Books in the EMPIRE Series by Richard F. Weyand: EMPIRE: Reformer EMPIRE: Usurper EMPIRE: Tyrant EMPIRE: Commander EMPIRE: Warlord EMPIRE: Conqueror by Stephanie Osborn: EMPIRE: Imperial Police EMPIRE: Imperial Detective EMPIRE: Imperial Inspector by Richard F. Weyand: EMPIRE: Intervention EMPIRE: Investigation EMPIRE: Succession EMPIRE: Renewal EMPIRE: Resistance EMPIRE: Resurgence Books in the Childers Universe by Richard F. Weyand: Childers Childers: Absurd Proposals Galactic Mail: Revolution A Charter For The Commonwealth Campbell: The Problem With Bliss by Stephanie Osborn: Campbell: The Sigurdsen Incident ARCADIA A Colony Story by RICHARD F. WEYAND Copyright 2021 by Richard F. Weyand All Rights Reserved ISBN 978-1-954903-03-6 Printed in the United States of America Cover Credits Cover Art: Paola Giari and Luca Oleastri, www.rotwangstudio.com Back Cover Photo: Oleg Volk Many thanks to 王睿 for verifying Chinese cultural accuracy. Published by Weyand Associates, Inc. Bloomington, Indiana, USA June 2021 CONTENTS 2245 Arrival The Basics Setting Up Camp Livestock, Toilets, Food, And Bedding Second Day Moving Cubic Quant #1 First Steps 2295 Big Trouble The Chen The Meeting Plan CC Address By The Chen Opening The Convention Forgotten Legacy The Push To The Finish Plebiscite And Celebration Quant #2 Meddling And Infrastructure 2345 A Precocious Problem Arcadia City Getting Settled, Getting Around The University of Arcadia The Beach Commitment Study In Earnest Revelation Back On The Path Quant #3 Silicon, Carbon, and Mathematics 2362 Government Project The Prime Minister And The Bureaucrat Preparations Failure Recrimination And Cancellation Politics, Purchase, And Personnel Preparations Success! Epilogue Quant #4 Geodesic Author’s Afterword 2245 Arrival A blue haze developed over the display screen at the front of the passenger container. The blue haze flashed suddenly and was gone. A planet floated in the display, taking up half the display on the left. “We have arrived at Arcadia,” Janice Quant’s voice announced. Perhaps two minutes later, gravity abruptly returned. There was a bit of a tremor as the building settled a bit. “Peggy, look at that,” Matt said. In the display, Matt could see from their location on the top of the residence hall all the way to the horizon. There were coastal grasslands close around them, with some structures in the middle distance Matt recognized as the barns. Well beyond the barns, there was lush vegetation, with some small trees. Some looked like they were laid out in a grid, like orchards. In the far distance, blue-gray mountains marched across the horizon, falling off to the sea in the right side of the display. A cheer went up in the compartment, and there was applause. They had arrived on Arcadia. The return of gravity was a relief. They had been in zero gravity, strapped into their seats, for almost two hours, since the big cargo shuttle carrying the passenger container had throttled back on reaching orbit. There had then been the transport of the shuttle and its payload by the interstellar probe to the big interstellar transporter. The passenger container had been latched by the shuttle to the roof of one of the colony buildings, where they had waited until everyone was aboard. Arcadia had been the third planet where the transporter stopped. The interstellar flights themselves were instantaneous, but there was a delay at each planet to transport the colony buildings to the surface. Then the next planet, then Arcadia. After four years of planning and training, they had arrived. “Hi, everybody. This is Mark Kendall,” the voice came from the speakers in the passenger container. “We’ve arrived, so there’ll be no more zero gravity.” The chairman of the Arcadia ruling council paused for the cheering in his container to die down. “We’re here now, and there’s no hurry, so let’s make it a safe debarkation. There are some ladders and steps to climb down, and we don’t want anybody getting hurt. So let’s all take our time. “It’s about ten o’clock in the morning here, so we’ve gone back a couple hours from the time zone in Texas. “Our only jobs today are to get everybody into their temporary quarters in the colony buildings, and to make sure everybody has food and water available. “Tomorrow we are going to start putting up houses and stringing fencing so we can let the livestock out. The livestock is all on time-release tranquilizers, and they have food for now, but we need to get them out grazing soon. “But for today, let’s get everybody into temporary quarters. It’s going to be crowded, but it won’t be sleeping out on the grass like in Texas, so we’re moving up one step at a time. “Now I’m going to turn over the intercom to each of the building managers, so they can talk to the passenger compartments on their own buildings.” There was a pause, and then another voice came over the speakers. “Hi, everybody. If you’re hearing me, you’re in one of the passenger containers on the roof of the hospital. My name is Meghana Khatri, and I am the administrator of the hospital. I also sit on the council as head of the health department. “The first thing is to get everybody a bunk room in the hospital so we all have a comfortable place to sleep tonight. It’s going to be pretty spartan for now, and we’re going to be crowded. “All the registered groups have been housed together. For the rest of you, think of it as an opportunity to make new friends. We’re all in this together, so let’s pull together like a team. “When you debark the passenger container, take the supplies box under your seat with you. Yes, we’re still on rations and bottled water for the moment. We are going to try to get the kitchens up and running in the next few days, but there’s a lot of work to do first. Running electric and water from the power plant and septic lines back is an early priority. In the
