Oakmont–Verona–Plum Development Site, Pennsylvania
May 18, 2440, 8:07 AM
“If you close that panel before we finish the connections, I’m going to make you take it off again.”
The V’ren worker stopped with his hand on the fastener.
Kate Red Hawk pointed to the service opening.
“See that?”
“Yes.”
“What goes through it?”
“Electrical supply.”
“And?”
He leaned closer.
“Water?”
“Nope. Look at the drawing.”
He brought up the installation plan.
“Communications.”
“Right. Ella’s people still need access. Leave it.”
The worker glanced at his companion.
“I thought the connections had already been completed.”
“Some have. Those haven’t. That’s why we check.”
He marked the panel for later installation and moved to the next section.
Kate looked toward the adjoining Quonset.
The seven buildings that had been left unfinished yesterday were steadily becoming recognizable workplaces. Their frames stood in position, with crews following through on enclosure, utility connections, insulation, ventilation, and interior fittings.
Yesterday the buildings had risen quickly enough to astonish some of the human workers.
Today they required considerably more ordinary labor.
Frank Bakkal came around the end of the building carrying his tablet.
“How far along?”
“Shell crew’s moving. This one can take the next service checks as soon as they finish the section they’re on.”
“Any trouble?”
“Nothing unusual.”
“What about the maintenance workshop?”
“First usable area should be available as soon as the connections are accepted. The drone tenders don’t need us to finish the furniture before they can work.”
Frank nodded.
“Good. Tell them what space they can use, and keep the rest clear for the installers.”
“Already in the assignments.”
“Of course it is.”
Kate smiled.
“That’s what you pay me for.”
“Among other things.”
He studied the schedule.
“Lumber?”
“Another delivery allocated. We’ve got enough for the partitions and workbenches already started.”
“Shelving?”
“Being cut.”
“Offices?”
“After the work areas. Unless you want me to change the order.”
“No. The tenders need somewhere to fix their equipment.”
Frank looked along the row of unfinished buildings.
“Doesn’t look like we’re going to run out of work today.”
“Was that a concern?”
“Not particularly.”
Kate’s tablet sounded.
She checked the message.
“Electrical crew’s waiting on the next section.”
“Go ahead.”
“You’re not coming?”
“I’m going to see whether anybody else needs something.”
“Try not to volunteer us for another project before lunch.”
Frank laughed.
“No promises.”
Kate headed toward the electricians.
He watched her go, shook his head, and returned to his own schedule.
Twelve years of working together had made their arrangement familiar. Frank owned the company and directed its construction operations. Kate kept its projects, personnel, materials, and schedules organized under him.
Neither had any intention of settling permanently in Pennsylvania.
For the moment, that was immaterial.
They had buildings to finish.
8:46 AM
Ella Murphy was checking an electrical service route when Kate appeared at the other end of the opening.
“Is that one ready?” Kate asked.
“Almost.”
“Good. The shell crew wants to close it.”
“Then they can learn patience.”
“I’ll tell them.”
Ella examined the installation drawing again.
“Did you hear anything more about L’tani?”
Kate did not look up.
“No.”
“Nothing?”
“No.”
“People are talking.”
“People are always talking.”
“You’ve been working with the V’ren all week.”
“So have you.”
“Not the same people.”
Kate moved closer.
“Ella, is this the correct drawing for that connection?”
“Yes.”
“Then can we get it checked?”
Ella sighed.
“I was only asking.”
“You asked yesterday.”
“And nobody answered.”
Kate held out her hand for the inspection tablet.
“That hasn’t changed.”
Ella gave it to her.
Farther along the building, a V’ren electrician was helping a human colleague position a service component. They were discussing the best order for the remaining installation work.
Both were qualified tradespeople.
Neither required instruction in the elementary principles of electricity. The practical task was making their respective equipment and the human building systems work together correctly.
Kate checked the sign-off.
“Good. You can close that section.”
Ella looked over her shoulder.
“Is that all?”
“For this section, yes.”
“And L’tani?”
“Still not on the electrical drawings.”
Ella gave a short laugh.
“You really aren’t going to talk about it.”
“Not while I’m working.”
She handed the tablet back.
“Next one.”
9:38 AM
The first workshop was ready to receive part of its intended workload.
The floor and services had been checked in the area being opened. Benches were being assembled, and other fittings remained unfinished.
Jelk Carr entered with Jake Whetherall, carrying a piece of drone servicing equipment between them.
Kate met them near the entrance.
“Where are you putting that?”
“Inside,” Jake answered.
“Very helpful.”
Jelk indicated the accepted working area.
“Here?”
“That’s been released. The other side isn’t ready, so don’t start moving equipment into it.”
“Understood.”
Jake looked around.
“Proper workshop. Roof, floor, electricity. We’re getting civilized.”
Kate glanced at him.
“You came here with three accommodation shuttles and an entire fleet of machines.”
“Civilized doesn’t mean the same thing as comfortable.”
