Extract 1

Colonising worlds have always been a very tricky, complicated and dangerous process which if done incorrectly would have disastrous consequences for the colonists' years, decades or even centuries later.

The first colony established was on Lunar, an alliance between the Chinese and Russians created a permanent research, and later mining station on the moon. This was a very simple, and small base consisting of only sixty men and women. However in zero-g the human body wastes away very quickly and prolonged stay in this environment without heavy physical exercise while up there is dangerous.

The next colony created was inside an asteroid around three kilometres long. The creation of these habitats is straightforward though not easily accomplished. The insides are hollowed out and sealed up or a metal dome created attached to the insides of the asteroid. This is then spun to equivalent of 0.7 Terran g. The amount of spin changes between the various asteroid colonies depending on the engine creating the spin and environment in which the asteroid is situated.

Whereas people settled on planets travel across the surface of it outwards, those settled on the insides of the spinning asteroid travel across the insides of it and effectively move up the walls. In fact inside the habitats called astronus' it is possible to look up and see the other side of the giant landmass or seascape. This can be disorientating as looking into the sky and seeing where you could walk to in a few hours will affect most newcomers.

The first astronus was called the Yakkunii, and was enormously popular with more than three thousand people flocking to it, once it was declared safe. Afterwards, a market soon emerged, creating these new places floating through the universe. This was one of the few sectors not badly affected by the full market crash in later years.