Replete Terram, et Subjicite Eam

Ian surveyed the alien planet and breathed deep. His nostrils flared at the acrid smell of burning minerals and plant life. The ground beneath him smoldered.

“Welcome to the garden,” he said. “The seeds we plant here will grow for countless generations. We are blessed with this new beginning. Thank you for all that you’ve given already. Go forth, and be fruitful.”

With a wave and a bow, he motioned for the other humans in the landing party to explore to their hearts’ content. A wave of applause rose as he stepped aside, clearing the ramp from the Antiochus to the waiting planet. Crewmen began to flow out of the ship. Some of them unloaded supplies; others reached down and felt the new soil between their fingers.

The explorers who first set foot on Daphne had discovered the cocktail of toxins that made up the atmosphere. It was amazing that animal and plant life had managed to arise on a planet so deadly to anything Terran. Still, the planet wouldn’t be viable for colonization until humans could move about unhindered by space suits and free to leave their indoor confinements.

The terraforming process had taken years to develop, but, once triggered, it reshaped the entire biosystem in less than a week. Ian had watched it from orbit: a hundred explosions going off at once, rings of fire expanding outward to cover the face of the planet. The air itself burned, heavy gases falling away in toxic rain, leaving only lighter gases such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The oxygen would be replenished the following day, once the atmospheric transformation had completed. Step by step, the new world became a hospitable place for humans to live.

Whatever life had been here before, Ian was assured that there was nothing intelligent -- nothing sentient, at least. The fires had left metallic forests that had to be removed with rapid oxidation. Now, there were great plains of fertile soil, ready to be sown.

In the distance, Ian could see a range of mountains. They were taller than any of the mountains on Earth, and he wondered how far away they were, and how much was hidden behind the horizon. As a boy, Ian had read Verne and Wells, but he never dreamed that he would lead an expedition greater than either could present. Vents of steam rose in the distance. The sky had resolved to a turquoise blue color. It was slightly greener than the sky on Earth, but that made it even more beautiful.

Ian spotted something small and silver near his foot. He picked it up and examined it. It was smooth and helix-shaped, no larger than his palm. It was the skeleton of some strange life form. Looking closer, he saw tiny jawbones that ran along the sides of the twisting spine. He could even see sockets that he thought must have been eye holes.

Whatever it had been, it was useless now. The scientists had taken as many samples as they needed to produce a human-friendly ecosystem. Ian closed his gloved hand around the fossil, and it crumbled like a piece of corroded wire.

The air was fresh, and his lungs feasted.