Science Report: Andor On Thin Ice?

Posted on Fri 3rd Mar, 2023 @ 5:02am by
Edited on on Fri 3rd Mar, 2023 @ 5:09am

952 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Neither Yours Nor Mine
Location: FNS Studio
Timeline: MD 2, 0829

Caroline Post touched up her makeup, peering into the reflection on her monitor. Then she nodded to Handsome, to let him know she was ready when he was. The next news left her feeling a little queasy. She'd lived on planets before, but had spent most of her professional life, which meant most of her life, on locations throughout the Milky Way, as she still thought of her home galaxy, and many times on a star base. The idea that people lived on planets where they were not in control of their environment gave her an unsettled feeling.

Putting on a small smile, as befitted the seriousness of the news about Andor, she looked straight into her screen as Handsome Harry, without ever saying a word, began to send out her holographic image and report.

"Good morning to those of you who are joining us in time for today's science report. The news from Andor is increasingly serious. You may recall that, several months ago, scientists on that home world reported that Andor continued to increase in temperature, despite new government restrictions to reverse the trend. The heat wave has continued for well over a year, and it shows no signs of reversing, or even standing still at current temperature levels.

"Andorians have adapted to their frozen world environment over centuries of living in the frozen corridors inside the planet. Citizens are now referring to the conditions being experienced as "The Thawing", and efforts to reduce their use of geothermal power, the main source of power on Andor, have been unsuccessful. Citizens report that even in the midst of what's known as a heat wave for Andor, the nights are colder than they've ever experienced, since they receive only half the usual amount of power." The reporter glanced down at her prompter notes.

"Chief Ecologist of the Andorian Science Institute, Shyvin Ch’Vokyris, recently published a devastating report revealing the lack of success of the Andorian government’s attempts at controlling Andor’s climate. Also known as Andoria, the planet is actually a satellite around a gas giant in the Beta Quadrant. With a day-night cycle of 32 Terran hours, Andorian scientists speculated it was getting too much warming from the star nearby. Attempts to shield the moon from further warming included significant shielding of the surface from solar rays, and now researchers are falling back on more intrusive methods, such as the rationing of geothermal energy."

Caroline nodded at Harry to roll the recording he had that showed the mountains of Andor, snow and ice covered, and shining in the solar rays. "Here's footage of a recent day in the mountains outside the capital city of Laikan." She was silent as the holographic images appeared to be rolling underneath some type of flying vehicle. There was no free water - things hadn't gotten that bad yet - but the ice glittered in the sunlight as if it might be close to melting. How accurate that might be, Caroline had no idea, but it was a little unsettling to imagine.

After a moment, she continued her report, using her notes. "Chief Ecologist Ch’Vokryis stated in his paper, 'If it’s not coming from outside, it’s coming from inside,' and that appears to be where scientists are focusing more recent efforts. Residents are getting restless under the power restrictions, some saying the rationing is an 'invasion of resources' and 'an event that defies all Federation values'. All seem to hope they will not need the restrictions much longer."

Changing her position as she changed the point of the story, Post moved on to the other residents of Andor. "Living closer to the Moon’s pole, as the Aenar do, geothermal restrictions of their own were created after a key corridor in the ice thawed enough to close upon itself, leaving several Aenar and visitors stranded until the ice could be excavated.

"They were only freed after several days of tedious work, trying not to cause more damage to the now unstable tunnels. Several Aenar have resorted to facing the cold that is left and living on the surface after such an event, scared they may be trapped in their homes again.

"Dr Ch’Vok will have the next report published in a few weeks’ time, after measurements are taken of the ice thickness at the poles, at the equator, and in various important locations around the surface. Right now, it doesn't look good for Andor or the people who call it home. The population of Andoria has been reported recently as close to two billion Andorians and 4.5 million Aenar. If steps to control the temperatures are not successful in stopping the thawing, or bringing the temperature back to a stable lower level, the government has indicated other measures will be taken to protect the inhabitants.

"What those measures are, no one in the government is saying, but there is a great deal of speculation among the population living in the still-stable tunnels of Andor. Andor has been through many trials since being one of the founding members of the Federation. Whether they will ask for help from other Federation scientists is still unclear at this time. There has been speculation that another planet with similar conditions is being researched, as well. Some residents have not reacted well to that idea.

"We'll be sure to update our listeners with any news that comes our way on this serious, possibly turning tragic, situation in the coming weeks. This is Caroline Post, signing off on our Science Report for the week."

*With a nod of thanks to The Federation News Service for their timely article on Andor.

 

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