Entry 8. Time line

My editors tell me it’s OK for me to jump around in the timeline but that it would be helpful to write down the timeline for readers who are not familiar with the history of Sirius 4.

I wonder why anyone who is not familiar with the history of Sirius 4 would be interested in my memoirs, but I acknowledge their concern, and so here is a list of what I consider the key moments in our history, those that I likely will be writing about in coming months.

(stated in Sirius 4 Years, S4Y)

S4Y 0– Exploratory mission lands, establishes encampment.

S4Y 1 – Construction of first oxygen generator begins.

S4Y 3 – Oxygen generator becomes operational, first settlers begin to arrive.

S4Y 22 – Population of encampment hits 1,000. Construction of outside communities authorized.

S4Y 28 – On schedule, oxygen levels reach survival stage and people begin to move into outside communities. Settlements grow into small towns, small towns grow into small cities.

S4Y 113 – I am born, for what that’s worth.

S4Y 125 – "The cookie fight."

S4Y 135 – A growing independence movement begins to build a majority in the legislature. The group begins negotiations that include the governor and the Earth administration.

S4Y 137 – I accept an assistant professorship at the University of Sirius 4.

S4Y 138 – Negotiations with Earth break down, Sirius 4 declares its independence and the governor is exiled back to the home planet. Badiah Sinclair is elected president.

S4Y 139 – An insurgent force led by Walter Ellis and Linda Franco steals the ignition disk for a prototype imaginary bomb. In an encounter between Special Forces and another insurgent group, the previously secret bomb detonates, destroying Earth’s moon. In a televised transmission Walter reveals that the government intended to use the bomb to destroy Sirius 5 as a warning to the fourth planet from our sun. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Many years from now, this incident is fictionalized in a novel called The Imaginary Bomb. Although it contains some historical inaccuracies, it is considered a pleasant diversion for fans of the early Imaginary Era.)

S4Y 140 – I meet Buffalo. Not long after, an invasion force arrives from Earth to put down the independence movement, sparking what we now know as the Imaginary Revolution.

S4Y 142 – After a series of violent clashes, the revolution is won, and Badiah Sinclair is re-elected.

S4Y 143 – Sinclair implements The Austerity Initiative, a series of regulations intended to shore up the economy and “temporarily” reinstitute some of the more onerous Earth-imposed restrictions on freedom.

S4Y 144 – With many folks advocating another violent rebellion, I do my best to convince people to take another tack.

S4Y 145 – At the height of the passive protests, Badi orders troops to open fire into a crowd. Thirty-five die, and I am arrested. The government topples on the day my trial was scheduled to begin.

S4Y 146 – During the debate over a new government, I pose the question of whether we need a government.

S4Y 147 – Commonwealth of Sirius 4 established. Not long afterward, I had a perhaps inevitable encounter along the Sanfte River with a certain man who, ironically enough, would become as loyal a friend as I have ever had, considering.

Since 147, we have had our share of challenges but, I admit to some pride in saying, the commonwealth survives and thrives.

Entry 9. Tenets