A New Planet Joins Argotte

Excerpts from History of the Argottean Federation

Chapter 4

10 Nits 140—Snerp’tweerb Spaceport, Argotte. Today, an estimated audience of over 25K public television viewers watched Pnubbi pnu’Boo’rho’tuubi, Grand Hurlsboyo of Argotte, push The Big Red Button launching the first joint Argotte-’xrsc materials acquisition mission. The eighty and five year mission to an uninhabited planet 1,569K parsecs from Argotte will return refined iron, copper, nickel, gold, and, of most importance, unimaginable of quantities of titanium, vanadium, and talc. Since this mission will utilize Jooli psi’Nubi’psi’bdebebli’s amended dimensional propositions, it is expected the materials will be delivered into orbit above Argotte about three days after takeoff.

Early in the project’s negotiations, the ’xrsc proposed placing 372 surviving Argottean miners and support personnel (including an expected 134 descendants), who would make up the mission’s negotiated human component, on a planet 0.035K parsecs from Argotte. The ’xrsc advised the returning Argotteans will be out of sync with time on Argotte and it would be advantageous to relocate them or do away with them, an option the Royal Family did not wish to consider.

The planet, named Belenda by the ’xrsc, has a mainly tropical climate embracing three continents spread across mainly equatorial to subtropical zones. Both poles do not have any appreciable land masses. The overall warm climate of the planet is not conducive to growing broccoli, lentils, peas, or other cold season crops According to the ’xrsc, there is an abundance of sun and broad, white sand beaches extend down to a quiet surf. The ’xrsc were unable to satisfactorily explain to the Royal Family what white sand looks like as Argottean sand is dreary gray or pathetic black. The ’xrsc did say that the Belendans will eventually be a happy people and pose no threat to the future of Argotte.