“Apparently not.”
Jelk examined the workbench.
“This will be useful.”
“It’s supposed to be.”
He opened a maintenance record.
“We’ve been handling too much of the servicing through temporary workstations. This should make it easier to keep the tenders moving.”
Kate nodded.
“Use what’s released. The installers are still working on the rest.”
Jake looked at Jelk.
“Want to ask her?”
“No.”
Kate narrowed her eyes.
“Ask me what?”
“Nothing,” Jake said.
“You’re standing together.”
“We do that.”
“Yesterday you came back hanging under a shuttle with a giant dead deer.”
“That was an entirely legitimate wildlife recovery.”
Jelk smiled.
“It was.”
Kate folded her arms.
“Moose and Squirrel are not borrowing another shuttle to go sightseeing while I’m trying to finish a workshop.”
“We weren’t going to ask that,” Jake protested.
“Then what?”
Jelk held up the equipment record.
“We wanted to know when the maintenance space would be available.”
“I just told you.”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
Jake grinned.
“We were also wondering whether that drone could be made ready before supper.”
Kate looked from one to the other.
“Why?”
Jelk answered quickly.
“Because it is scheduled for the evening survey.”
She studied him for a moment.
“That was a much better answer than whatever Moose was about to give me.”
Jake looked wounded.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“I have a reasonably good idea.”
She stepped aside.
“Get your equipment inside.”
Jelk thanked her and went to work.
Jake followed.
Halfway through the doorway he turned.
“Kate?”
“What?”
“Do you know how to ice skate?”
“No.”
“Neither do I.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“Just thought I’d mention it.”
She shook her head as he disappeared into the workshop.
10:52 AM
At the separate Pittsburgh reclamation operation, the second T-38 continued supplying power to the larger processing equipment.
Its Wonder Foam foundation was stable and fit for the present workload, but temporary. It was an industrial operating base for the reclamation phase, not the finished ground on which the future community would be built.
Recovered material moved through several processing streams.
Some separated products could be used directly. Others were captured in gaseous form, and still others were packed for more intensive processing aboard the V’ren ships.
Among the useful products coming out of the operation was vitrified construction sand.
The larger unit was producing approximately five hundred cubic meters every six hours.
S’rethi was using much of it to fill the gaps between the broken stone across the prepared landscape.
It was an economical use of material the project was already recovering. Filling the irregular spaces between the shattered rock produced more manageable surfaces for the landscaping layers that would follow.
It was not a substitute for the continuous engineered foundation being laid at the first sitio.
The project’s supply flights were busy in both directions.
Construction materials arrived at approximately hourly intervals. On the outbound legs, shuttles carried recovered material away, much of it destined for further processing, storage, or distribution through the fleet.
There was no reason to move cargo aircraft into Pennsylvania full and routinely send them back empty while the reclamation operation produced material requiring transportation.
The compound’s smaller reclamation unit continued processing wet material from camp waste and river muck, with an input capacity of approximately 165 cubic meters per hour.
That number described how much wet material it could accept, not how much finished soil or other recovered product it produced.
The two reclamation operations had different workloads.
They also had different destinations for their recovered materials.
11:24 AM
Grin Qwill was standing beside a tree when S’rethi found her.
It was one of the mature living trees the landscaping crews intended to preserve.
A shuttle-assisted lifting arrangement had been prepared nearby, along with equipment for washing the soil away from the root system.
Grin had several displays open.
“You’ve found me,” she said without looking up.
“I was told you were examining a tree.”
“I am examining several. This one is simply the most convenient to stand beside.”
S’rethi looked at the trunk.
“Can it be moved?”
“Possibly. We have to know what happens beneath the ground before deciding whether it is worth attempting.”
“You’re preparing the lifting rig.”
“Yes. The straps will support the tree while the soil is washed from around the roots. We don’t intend to pull it out by its trunk and hope for the best.”
“I should think not.”
Grin enlarged the root profile.
“The difficulty is preserving enough of this to keep the tree viable afterward. Getting it out of the ground is the easy part if you don’t care whether it survives.”
“And you care.”
“Very much.”
She looked toward the broken hills.
“We’ve already lost enough mature growth.”
S’rethi studied the planting plan.
“Will the landscaping areas be ready for your crews?”
“Not all of them. The preparation is proceeding. I don’t want every tree waiting until the last surface is finished, either. We can choose what is worth keeping and arrange the work as the appropriate places become available.”
“The construction sand is helping.”
“It is. Broken stone makes a miserable surface to work around when it has gaps large enough to lose tools in.”
S’rethi smiled.
“I shall tell the reclamation crews you’ve found their output useful.”
“I have found many of their outputs useful. I’m waiting for them to stop providing so much rubble to put underneath everything.”
“That may be a little ambitious.”
Grin closed the root display.
“Are you coming to supper?”
“I expect so.”
“Good. Someone was describing the enormous animal you ate yesterday. I have questions.”
