Translated from the personal journal of Hjatyn:

THINGS ARE getting worse.

We see only the news feeds from Dokaal now. They are constant, transmitting on all channels. Many have quit reporting for their assigned shifts, be they miners or workers in any of the support sections, and have instead taken to congregating in the public recreation areas to watch the feeds for hours on end. Still others have simply retreated to their private quarters, as if trying to find a place of safety.

Beeliq is one of the few who are trying to maintain some type of normalcy. She continues to carry out her duties at the colony administrator’s office, while I try to persevere with my classes. School has been all but canceled, though, and we sit with our students and watch the reports coming from the homeworld.

The quakes are growing in number and intensity. Sometimes three or four occur at different locations around the world during a single day. On other occasions, a site already tormented by one quake is subjected to another, adding to the toll of death and destruction. Rescue workers are hampered or even thwarted when this happens, helpless to do anything in the face of renewed devastation. Resources for rescue and recovery have long since been pushed beyond their limits, and those citizens who can volunteer to assist are already doing so. Even their efforts are not enough.

Many here are frustrated at their inability to render aid. I have heard some people talking about trying to return to Dokaal at any cost. Fearful that some might attempt to take matters into their own hands, the colony administrators have placed guards on the few shuttle transports available to us. I guess they hope this will deter anyone from trying to commandeer any of the ships.

The administrators also have threatened to enact special protection measures on the colonists as well, warning that they will restrict us all to our homes and duty stations if order is not maintained. That seems to be enough incentive for most people to restrain themselves from doing anything foolish, but it does nothing to relieve anyone’s anxiety over the situation.

For a time, Beeliq and I said little or nothing to one another about the escalating crisis. I know she felt the need to protect me from all of this at first, somehow, but I could always see the stress and fear she tried to keep to herself. I also know that her attempts to reach her parents on the homeworld have not been successful. Nearly a week ago, the news feeds reported a massive quake near the city where they live. The number of people believed dead has been growing with each update. Beeliq knew I comprehended what this probably meant, but I could tell she was not comfortable talking about it.

Even the meals we shared at the beginning and end of each day were quiet affairs. I think that neither of us wanted to talk for fear of the conversation turning to the situation on Dokaal, after which we would both return to our respective silences more frightened than before.

At tonight’s meal, however, I finally gave voice to the thoughts plaguing every person on each of the colonies.

Our planet is dying.

Perhaps it was the way I said it, not as a question but as a statement of undeniable fact, but Beeliq only nodded when I actually did say it. She seemed almost relieved, as if a mammoth burden had been lifted from her.

Then she cried, for the first time since her brother’s death.

I cried with her, for my grandparents lost on Dokaal, for the friends I had left behind when we were transferred to the colonies, for everyone who had suffered during this catastrophe. We even cried for those left to endure whatever was yet to come.

As for what that might be, people are fearing the worst. The news reports are making no attempts to soften the harsh reality of what is happening to our planet. Plans for evacuation are in progress, and all across the colonies preparations are under way to receive those precious few who will be able to escape the global devastation. It will be but a fraction of the population, a fact not lost on people who have come to realize that our planet’s days, to say nothing of their very own, are numbered.

And what about those of us who already live here among the asteroids? We are trapped here, helpless to do anything except wait for our homeworld to die. What will we do in the aftermath of the coming disaster? How will we survive? Out of necessity, the colonies are able to sustain themselves for the long periods of time between supply shipments from Dokaal, but what will happen when the ships stop coming? We will have more people living here than the colony facilities were designed to support, so adjustments will have to be made quickly to accommodate them.

Caesi tells me that his wife and the other administrators have had plans set in motion for some time to deal with this situation. This means that they have known the awful truth for longer than the public has, and have been preparing. Part of me is relieved because I know that those in charge have retained their focus in the midst of this crisis and are working to give us the best chance of survival.

However, I am also concerned that there may be other facts that our leaders have withheld from us. Perhaps things are more serious than is generally believed, and the administrators are trying to prevent panic from escalating. Were I in charge, I think I would want to inform the people as much as possible, no matter how unsettling the facts might be, and trust that their initial fear and uncertainty would be defeated by their desire to survive and protect their families. I think that displaying great faith in those you lead would better allow them to trust in your guidance.

In the days ahead, I think that both the people and our leaders will need such trust if we are to survive.