Grow

by Heather Heckadon

  Looking around the room, we noticed tons of professionals dressed to the T for the new adventure. The premise of the program was important to them, but the organizers and funders looked like they were in a panic. The funding was already being required and used, but no return would be seen for a while.

  Another speaker walked up to the podium. The director of Grow, Leslie Marshal, was a short man with a big attitude. He straightened his jacket and brushed his blonde comb-over once more before clearing his throat to speak.

  “Welcome, everyone! My name is Leslie Marshal. I’m sure you have heard of me!” He bowed as he spoke, his lips curling into a smile. “In case you have been living under a rock, I am the director for our new series, Grow. The network and I will be working together closely to ensure that we are providing viewers with great entertainment and a brand-new experience on top of Circadia. We look forward to growing Circadia our way, and watching you all work together to get it done. If anyone has any questions, we will hear them now.”

  Immediately, every hand in the room went up.

  “Whoa, I know everyone is very excited for my adventure, but let’s do this one at a time!” Leslie Exclaimed. “You there, sir, please stand up and introduce yourself. Then you can ask your question,” he stated, pointing at the man.

  A slender young man stood up from his table and slicked his suit. After clearing his throat, he said, “My name is Ronald Walsey. I am an architect. I specialize in building rudimentary housing from available resources, most recently fifteen-hundred and sixty houses in East Africa.” His chin lifted a bit higher. “My question is, do we know what resources can be found on Circadia?” He remained standing, waiting for an answer.

  Leslie’s eyes dashed back and forth, as if looking for the answer in the oblivious crowd. “Well, I don’t think we exactly know that yet, but we are working on it! Good question, next please.”

  “Yes sir, my name is Derek Naples and I am a solar engineer. I would like to know if we have a measure on the solar irradiance on the surface of Circadia yet.”

  Once again, Leslie looked around and then kicked at the ground for a bit. The room began to fill with a chaotic din of voices as everyone started to realize the director of the program had no idea what was going on, or what needed to be done.

  Quickly, a large man dressed in a tactical outfit with muscles bulging and jet-black skin, approached the podium. His neatly cut hair, edged to perfection, shined in the bright overhead lights. Whispering in the director’s ear, the two men looked at each other until Leslie finally stepped down from the podium and stood to the side. The tall gentleman that excused him stepped up to the plate and lifted the microphone.

  His voice was deep and distinctly British. “To answer previous questions,” he said, “We have good intel from our telescopes and other imaging that there may be trees on Circadia, much like ours. There appears to be some damage from traveling, but some seem to still be intact, and we could possibly grow more. Also, most of our scientists theorize that there will be precious metals on Circadia, much like Earth.” He nodded to the architect, who then took a seat, satisfied. “About the solar irradiance, we have some semblance of an idea, but we will, of course, not know for sure until we have landed our first ship and placed a pyranometer. I believe we are working on obtaining one now and are currently working on gathering more data on the times of day and night. I am sorry I don’t have more information for you right now.” He lifted a hand out into the air, as if to ask for forgiveness. The solar engineer nodded and took his seat.

  “Are there any more questions?” he asked, looking about the room, then pointed to someone who caught his fancy.

  “Hello, my name is Darcy Mayhew. I am a physician and surgeon. I have heard that the main livestock being transported to Circadia will be pig, is this correct?”

  Curling his lips to one side, and leaning into the podium, the tall man answered. “Yes, that is true. Why do you ask?”

  “I simply ask because swine is a huge deal in the medical field; insulin and even organ transplants can occur from porcine. I was hoping this was the primary livestock, as it will be a great resource. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I hadn’t even thought of that when they told me we were taking all these pigs into space. What a great idea!” His deep voice grew louder. “Spencer,” he said, looking out into the crowd addressing a man dressed in jeans and a nice shirt, “did you realize this when you were discussing what type of livestock to introduce into Circadia? It’s excellent!”

