not yet started. There were clouds in the blue sky, but thin wispy white ones that had no threat of a storm in them, they formed for a time and dissipated just as quickly. There was little wind to move them around, though the atmosphere was increasing quite rapidly. It was felt that atmospheric coverage wouldn't reach Earth proportions for some decades, but here, things had a habit of happening much faster than expected, so no one took too much notice of such feelings.
According to Clare Forester's wishes, a nearby crater had been flooded to form a lake. The project had taken some time, but time, as always, was plentiful; there was no pressure to achieve anything by a set date. Life had taken on a leisurely and extremely peaceful routine, that no one had any intentions of breaking, or modifying in any way.
Chris and Katy had been married for some time, though there was no sign of tiny feet yet. Hope was nearing her teens and growing into everything that a Forester was expected to be. She was tall and slim and extremely bright for one so young. Her dark hair shone with all the beauty of youth, and it was blatantly obvious to everyone that she would be a real stunner in just a few years time, a point not lost on many of the young men in Eden.
For quite some time now a romance had been blossoming between Jimmy and Shelley. Though he was somewhat older than she was, his youthful outlook seemed to make up for the extra years he had over her. Steve and Clare had given tacit agreement to this relationship, both of them having a very special place in their hearts for Jimmy, who had been a part of this adventure from its Genesis. His father had been the founder member of the Star Labs team, and was responsible for much of the success of Moon Base Alpha, and hence, the success of Eden; success that all were currently enjoying. The name Peebles was as much revered as Forester, even Vinkle held a place of some standing in the hearts of the Edenites. His contribution to the whole endeavour far outweighed his eventual demise, under the influence of the, so-called, General Carter. His inventiveness had made so much possible, remembrances of him were tinged with sadness, rather than hatred. Hatred didn't seem to play any part in Eden at all. There had been no arguments or fights since they had all left Earth so many years ago.
Ah, Earth. How it had slipped out of the memory. It was now just a big blue version of their moon, and appeared in the sky regularly as orbits dictated. No one thought of Earth as home, or even mentioned it much anymore. Eden was home now, and forever would be. A place where violence didn't exist, and everyone would do anything to help their neighbour. It had proven to be quite prophetic, when the name Eden was called out at Chris and Katy's wedding. Eden, meaning 'pleasure', was a very apt name indeed.
As an act of agreement, a monument had been erected in the central meeting place to the memory of General Hammond. It wasn't a likeness in the form of a statue, but a representation depicting all he had achieved. He held the highest place in the hearts of all Edenites, and was looked on as the father of the new humanity. A God-fearing man, who had laid down his life so that others might live, in the very best tradition of the Bible, and all that was good in the old humanity. He would never be forgotten, regardless of how much time passed.
Clare's favourite place was by the lake, she had seen it in her mind's eye long before it had actually been formed. The water was a deep green colour, due to the plant growth in the crater before it had been flooded. The water had decreased the amount of sunlight reaching the crater floor, so growth had slowed markedly there, but the banks of the crater were carpeted with green, much like everywhere else on the moon.
No one had been very far from the settlement since it was built, there hadn't seemed to be much point, but thoughts of an expedition were beginning to take root in Clare's mind, the old curiosity of the field worker was beginning to rear up. Sitting here by the lake, she was fascinated by all the new growth that had taken place on the moon's surface, and wondered how the different seeds had taken root in different areas. The more she thought about it, the more the idea appealed to her. She determined to take it up with Steve the next time they spoke.
As she sat on the grass surveying the horizon, she caught sight of Jimmy and Shelley walking hand in hand in the distance. 'How good they look together,' she thought, and how Shelley had been such a good daughter. She had become special to all who knew her, which was everyone. Jimmy too, had won the hearts of those who had travelled here from Earth. Their union, when it finally came, would be looked upon with much love and affection.
The thought of the next generation of Edenites was thrilling, even though it meant being a grandparent for Clare, but she didn't mind that. It seemed that the old concepts had died along with the Earth all those years ago. The term grandmother held only joy for her now. "Just like you old boy," she said, turning to Rufus who was now very old and grey. "We've both done our bit," she said, patting him gently on the head. Rufus was by far the most prolific father in Eden, and he too would go down in history as a founder member of Eden's canine population.
The day wore on, and Clare was lying on the grass, pondering her expedition when Steve arrived.
"I thought I might find you here," he said, stretching out beside her. "Sure is pretty Sweetie, it was a great idea to form a lake."
He stopped when he noticed she seemed lost in thought, and was just nodding and grunting in the right places.
"Okay, what is it now?" he asked. "I've seen that look before, and it usually costs plenty!"
Clare looked at him, stretched out next to her, he was every bit as handsome now as he was when they first met.
"I'm a very lucky woman Steve Forester," she said, squinting in the sunshine.
"Now I know I'm in trouble," Steve grinned back at her. "Just what is going through that wonderful mind of yours, and why do I feel another adventure coming on?"
Clare just grinned at him for a moment and then launched into her idea.
"I think it's a wonderful idea Sweetie," he said, to her surprise, "I've been searching for an excuse to get away from the lab for some time. We haven't spent very much time together recently, and I for one am suffering from withdrawal symptoms!"
Clare smiled and grabbed his legs, having achieved this, she pounced on him and pinned him down. He begged for mercy, but very half-heartedly.
Some way away, Jimmy and Shelley were watching the antics of their elders.
"I hope we turn out like that," Jimmy said.
"We will," Shelley assured him, "after all, with them as our example, how could we not?"
"Uh oh, we've been rumbled," Jimmy said, "they've seen us."
The young couple waved to the older couple who were shamelessly hugging each other and trying to take pieces out of each other's necks.
"We don't stand a chance, we're doomed!" Jimmy said. They laughed and began to mimic the old folks. Shelley decided to play hard to get and ran off, Jimmy followed.
"Too much energy these young people," Steve commented.