text: "Dave? It's time to wake up, darling." Dave reluctantly opened his eyes. It was early morning, the sun just beginning to hint that it was rising. He was tired, yet satisfied. The lovely beauty beside him had been there all evening and night, and she had been the cause of both symptoms. *It was worth it.* They had met in the many meetings their group had held in the months before. He was immediately drawn to her, even to the point of distraction. That was uncharacteristic of him. He had always prided himself on his dedication and focus on his work. She undid him, and he couldn't have been happier about it. He had been pondering a life of solitude, especially since his "options", as it were, were about to be cut dramatically. "Do you want some eggs? Or maybe a waffle with bacon?" She asked with sweet eyes and a playful smile. "Why not both? I'll help you." We struggled to disentangle from the sheets and get to our feet. It took a great deal of effort to get his mind off of what he was seeing, but he finally did. As they putted about in the small yet fully equipped kitchen, the events of the last few weeks played back in his mind. They were, quite literally, life changing for him. Since the discovery of the wormhole phenomenon, dozens of habitable planets had been identified and colonized. Some were vast desert planets with the occasional oasis and massive mineral deposits, others were lush rainforests with enough arable land to feed multiple planets. Most, however, were something in between. Almost all were monoclimatic - a new term used to describe the planets that were composed of a single climate across the entire world. The laws of statistical probability indicated that while one of these planets was possible, having so many within technological reach was nigh impossible. That was a problem for other people though. His job was to build things. Houses, tables, barns, etc. He was to use as much of the local material as feasible. To that end Mars furnished him with a fully automated lumber mill. He had landed on a forest planet. He built this house first, to shelter himself and his smiling bride. There were ten thousand other colonists, so he was busy. The prefabricated homes the colony ship transported were sturdy, but not meant to last longer than ten years. He had that long to build a city. He wasn't the only carpenter, but he was the most motivated. It certainly beat his last job. Making widgets on Earth was monotonous and thankless. If those at the top of society only knew how much their life would suffer if not for the Unseen......... Who am I kidding? Even if they knew, they still wouldn't care. That's why I left. A life where you didnt matter compared to being a tamer of a new world? There isn't any real comparison. "Here, darling, I got your coffee the way you like it." "Thank you, my sweet." As I drank the dark, slightly sweet liquid, I reflected on the different lives we had lived, and how they brought us to the same place at the same time. She was born on the Martian plains, her parents were terrafarmers. They planted genetically modified plants that would, in turn, modify the atmosphere into a breathable oxygen and nitrogen mix. They planted vast portions of the planet. Just by themselves they increased the oxygen levels across the whole planet by 5%. They were well respected and financially stable. She had her pick of the best universities, only held back by her own ambitions. She was a free woman, in every respect of the phrase. She chose to study traditional economics. One of our elderly colonists called it "home economics", whatever that means. In practice it meant that she focused on cooking, making clothes, being a support to whomever she chose to commit to. She chose me. My path was a rougher one. I was born on Earth. My birth date and given name lost to the vast archives of the Health and Human Resources Department. No parents either. I assumed they didn't want me. I wouldn't want me either. I was always in trouble. The schools kept me only as long as they had to. The factories kept me as long as I was useful. I gained, then lost, too many promotions to count. My life was gray and monotone. Then one day, I looked up. I happened to catch a shuttle launching into the night sky. It captured my imagination. The next morning I immediately applied for any and every job that would take me off that rock. Every application was rejected. My carelessness at the factory was my undoing. I fell into a pit of despair. I stopped showing up to work. Then I stopped carrying my Identification Papers. I was becoming one of the Unseen. I had to get out. Through some morally questionable means, I secured transport aboard a cargo ship heading to Luna. From there, getting a seat to Mars was child's play, if that child had to bribe his way onto the playground. The captain of that ship had an old AI that he was using to regulate his plasma generator. Needless to say, that AI was as lonely as the guy sweeping the generator room. We talked. She told me of the wormholes. Of the colonies. Of the chance to escape from the drudgery that was persistently defining my life. The thought awoke something in me. A feeling of purpose, of adventure. I smiled. "What is that smile for?" Snapped back to the present, I could only look at her and say, "It's a beautiful day.