It was a fine morning on the surface,
searching for the precious lubricants of industry and science,
benefactors of art, contributors to the functionality of everyday life...
I was awarded a claim on the frontier, to make something out of nothing,
to create some kind of improvement in life, to fashion some kind technology from nature's most fundamental elements;
to generate new wealth, and to pay the taxes for protecting it from marauders and idealists...
"Out of nothing"... I always had an uneasy feeling about that phrase;
in the thinking that things in their natural state were nothing if not put to use,
if not bent toward profit...
What if the natural state had a mind and the power to disagree?
Life had been here before us, and would continue after;
and like them, we would leave our own monuments, our own enigmatic signs that we had existed,
and are no more...
Could there be, in the seeming haphazard arrangement of things, order?
Vital messages screaming to our deaf ears, pointing for our blind eyes?
It was not for me to answer, to endeavor to come to hear and see such things.
I was busy with my minute tasks,
busy simply surviving, succeeding, securing happiness, a life, a future...
This life was not easy, much was sacrificed- so many possibilities and dreams
that I could have had, that I could, by chance, have taken;
but here we are given only one life and path to choose...
I do know that, whatever the path or direction I would have chosen,
this heart, this mind, would still have been here with me,
seeking, reaching...
So I have been successful in what I do, the galaxy is secure for individual enterprise,
and in rare moments, when all tasks on the daily list have been completed,
I can contemplate...
when the day is done, I can rest,
and wonder...
(static) "MV-1 to MV-3, ETA is 3 hours and 38 minutes, Over..."
"Roger that, MV-1. See you at the Canteena..." 
Worlds. Neverending worlds.
It was once thought that water was rare in the universe.
Silly notion, we now know, knowing from spectral analysis, that hydrogen and oxygen are two of the most abundant elements in our cosmos...
"Our cosmos..." nice ring to it...
but it was not over hydrogen and oxygen that conflict arose, that a premium value was placed upon,
that excited the worse in our natures- greed, hate, deceit, slander,
even murder...
and the Canteena was a collection of the worst of them...
I'd wish that I was a simple beast, but they must contend with and make sense out of a their own hells...
infinitely more savage, infinitely more horrifying...
but, just as us, they must contend not only among each other and other lifeforms, but with the harsh elements that they are born into...
all while being much less immediately adaptable than we...
The city had been a fine place before the war...
a center for life, industry, the arts, innovation, science...
on the edges, unthanked soldiers shielded such nerve centers from everything nature threw at them,
for in this universe, not everything was a benign ornament
in a peaceful, pastoral landscape painting of idyllic life...
Now, the city is almost deserted, life having moved elsewhere where there is more security,
better shielded from natural and self-destruction...
Life for most was a simple process-
follow the signs and you will reach your destination...
beacons of hope had once been built to help identify such destinations...
but they were not corruption-proof, and soon crumbled into a useless farce...
as we all have a tendency to do...
This night began no different from any other,
work in the field by day, rest and relaxation in the city by night...
as time passed, the enterprise grew,
"my" product became "our" product as partners and investors joined...
I became rich, a mover and shaker...
I pushed for the construction of infrastructures to carry and ship our products to our clients...
in many cases partners and investors splintered off
to found and engage in their own lucrative support enterprises...
and life was good...
adequate peace and order was hard-won among the planets,
but finally established through negotiations in the most part...
and when necessary, as with a few warlords hell-bent on destruction, by force...
when threats arrived with ideals that centered on themselves,
they were dealt with...
I considered it tax money well spent...
Life was hard, not always agreeable, but life was fair...
the company was allowed to explore new undeveloped terrain... 
and more often that not we were at peace with the world
and with ourselves...
and I always found time for myself...
A typical expedition always began with risk and uncertainty...
but we had science on our side, and with it we optimized our chances for entrepreneurial success...
We would establish a base, then search far and wide for new natural resources...
I worked with veterans of the war, who had their own stories to tell...
they all said that if they had not believed that they were on the side of right,
that if there were no portion of altruism in what they did,
they could have easily lost the war,
and young thugs and warlords would have overrun the lands...
our civilization would have been thrown back into the dark ages...
Instead, we enjoy a rare freedom to be enterprising and productive,
to secure our own futures under a government that serves and protects us and our endeavors,
freeing us to concentrate on our tasks, our lives, and our dreams...
Success- we have made a find, and we spot it...
So we are allowed to follow our own paths, in search of light and progress...
which may not always turn out romantic, or as things of beauty...
but for me, that is always the ultimate goal...
and so new planets are developed, new infrastructures built...
and the task of serving and protecting free enterprise never ceases...
as we pursue our dreams...
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