  Spencer sat back in his chair and laughed at the large man. “Well, Yeah! It’s a big deal. It’s not like we can just rush someone to the hospital or fly out an organ real quick up there! Pork is used in a lot of things, and baby piglets are a lot lighter than a calf and easier to support on a ship... we did some thinking, I promise.” He gave the man at the podium a playful wink.

  “For those of you that are lost, this is Spencer Manning. He is our resident livestock specialist. Great with animals, and somewhat good with people!” The large man laughed jokingly.

  “Hey, you gonna introduce yourself or am I going to have to do it for you?” Spencer joked back at him.

  “Oh, yes, so sorry folks. My name is Idris York. I am the leading officer in this program and will be overseeing all the different facets of the colonization of Circadia.” He bowed his head a bit. “It’s an honor to meet every one of you. I am constantly learning something new every day from you, and look forward to learning more. I can’t wait to see what you all can do.” He clapped his hands in the air as if to applaud the audience.

  Everyone in the audience, including myself, stood up and applauded Idris. It was exciting to know that he was going to be our leader. He seemed knowledgeable, and humble. What a relief, I thought, that someone other than Leslie stood up.

  A sigh of relief could be heard throughout the room as he spoke again. “I promise we will have more answers at the next meeting, and we will be meeting with every one of you in your appropriate teams to gather information, share information about what you will have available to you, and what more you will need. Before you leave, be sure to check the sheet posted just outside the door to see what team you belong to and who your team members will be. Next to each team name is a date and time. This is when your next meeting will be, same location. For tonight, I think we are finished?” he asked, looking at Leslie, who waved at him dismissively. “Yeah, so tonight, just enjoy the meal we’ve provided, get to know your new colleagues, and have a good time. The real work will start soon!”

  Chapter Three

  Everyone in the room finished socializing rather quickly, and the food was gone before the introductions of the film crew were finished. Most people were anxious to find out what team they were assigned to, and who else would be on their team. Like high school kids making their way to see whose name landed on the list for the leading role in the yearly play, we made our way to the bulletin board near the door in droves.

  Quickly scanning the sheets of paper for my name, I finally found it on the third page.

  Team 11: Agricultural

  Spencer Manning

  Aella Toms

  Jane Barnes

  Garrett Wells

  Smith Greene

  A few of the names jumped out at me. Jane shook my shoulders, yelling, “We’re on the same team! Isn’t that great? Not what I expected, but I’m excited! We’re going to be a great team!”

  I smiled a bit, and turned again to study the names.

  When I returned back to my hotel room, I typed the names into the search engine on my laptop and began my research. First on the list was Spencer Manning. Spencer was a livestock specialist, the man you would call in if your farm was failing. He would fix it for you and make your farm sustainable. He even had his own company name, Sustain Still. Obviously when Grow recruited him, they had sustainability on Circadia in mind. I assumed we would be working closely together as I was crops and he was livestock. The two always seemed t
o go hand in hand.

  Jane and I were next on the list. I felt like I knew enough about the both of us after a long night of talking, while the camera crew and production crew introduced themselves earlier in the evening.We were bored with their spiels, so we made our own conversations.

  Scrolling down, I came to Garrett Wells. Once I typed the name in, the picture that populated in the search bar made me want to vomit. The dark tousled hair, the long nose, the baby face—all of it appalling. I was instantly shaking with anger. It was the man who had sat behind me at the meeting, the one who called me a ‘farmer’. The outspoken prick was going to be on my team and I was not happy about it, but it was going to have to work. Looking further into my search, I found that he was a lunar astronomer. Why we needed one of these on our team, I had no idea. What were they thinking hiring him? Quickly finding he was only one of seven of that type of expert in his field, it made sense. It also probably had a lot to do with his arrogance.

  Next up was Smith Greene, a biotechnologist. Seeming to be a jack of all trades, he was constantly finding out how living organisms could improve current technology or ways of living. His most recent research involved creating fuels from bacteria for the government. An interesting person to have on the team, I assumed I would learn a lot from him and was excited to meet the man.

