The first thing people had realized in their month back on Earth was that the days passed by much quicker than to what was their norm. It was such a small planet compared to Mars, and much closer to the earth, so it orbited the sun on a faster scale. The first month was a month of rebuilding, cleaning, and shaping their new lives. For many, it was their chance to start over. For others; a chance to have the freedom to do what they wanted.
The biggest surprise was how the population still seemed to expand. Although it was in miniscule amounts at first, there was a definite boon to New York 2.0’s population as distant aliens started settle on the surface without so much as an acceptance note or a nod. With everything getting into place, Immigration was the least of their problems. The main focus of the dusty city was the Climate Reorienting Machine. Already it patched up numerous holes in the ozone layer, flushing a fresh breeze through the city and across the planet.
At one month in, water started to splash out of specific locations, and small sprouts of green were returning to Central Park and the other small patches around the entirety of the City. The planet it self was have its rebirth, much like its new inhabitants.
Sentience was quite creative it seemed. Scientists were already investigating the planet and studying how its old ores and materials could be used to benefit new technology, historians were in awe at the ways of the old planet as they could now confirm that all those old textbooks could be real, and rumors were already spreading from the more adventurous types about the “forgotten races” outside the city borders. Grotesque, ugly, mutated things that somehow managed to survive eons, but not without paying a horrible price…
For others, the focus was on the new city. Living conditions were a mix between some temporary shelters provided by the Human Union, or some just took to the ruins and quickly started establishing themselves. Some apartments were already holding numerous people, and their efforts to rebuild were giving the buildings new life. Sometimes the buildings themselves resembled some of the cybernetically enhanced, for they too were being rebuilt with completely new and advanced resources. Others were moving quick to start the basics: a hospital in an old skyscraper, a police station right nearby. Some poor fools were already tallying sins at a new bar: the Debris in an old Broadway theatre.
One month in, the several thousand citizens knew one thing: this was a test. Humanity was waiting for this new planet to thrive or die, and then they would decide if it was worth populating with others.
While some cared a lot about this test, some didn’t at all. It was their life after all, so they could do what they liked.
It didn’t matter to Two-Four and Teddy. Both sides of the argument would still stumble into the Debris after a hard day’s work. And universal currency was still accepted after places stopped printing money.
For Two-Four, this seemed like the logical next step. With experience that aged him beyond his years; he was ready to throw in the towel and work on something a little more relaxing. With a final smack of a hammer through a fresh nail, his job board went up against the side of the bar, already with some postings and other things he’d heard about through some of the citizens. Like a need for more doctors, or some educational facility to be started, down to an organized hunting trip of a Forgotten that they swore they saw lurking around the borders of the island city. Some others were working on exploring the sewers underneath, or delving through some of the buildings that seemed darker than all the rest.
What Two-Four hadn’t expected was the extra help he received. His cyborg eyes labelled the girl as Eleanor Roosevelt, and he was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to be on the shuttles from Mars, but it didn’t bother him.
She was at least entertaining.
"One day I'm gonna rule this town!” She hiccupped as the she fell face-first into the bar.
Two- Four just chuckled. She kind of marched in a few weeks ago, slammed a relic of a weapon against his bar and demanded that he hire her, or “face the consequences.” His shrug was enough of an answer, apparently.
“Get a better gun and maybe we can talk,” he yawned as he piped another beer into her large mug.
"Fuck you, my gun’s the best…” "I have a particle cannon under my bar.” He retorted with a smirk,
“You have a peashooter that’s rusting even though I swear that the machines cured rust forever when they became sentient.” "did your gun end the civil war Two-Four?" Her voice rose as she took another sip. She was practically shouting when she put it down again.
"Check the data banks for that micro-byte of information you rust bucket!" He saw several customers leaving with a look of concern. He didn’t care.
"Which civil war? The one that happened eons ago or one of the 462 civil wars of the Vaggat dark age? coz I fought through at least 200 of those, and I can promise you they didn't use crappy rifles…"He scratched at the back of his head,
“That was one hell of a week…” The world was starting to spin again as many sectors of life co-existed on this planet. Unfortunately, Two-Four had a feeling that everything might go to shit very shortly. He could already feel the eyes on the planet, and the other eyes lurking in the crowds.
The truth was there were so many ways this whole set-up could go wrong, so the only thing any of them could do was be prepared.