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By Mary E. Lowd
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Of Behemoths and Bureaucrats
by
Mary E. Lowd
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Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2011 by Mary E. Lowd
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News spread like wildfire of the first successful sun garden. The sun was Hegula, hearth of a destitute system. Normally, I don't waste my time on mining colonies. There are plenty of systems with two, three, or more populated planets. Those systems can supply me with crowds for months. Mining systems are a different matter. I've been to systems where the miners close the mines, gather up their families, and take the day off to see a good show. That's it. They have a great time, believe me. They enjoy my starwhals more than anyone in a cosmopolitan system. From my perspective, though, it's hardly worth weeks in the dead space between stars.
For Hegula, I made an exception. Everyone I talked to ached to see a sun garden. The mere concept had been futura mythos since anyone could remember. Now, it was actual arable farmland. I wanted to see it. And my line of work allows me to travel. Of course, I took the practical route: the starwhals and I edged towards Hegula with stops at all the most affluent systems on the way. It wouldn't do to fly straight. I'd save little time and miss many opportunities.