  The team was interesting, for sure. An agronomist, an explosives engineer, a deep space Lunologist, a livestock specialist, and a biotechnologist. A lot of knowledge in one team, all pretty diverse yet all so similar. I had never really been a team player, but I was intrigued.

  I closed my computer and crawled into the bed layered with white sheets and a duvet. Winter was much more tolerable in Cali, but it was still nice to curl up into a warm bed after a long day. I wondered what the weather would be like on Circadia, what my bed would be like on Circadia, and about what I would be allowed to bring. Looking out the window from the bed, I could see the looming shadow of Circadia. Slowly drifting to sleep, I dreamt about the strange planet all night.

  THE DAYS DRAGGED ON and on as I waited for the next meeting. I finished up a few things with my current job working for a massive wheat production company. They were sad to hear I would be gone, but understood the adventure and excitement of starting a new world on Circadia. All of my co-workers wished me luck and bid me goodbye over a conference call. It wasn’t the way that I would have preferred to do things, but I didn’t have much choice.

  Once everything at work was finished up, I had the chance to feel a bit of freedom for once. I was in California with nowhere to be. I took the pause to gather my thoughts. The whole situation had been rushed, and I hadn’t even had time to take it all in. I was leaving the planet. It was a bitter-sweet feeling. The excitement coursed through my veins, but an aching in my chest already missed it.

  Knowing the meeting was in three days, and that I would be leaving soon, the decision on how to spend my remaining few days was easy. I wanted to connect with nature, in a way that I hadn’t in a long time. Hiking the local trails just seemed like the thing to do, and what better place to do that than in California?

  Every blade of grass, every leaf, every rock seemed more colorful on that day. Every chirp from a bird that I heard was music to my ears. The trickling of the stream by the path was soothing and safe. Everything was beautiful, and familiar. I immersed myself completely in the wild, sitting beside the trail every mile or so to take it all in.

  It made me realize the true beauty of our planet. Everyone was so anxious to see this new world, and so was I, but here on Earth, no one took the time to enjoy all it had to offer. They only complained about what they were lacking. And while I couldn’t wait to leave for Circadia, I knew in my heart that I would be ready to come home as soon as I got there.

  Thursday came fast, and suddenly it was an hour before our meeting. I decided to get a fresh smoothie from the local juice shop around the corner from my hotel before heading to the facility. It was the best smoothie I ever had, and the quickest. It didn’t take as long as I had bargained for, and I still got to the meeting place early. Deciding to go ahead inside while sipping my treat, I waved goodbye to the driver and started walking to the entrance.

  A man parallel to me was walking up to the door at the same time. “Hello!” He waved from across the parking lot as we drew closer. “Are you on the ‘ag’ team?”

  “Yeah, hey, I’m Aella Toms. I’m the agronomist. Who are you? I’m dying to meet everyone!”

  “Yeah, same here. I’m Smith Greene, the biotechnologist.” He reached out and we shook hands before he opened the door to the facility for me, and we both walked inside.

  The echo of the leading officer could be heard throughout the high ceilings of the place. Walking through the doorway and around the corner, we saw him sitting with Spencer Manning. The two turned to see us as we walked in, our footsteps on the tile gave us away.

  “Hey guys! How’s it? Great to see you!” Spencer said, giving a pseudo salute. Spencer gave off the impression of being a surfer dude and a cowboy all at the same time. His long, blonde hair curled at the ends and was topped with his cowboy hat. A strange contrast that made for an interesting character. “It’s a bit nippy out there now, isn’t it?” he asked as both Smith and I shook his hand, then the officer’s.

  “It’s really nice to meet you, Captain Idris,” I said as I shook his hand.

  “You don’t have to call me that. Call me Idris! It works!” He laughed loudly. “Its’ just easier that way, though I’ve always wanted to be some crazy space captain, so it would make me very happy.”

