The Circadia Chronicles: Omnibus: The Complete Colonization Sci-Fi Series by Heather Heckadon (portable ebook reader .txt) 📕

I started to walk and he followed. “We better get back. I wanna find out what everyone came up with. Want some berries?” I asked.

“No, I’m okay,” he replied. “All I can think about right now is sleep. Let’s go get some shut eye before we have to do some more heavy thinking. Sound good?”

“Yes, it does. I haven’t had a good rest in a long time. Might be a little easier with you around at least,” I said. I shot a glance back at him, “You know, without all the yearning dreams and such?”

“Would you shut up?” he laughed.

WHEN WE GOT BACK INTO our groups, we all sat in audience of one person from each group who had been chosen to present their task or idea to the masses. The groups were made up of diverse individuals, skilled in a wide array of specialties to complete the mission. The presentation included the general idea, how it would be implemented, and expected number killed. It was morbid.

The first man stood up and began explaining their designed plan. His words were soft. “We worked together to decide what we would do, and how our resources would best be used. It wasn’t easy, but I think we have an idea. As most of you know, I am one of the solar technicians. Electricity can be an effective weapon if used correctly. Our plan is to wire their entire solar field into the nearby creek. We will lure the crew past the creek, and hopefully lead them directly into the trap,” he said. “The risk is pretty heavy. We will have to sneak into the camp in the night and wire the leads to the water. Being near the camp is dangerous enough, but we only have exposed wire, so the task is dangerous too.”

“I thought water wasn’t a conductor? How’s that going to work?” someone asked.

“Pure water. Pure water is a poor conductor of electricity. However, ‘natural’ water, like the creek, contains ions that make it a good conductor. The human body is an even more efficient conductor. With a loose wire in the water, the current leaks out, creating an electrical field. The salt in the human body is more conductive than fresh water, so all of the electrons in the field flood to the body. The body creates a potential difference, completing a circuit to the ground,” he replied.

“How much electricity does it take to fry someone?” Spencer asked. He looked around and saw the looks on our faces and shrugged. “I’m just curious,” he said.

“In theory, it only takes about thirty-thousandths of an amp. Shouldn’t be too difficult,” he said. “A house circuit runs at about fifteen amps, and we have enough solar panels to power a city.”

“Have you weighed the risk over the benefit?” I asked.

“We have, and we are all willing to take the risk. The most knowledgeable will design the plan, and the fastest will carry out the task.  I happen to be the fastest, so I’ll be going into the camp, and I’m ready. If all goes according to plan, we figure we should be able to wipe out at least fifty of them, if not more. It’s all going to depend on how we are able to lead them out of camp,” he said. “We’re ready and look forward to coordinating our plan with others.” The man stepped out of the hotspot and took a seat on the stone floor amongst the rest of us.

Another man stood up and walked to the center of the group. “My name is Josiah, and when Entertain Now Productions recruited me, they weren’t sure what would meet us up here on Circadia. I specialize in making and using animal traps. I guess you could call me a ‘pro-trapper.’ I was meant to help Circadians obtain any natural prey that lived on Circadia,” he said. “When we got here, there were no native animals, so my skills were useless.” I thought about the skitters in the woods and decided to keep my mouth shut, and thanked the stars I had only ever told Garrett about them. “Now, I have a use for my skill. Trapping humans is very similar to trapping animals. My group and I will work together to obtain the necessary equipment to construct the traps and will observe Leslie and his crew to learn their habits. Once we know their habits, we can lay traps. A shattered leg out here with no doctor would be detrimental. It would also make it pretty hard to fight,” he said. “We also look forward to collaborating with the other groups.” He bowed his head and ushered himself out of the spotlight.

The next person to stand was one I recognized. Jane stood out among the crowd with her bright blond hair and wide eyes. I smiled as her eyes met mine, and she addressed the room. “When we first came here to Circadia, I was both nervous and excited. I was nervous because I wasn’t sure how this world would turn out, and I was excited because I didn’t know how this world would turn out. Not a whole lot has changed, except for now I can see what Circadia could be. The way I see it, Circadia could follow down two paths right now. It could be worse than Earth ever imagined or a million times better than Earth. I’m willing to fight for the latter. My group and I don’t really have a plan because it didn’t feel right to plan, but we want you to know we are at your disposal. We have explosives that are pretty impressive. If you need them for anything in your plan, or if we can help you in any way, we are here,” she said.

“Why didn’t it feel right to plan?” Spencer asked.

“It already felt macabre planning the death of three-hundred people... planning their immediate death without warning felt even worse. I hate Leslie for what he’s