18.Arrival at 82 Eridani

Mack arrives at 82 Eridani with three colony ships after a twenty-five-year journey. The system contains three potential settlement sites: two habitable planets (the inner one jungle-like, the outer one cooler with heavy gravity) and a marginally habitable moon. Mack coordinates with colony leaders to assign settlements and establish planetary names.

Mack arrives at 82 Eridani and discovers the materials caches left by Verne at the L4 points, confirming the system is Medeiros-free. Meeting with fellow Bobs Isaac, Jack, and Owen in VR, they debate and settle on Norse mythology-themed names: Asgard for the primary planet, Jotunheim for the secondary, and Valhalla for the moon. Mack then awakens two colony leaders—Katsu Ito from the Japanese contingent and Christie Campbell from the Canadian group. After reviewing summaries, Campbell's group chooses to settle Asgard while Ito's Japanese enclave selects the second planet but rejects the name Jotunheim, preferring Takama-ga-hara (dwelling place of the Kami) instead, disappointing Jack whose Norse mythology theme is disrupted. Following settlement, Campbell reports problems with the insect life on Asgard—large aggressive flying creatures that feed on humans. Mack agrees to adapt Howard's Cupid bug control technology to manage them. Campbell also notes that the high gravity of Asgard may cause future emigration to Valhalla once it becomes available in approximately fifty years.