Two Suns

The world was sick with poverty. People weren’t the same. No one trusted each other anymore. Everyone tended to stick with their family and a few trustworthy people now that most of the richer people had left. The rich had the money to leave Earth for the planet known as Two Suns. It had been called the larger twin of Earth because of the similarities between the two planets. The poor were left on the rotting streets, being forced to fight for their lives.

Buildings were crumpling and broken into. Doors hung open if they were there at all. It seemed like a nightmare. When the top class of the economy left Earth, the lifestyle that people were accustomed to had fallen and crashed to the ground. People fought and stole from their neighbors. They didn’t trust anyone, and they always looked over their shoulders.

Two Suns wasn’t a blessing to Earth in the view of the poor. It messed with how Earth was controlled and regulated. It was an Earth-like planet that was more than twice the size of Earth. The planet got its name from the two suns that it orbits, and they are worshipped by the native humans that live on the planet. Most of the people lived like the Native Americans did on the May Ridge Continent part of the world that was all that Addison Romans knew about the planet. She still had a lot to learn.

Addison stared at the shuttle, standing next to her parents Earl and Evelyn Romans. They were farmers who were offered to go to Two Suns. Addison didn’t really want to leave her home planet. It was the only place she knew, but now her feet moved to leave what was left of what was once Oklahoma City.

The rocket stood tall with a staircase placed on the side for entrance. The man who came to Earl Romans stood at the bottom of the stairs. Addison couldn’t remember his name from when she last met him. He was just a man who came to Earth asking for workers and people to farm on Two Suns. Most people were stubborn and refused him, but there were people who were desperate for money and accepted his offer.

“This is one-way to the edge of Bay Town in the May Ridge Continent,” he announced. “If you have doubts, now would be the time to back out.”

Earl stared at the man in front of him, swallowing his doubts. Norman happened to be a very charismatic young man who had a way with words. Earl actually didn’t want to back out. This was a chance of a lifetime for him and his family. He was getting to go to Two Suns and be out of the disgusting streets that he lived in. Earl couldn’t find another way to help his family during this depressing time.

“We’re not backing out,” Earl said with a confident smile. His dark hair moved in the wind, exposing some of the grey. Earl was in his forties, and it was really showing. His face was looser than it had been when he was twenty.

Addison almost wanted to speak up and say that she wanted to stay, but then she turned to look at the fence over a hundred feet away. Children looked up at the rocket with interest; adults looked at us with jealousy. All of the people were skinnier than they should be. Their bones stuck out, and they were all sickly from the lack of nutrition that they needed.

Even Addison was skinnier than she should be, and she got a little more food than everyone else. Addison was just blessed that she grew up with farmers. Her brown hair wasn’t shiny with health. It was greasy from the lack of a shower. There wasn’t running water in the houses like there had been when everyone was on Earth.

It also didn’t help that she went through six months of learning the basics of the language that she would need to know. Since she was moving to the Alpha Tribe land, she had learned to speak Apollon. English was only spoken in Earth towns and by a select few natives who are interested in learning about Earth.

Addison didn’t want to throw away six months of difficult work. The language was hard grammar wise. Speaking it, however, was easy because of the similar pronunciations of the letters when compared to English. They had a little more letters than in the English alphabet, but it was nothing major. Some of the words kind of reminded her of Italian which was her first foreign language to learn in high school. Addison just didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of the natives.

“Well, let’s get you ready,” Norman exclaimed, waving his hand towards the entrance.

***

The travel through space was weird for Addison. The time seemed to stand still, locked in between day and night. The small stars shined as if it was night, but the larger stars brighten the area around it, making it day. There didn’t seem to be a definite indication of time.

Addison didn’t look out the windows much. She tried to focus on other things, knowing all too well that her stomach was uneasy. There wasn’t anything left in her stomach from earlier. She had puked when they got out of the atmosphere of Earth, and she had refused to eat anything else until she was on something with gravity.

Norman turned to three people from Earth. He noted the uneasiness of the girl but didn’t say anything about it. He just looked at them, wondering what all they needed to know that they didn’t already know. He opened his mouth to say, “We will be on Two Suns shortly. The gravity will be a little stronger than you are used to, so please don’t be frightened. When we land, there will be a short orientation that you will need to attend.”

Addison groaned, dreading this more than she did a few hours ago. She still wished that she could have somehow got out of this. She didn’t like to fly in airplane, and this wasn’t any better. Of course, she hadn’t flown in a while, seeing how no one traveled on Earth anymore. There wasn’t money for that anymore on Earth. The only travel that went on was for food and that did not involve flying on a plane to another country.

Earl and Evelyn were both nervous, unsure about the landing. They were already worried about their daughter, and they were still unsure about how it would be on Two Suns. Earl looked over at his daughter, trying to gauge her reactions to this. The ship started to shake as they entered the atmosphere, and the air around the people start to heat up a few degrees with energy.