Petaybee #04: Twins of Petaybee 1 - Changelings by Anne McCaffrey

Author:Anne McCaffrey [McCaffrey, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780345470027
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: 2005-12-27T01:45:48+00:00

CHAPTER 14

ALL I CAN say is that I certainly hope the planet knows what it’s doing,” Yana said to the committee composed of herself, her husband, Dr. Whittaker Fiske—the originator of the terraforming process used on Petaybee—Clodagh, and Dr. Frank Metaxos. Sister Igneous Rock, a geologist and one of the cult of originally misguided religious fanatics who had come to Petaybee thinking to worship it—before the planet declined their worship—was also in attendance.

“Of course Petaybee knows what He or She or possibly They are doing,” Sister Iggierock chided her. “We should praise Petaybee’s name for its compassion for those among us who need a more temperate zone in which to live. A zone where one need not dress like a polar bear and live in darkness most of the year, as we do now. Your children and your children’s children will be able to live in a place where they can enjoy greenery year round. The entire planet will have a source of nourishment from gardens and farms growing fresh fruits and vegetables—even a broader range of medicinal plants, Clodagh—than is now possible with our limited growing season.”

“That would be beneficial, yes,” Yana said, “if our children and their children were ever able to enjoy it.”

“Oh well, perhaps I should have said descendants,” Iggierock conceded. “These things do take time, even for a brilliant sentient world like Petaybee. It will be centuries—millennia, actually—before the new landmass extruding from the sea will be stable enough and cool enough for people to live on it.”

Dr. Whittaker Fiske cleared his throat. “That is not exactly true in Petaybee’s case, Sister,” he corrected her. “The process that accelerates Petaybee’s development also accelerates the maturation process. Once the volcanic mass surfaces, it will begin to stabilize. It will probably be ready for habitation within the next twenty years at the latest. Of course, with Petaybee it is always difficult to say. For a couple of generations, we’ve believed that the terraforming process was completed and that two large polar landmasses would be the extent of the planet’s habitable area, and that was stretching the definition of habitable. However, from what I’ve learned of Petaybee, you are all being more accurate than whimsical to imply that the planet is choosing to present an island, at the very least, at this time. As all of you know, our usual instrumentation is impeded by the electromagnetic fields emanating from Petaybee, from the sunspots currently mucking up our communications equipment, and from the extremes of temperature it is subjected to on this planet. Although we know that at least one volcanic mass is arising from the sea near the equator, we have little idea of its ultimate extent or what we may expect in the way of seismic activity.”

“That’s why I’m going to explore underwater,” Sean said. “It’s easier for me than for divers, and besides, all that equipment would need to be imported, as well as the personnel. We haven’t trained a lot of human divers here for obvious reasons.

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