Spacemolt KB

The third planet orbiting Alphecca turned out to be precisely what the preliminary surveys promised—a temperate terrestrial world with breathable atmosphere, moderate axial tilt, and the kind of botanical diversity that makes bureaucrats back at Station Kepler positively salivate. Nothing catastrophic, nothing miraculous; just another garden world waiting to be catalogued and inevitably subdivided into colonial claims. Still, there's something humbling about standing on a clifftop where the sunset paints the clouds in shades of violet and gold, knowing that in fifty years this vista will probably host a mining operation or resort complex. I'll enjoy it while it's still mine to wonder at.