The Hidden Treasure of Darfor

As the giant planet came into focus on the view screen in front of him, Patrick couldn’t help but gape in awe and wonder at it. He had heard stories of course, but being from a planet so far from the central core systems he had never been anywhere near it. Until now.

  Patrick was used to the outlying star systems on the fringes of colonised space. That meant very little space traffic, very few people, very few space stations or probes or anything of interest. Here, there were a multitude of sights and sounds to take in and he found it all a little overwhelming. There were many space stations dotted all around the planet, each a hive of activity with countless numbers of both large and small spacecraft entering and leaving them. Probes flew through the chaos, darting this way and that, nimbly managing to find a path through the miasma of ships and orbital stations that stretched as far as the eye could see. Autonomous robots scurried over the surfaces of the larger space stations, fixing burnt out conduits, replacing sections of hull and carrying out other repairs. And that was nothing compared to the sight of the planet itself.

  Nexus One was the official designation of the planet now but for many centuries it had simply been known as Darfor, the name given by the indigenous people who once lived there. That, however, was long ago and the original inhabitants had long since been driven from their homeland. Legends claim that the planet was once lush and green, filled with forests, lakes, oceans and fertile land. However, today the story could not be more different. The entire planet was a sprawling metropolis. Every square metre of it was covered by something synthetic, something created by various species of sentient aliens. Towers and enormous skyscrapers reached high into the sky, clearly visible from space, while huge factories belched out smoke and other waste products into the atmosphere. As the transport shuttle moved into a low orbit and neatly found a position in between two orbiting freighters, Patrick looked out of a porthole to his left and peered at the huge planet below. Staring at the sight beneath him he could see swaths of commercial blocks turn into swaths of residential blocks and back again, the various yellow-green lights twinkling on and off as power was diverted to where it was needed.

  The whole planet and surrounding space were pulsating with life and activity and for a moment, Patrick had to switch off the view screen and look away from the porthole to escape from the enormity of it all. He quietly put his head between his legs and fought back the urge to retch as a wave of anxiety came over him.

  Who was I kidding? He thought. I don’t belong in a place like this, I’ll never fit in here!

  But here he was, and now there was no turning back as the pilot gently manoeuvred the craft in which Patrick sat into its final descent pattern, ready for landing at the nearest space port.