Post by HG on May 12, 2010 7:44:51 GMT -5
Written By Anne McCaffrey
Rukbat was a golden star in the Sagittarian sector. It had five planets and one stray that was attracted and held for millennia. Finding the third planet hospitable for human life, men and women colonized it and called it Pern. They took little notice of the planet that had a wildy erratic elliptical orbit, and over time, they had forgotten its existence. The path of this Red Star comes into Pern's orbit every 200 Terran years.
When the planet was in conjunction and in harmony with its sister planet, deadly spores from this star were drawn to the temperate climate of Pern. Their initial losses were staggering and through this struggle to survive and combat this silver menace that fell from Pern's skies, their contact with Earth was broken and over generations degenerated and was soon to be forgotten.
The ingenius men and women of this planet embarked on a journey to overcome this "Thread" that threatened all life on Pern. Their geneticists developed and bred a small indigenous life-form that resembled the dragons of myth on Earth. Men and women with empathic and some innate telepathic abilities were trained to work with these animals. They had some unusual characteristics - if they chewed a certain phosphone rock, they could emit a flaming gas and because these creatures could fly, they would be able to char and destory this Thread in mid-air. This first phase took generations to develop and the second would be even longer. The colony eventually moved to the northern continent and sought out refuge in the mountain ranges... this menace devoured organic life and when it embedded itself into the fertoil soils, it burrowed itself and spread with tremendous speed. These mountains provided safety because only rock was impervious to the scoring of Thread. Thus began a sojourn that would become the central focus of their new life on Pern.
Over time, the dragons grew to tremendous size. Men and women alike would "Impress" and become lifemates with these wondrous beasts. Together they rode the skies of Pern and protected its inhabitants. Over the course of two hundred Turns, the Red Star left it's orbit and Thread no longer fell on Pern. They were now able to enjoy life and focused on planting crops. Many "Holds" were developed around cave-like structures and the people learned trades that became custom.
When the third Pass of the Red Star came a complicated structural society had formed. The dragonmen had pledged to protect all of Pern and the rest of its inhabitants would tithe to support the Weyrs, where rider and dragons lived. Occasionally the other five satellites of Pern would prevent the Red Star from passing close enough to drop these deadly spores... and the memories of this deadly menace were buried... why deal with something that wouldn't happen for a very long time. Time passed and the bravery of the dragonmen fell into dispute. Life became tenuous and what was once a deadly threat, had now been buried into myth.....
When the planet was in conjunction and in harmony with its sister planet, deadly spores from this star were drawn to the temperate climate of Pern. Their initial losses were staggering and through this struggle to survive and combat this silver menace that fell from Pern's skies, their contact with Earth was broken and over generations degenerated and was soon to be forgotten.
The ingenius men and women of this planet embarked on a journey to overcome this "Thread" that threatened all life on Pern. Their geneticists developed and bred a small indigenous life-form that resembled the dragons of myth on Earth. Men and women with empathic and some innate telepathic abilities were trained to work with these animals. They had some unusual characteristics - if they chewed a certain phosphone rock, they could emit a flaming gas and because these creatures could fly, they would be able to char and destory this Thread in mid-air. This first phase took generations to develop and the second would be even longer. The colony eventually moved to the northern continent and sought out refuge in the mountain ranges... this menace devoured organic life and when it embedded itself into the fertoil soils, it burrowed itself and spread with tremendous speed. These mountains provided safety because only rock was impervious to the scoring of Thread. Thus began a sojourn that would become the central focus of their new life on Pern.
Over time, the dragons grew to tremendous size. Men and women alike would "Impress" and become lifemates with these wondrous beasts. Together they rode the skies of Pern and protected its inhabitants. Over the course of two hundred Turns, the Red Star left it's orbit and Thread no longer fell on Pern. They were now able to enjoy life and focused on planting crops. Many "Holds" were developed around cave-like structures and the people learned trades that became custom.
When the third Pass of the Red Star came a complicated structural society had formed. The dragonmen had pledged to protect all of Pern and the rest of its inhabitants would tithe to support the Weyrs, where rider and dragons lived. Occasionally the other five satellites of Pern would prevent the Red Star from passing close enough to drop these deadly spores... and the memories of this deadly menace were buried... why deal with something that wouldn't happen for a very long time. Time passed and the bravery of the dragonmen fell into dispute. Life became tenuous and what was once a deadly threat, had now been buried into myth.....