  “No problem!” I laughed with him.

  “Let me just say,” he said, backing away from the group to address all of us, “I am so happy that you were all put on a team together. I think we have some very intelligent individuals here, and I think we are going to make a huge difference together. Everyone thinks agriculture isn’t important, but you will be feeding and providing for every single person on Circadia. There is not a single department or team that will not be impacted by your work. I want you all to remember that.”

  We heard the front door swing open and then slam shut. Spinning around, we all saw Garrett. “Why I am on the agricultural team? I have no idea! Doesn’t make one ounce of any sense, but here I am!” he yelled loudly. The ceiling echoed his every word back to him. “Officer Idris, can you shed some light on why I will be working with these idiots, please?” he demanded, his eyes rolling.

  Everyone stood silent and watched as he walked into the room ranting. “Well? Do you?” he yelled at Idris.

  Idris stood quietly and waited. Garrett strolled over to Idris swinging his arms this way and that, until he stood just a foot away from him. “Did you hear me, old man?” he asked. “Get me off this fucking shitty team, or I’ll quit. It makes no sense for me to be a part of this team.” Stepping closer to Idris, only an inch from his face, he whispered, “Get it?”

  Idris stood quietly as Garrett spoke again. “I came here to learn and experience something other people will never get to, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to do it with these assholes. Especially you,” he said pointedly at Idris.

  Not one second was wasted by Idris. Stepping back with one leg, he swung forward with his fist to meet with Garrett’s face. Garrett instantly dropped to the ground moaning and holding his face. He continued to lay there for quite some time, obviously trying to stifle his tears.

  “Is that the guy that sat behind you at the last meeting?” a small voice asked. Looking up, I recognized Jane. She stood over Garrett with no emotion, just pointing her small manicured finger down at his writhing body.

  “Yeah, that’s him,” I replied.

  “Looks like he fucking got what he deserved then, huh?” she asked casually as she laid her pink jacket over one of the nearby chairs and took a seat.

  Idris brushed his jacket off and stepped back from the scene quietly. Garrett’s moaning quieted into a hushed whimper before he sat up from the flo
or. “If you are quite done, Mr. Wells, I would like to continue this meeting, with or without you. Either way is completely fine with me,” Idris said.

  Garrett picked himself up from the floor, holding his face, and grabbed a chair.

  Chapter Four

  Everyone situated themselves in front of the small stage where Idris sat, his legs dangling beneath him. All was quiet when he spoke, out of the utmost respect. He spoke with dignity and a reciprocated respect for us.

  “Now listen, I know that the network and the director have no idea what is going on. They are the money funding this so we have to comply with them if we are going to do anything worthwhile. I want you all to understand exactly what is going to be going on, and be prepared for it,” he said quietly. “The producers want drama and sex. It sells. They have very little interest in the science of what will be happening. I assume that is why Mr. Garrett Wells was put on this team.” As he looked at Garrett, Garrett sat up in his chair and lifted his chin. “We can’t let them win. We let them film whatever they like, because we have to, then we do real work.”

  Everyone in the room sat quietly. Some nodded their heads slowly in understanding, others stared intensely at Idris.

  “We have the opportunity to change the world right now, hell, to change the universe! What we are doing is so much bigger than ourselves. You have to see that if this is going to work,” he said. “Now,” his eyes narrowed, “we need to get to work.”

  Pulling out a packed manila folder, Idris began to go over each detail about Circadia we had available to us. Circadia’s atmosphere was very similar to ours, with only a bit less oxygen. There were species of trees and vegetation that seemed different than ours, but they were unsure due to only seeing them from a telescope. It had all died on the trip into our solar system, but seemed to be rejuvenating with the renewed sunlight and gases. Circadia had oceans much like ours, as well as lakes and ponds and streams. No intelligent life forms seemed to exist there, though.