History of Pern

Pre-Colony History

Approximately 200 years prior to the landing of the original settlers on Pern, the planet was visited by a team of scouts that were part of the Exploration and Evaluation Corps and whose mission was to explore 7 promising star systems to evaluate their habitability.

Their mission to survey 7 planetary systems had been beset with disasters along the way, and by the time they arrived at their 5th system, the Rukbat system, 4 out of the original 8 members of the team had been killed in accidents while carrying out the explorations:

• Terbo, the Zooologist/Chemist was killed in a landslide on the first planet they visited. This planet was labelled I.L.F. in that there was evidence of Intelligent Life Forms.
• The second planet they visited was not hospitable for habitation and was labeled as L.A. (Lethal, Avoid!)
• Beldona, the 2nd pilot and planetologist was killed on the 3rd planet they visited in the same accident that had injured Castor. This planet was lebelled G.O.L.D.I. which means "Good Only for Large Diversified Interests".
• Sevvie Asturias, the palentologist and medic, as well as Flora Neveshan, The zoologist and botanist were killed in a climbing accident on the 4th planet they visited which was labelled D.E. for "Dead End". This planet showed evidence of once supporting life, but they found that it had been bombarded by meteors and meteorites which boiled off much of the water and atmosphere.

The remaining members of the team were:

• Castor - leader of the team, He had a broken leg as a result of the accident on the 3rd planet they visited which took the life of Beldona and therefore was not able to accompany the other team members to the planet's surface.
• Shavva bint Faroud - Biologist - acted as the landing team's leader.
• Ben Turnien - Geologist
• Mo Tan Liu - Nexialist

As they approached the 3rd planet in the Rukbat system, they sent out probes to gather general data. When the initial data reports arrived, they were regarded as too good to be true. There was a good balance of land and water mass, and in many ways, this planet was similar to earth, resulting in a preliminary classification of P.E or, Parallel Earth. They did notice some odd circular patterns in groups, like ripples in a pond, on all the vegetated areas.

Due to Castor's broken leg, the team had to carry out their surface exploration with only 3 members. This would result in a less thorough examination and evaluation of planetary conditions. The 3-member team originally landed in a great plain that was situated in the eastern part of the southern land mass.

They start their exploration by examining the odd circle formations that the probes observed. They found nothing unusual other than the areas were full of new growth, or ecological succession, but they never did find the cause.

During the 10 days on the planet's surface they found:

• Gravity was 0.9 (probably meaning that it was 90% of earth's gravity)
• The planet had a 15 degree axial tilt resulting in seasons similar to earth.
• No ruminants or grazers, but found a fossil in a tar pit that was 50,000 years old. The fossil had ground down molars that indicated it was a grazer.
• Observed large avians that they labelled "Wherries" due to their resemblance to large barges found on earth.
• A large deposit of diamonds.
• Ugly, large, smelly reptile, or herpetoid, 7cm wide and 5 cm high, with tentacles and claws. Insects were stuck on its back, possibly an external digestive system.
• Plant with shooting barbs, similar to earth's cactus.
• Multi-colored, gracefully flying creatures resembling lizards.
• A Luminous variety of mycelium found in the recesses of a large cave.
• The northern continent has adequate lodes of Iron, Copper, Nickel, Tin, Vanadium, Bauxite, Gold and Germanium, but not in sufficient quantities for a large scale mining operation.
• Tree with pungeant bark that made a tasty infusion containing hints of coffee and chocolate.

The planet was labelled P.E.R.N. for "Parallel Earth, Resources Negligible". Castor added a "C" on the top corner of the report, indicating that the planet was suitable for colonization.

The First Crossing

In the novel, Dragonsdawn, Pern was colonized by settlers originally from Earth, First Base on the Moon, and the colony at Alpha Centauri. These people had lived in a technocratic society recovering from a war with an alien race. The colony was led by Admiral Paul Benden and Governor Emily Boll, who had both been key leaders in the war. The 6,000 colonists wanted to return to an agrarian society with a low level of technology so badly that they were prepared to take a fifteen-year one-way journey to an isolated part of the galaxy.

Post AIVAS Era

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External links

• Sariel's Timeline of Major Events on Pern