“About the animal?”
“About the animal, and about the people who thought suspending it beneath a shuttle was the proper way to bring it home.”
S’rethi laughed.
“You should meet Moose and Squirrel.”
“I keep hearing those names.”
“You’ll understand.”
12:18 PM
R’alen brought the accepted marker reports to the main engineering workstation.
D’vann examined the first grid.
“References?”
“Checked against the survey.”
“Material allocations?”
“Confirmed.”
“Equipment?”
“Positioned and ready.”
S’rethi joined them and opened the latest geological overlay.
The approved sections remained clear.
The eastern restricted areas were still being investigated, but the limits were well away from the first placement sequence.
She signed the release.
“Proceed within these boundaries.”
D’vann opened the equipment sequence.
“Preserve the garage depression. Keep the construction approaches available. Begin with the approved section.”
R’alen transmitted the instructions.
Across the marked ground, the first foundation equipment moved into place.
Wonder Foam began spreading across the prepared surface.
The selected formulation expanded and leveled within the designated boundaries. Forms constrained the material where necessary. Its behavior at the edges was controlled by the formulation and placement sequence.
On the displays, measured elevations appeared over the computer model.
T’ira monitored the geological returns while R’alen followed material deliveries, machinery positions, and access routes.
D’vann compared the developing surface with the building and street plans.
S’rethi watched the foundation measurements.
“Within tolerance.”
D’vann nodded.
“Continue.”
It was the beginning of an extensive job, but the work had moved beyond stakes and drawings.
There was now a physical foundation where the first streets and buildings would eventually stand.
2:43 PM
Frank found Kate in the workshop.
She was standing beside a carpenter who had just finished fitting a partition.
“Anything holding us up?” he asked.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“That’s generally when I start worrying.”
Kate showed him the schedule.
“Maintenance has its first usable space. The other areas are progressing. We’re using the lumber for partitions, benches, shelving, and the other fittings. We aren’t waiting for every building to be completely finished before putting its accepted spaces to work.”
“Good.”
“Offices are following. Services are being checked as crews finish their sections.”
Frank nodded.
“Any shortages?”
“Nothing critical.”
He glanced toward the workshop’s open doorway.
“And the drone tenders?”
“Already using the area we released.”
“Then we’re getting somewhere.”
Kate looked toward the site beyond the Quonsets.
“How’s the foundation?”
“D’vann’s people started placement after lunch.”
“About time.”
Frank grinned.
“You sound like me yesterday with the kitchen.”
“Someone has to.”
He looked over her tablet.
“Anything else?”
“I’d like to know when Marmaduke Media expects to get the Pennsylvania board online.”
“You sent the request?”
“Last night.”
“Then it’s in their system.”
“I know. I’m not asking you to chase it.”
“Good. I’ve got enough people to chase.”
Kate smiled.
“That’s why you employ a project manager.”
“Among other reasons.”
She handed him the latest completion report.
“Here. You can chase this instead.”
He read it.
“That’s more like it.”
4:56 PM
The first sitio foundation had advanced across the released sections throughout the afternoon.
It was nowhere near complete, and no one on D’vann’s engineering team was pretending otherwise.
The garage depression remained open, its elevation preserved within the foundation layout. The first measured sections were holding their specified dimensions. The placement equipment had maintained its access without interfering with the still-restricted ground.
S’rethi reviewed the day’s results.
“The surface is developing as modeled.”
D’vann looked pleased.
“Excellent.”
“Not finished.”
“I didn’t say finished.”
“You were thinking it.”
“I was thinking we made very good progress.”
“That we did.”
R’alen checked the continuing equipment assignments.
“The machines can carry on within the released sequence.”
“Keep the monitoring active,” S’rethi said.
“Already assigned.”
D’vann stood.
“I’d like to see the actual work before supper.”
“You’ve already seen it twice.”
“Then a third inspection will be especially informed.”
T’ira glanced up.
“He wants to admire his town.”
“I do.”
S’rethi closed the report.
“Then let’s admire the foundation of your town.”
Outside, the sun was dropping toward the broken Pennsylvania hills.
The Quonsets were farther along than they had been at breakfast. Drone tenders were working in their newly available space. The kitchen was preparing another meal, and reclamation machinery continued processing materials along the river.
Beyond the compound, the first engineered surface stretched across part of the marked sitio.
D’vann looked over it.
“Not bad for a Friday.”
“Not bad,” S’rethi agreed.
He smiled.
“One day we’ll be standing here looking at houses.”
“Yes.”
“And streets.”
“Yes.”
“And gardens.”
“If Grin has anything to say about it.”
“She will.”
He waited.
“And people?”
S’rethi looked toward the developing foundation.
“That is rather the point.”
For a moment neither spoke.
Then D’vann glanced at the time.
“We should eat.”
“A very sensible proposal.”
He took one last look across the work.
“Three towns.”
S’rethi took his arm.
“Build the first one.”
