Welcome to Themis!

Quick Facts

Why yes, you do feel lighter!

Gravity is 80% of Earth’s. So if you weighed 62kg (136 lbs) on Earth, you now weigh 50kg (109 lbs).

Relax, take a breather!

Air on Themis is perfectly safe to breathe, with sufficient oxygen being produced by native Themesian plants. A mix of nitrogen and other gases makes up the bulk of your new atmosphere, much like Earth but with an additional serving of helium — It’s not enough to make your voice squeaky though!

What is time anyway?

Themis has very long years (it takes 4.2 Earth years to revolve around our sun) and only slightly longer days (1.6 Earth days). This means that your old 24-hour clocks and 12-month calendars would need to be transposed significantly, or replaced entirely. Given the history of time-keeping in capitalist and state systems of control, access to Themesian clocks is currently restricted to data engineers. Apply for clock access with your Cluster Chair — or just live moment to moment!

Flora & Fauna

Themis is home to a rich ecosystem of native life, though compared to Earth, it is younger in evolutionary scale and complexity. Most life is still aquatic and quite small, though deep sea exploration has been fairly limited. So Nessie might be out there somewhere!

Please be respectful of native animals and plants, and do not eat anything unless you are absolutely sure it has been identified correctly and it is on the List of Approved Edibles (LAE). Numerous food crops from Earth are already being cultivated on Themis, so that’s not convergent evolution in your space garden, it’s a tomato.

Your First Week

After your long trip, you may be feeling tired and world-lagged. A member of the Receiving Crew can take you to your quarters whenever you need to rest. You will be assigned a room in one of the Clusters within the central colony. Each Cluster is built from identical modular living spaces that be assembled in variable configurations. But don’t get too attached! Everyone will rotate living quarters periodically to develop a thriving social fabric and deter the establishment of personal property.

If you’d rather explore the colony, your guides will happily lead you on a tour. Betaville is constantly evolving and growing as new Pioneers like you arrive. The city is designed for pedestrians, with tight-knit communities and dense mixtures of residences, workspaces, and entertainment. But if you want to really cover some ground, you can just grab a bicycle or e-buggy and explore the outer reaches of the colony: research stations, farms, and coastal lookouts await.

In the coming days, you will receive your first work assignment. Don’t worry! The labor algorithm with find the perfect job for you, based on your expertise, goals, and past career on Earth. Like residences, work assignments will rotate periodically, so you never get bored. Betaville is a truly smart city, automating the boring parts of modern life (utilities, cleaning, ugh!) and keeping us from hurting ourselves or our planet.

At the end of your first week, you will have a meeting with the Steering Committee (SC) — a rotating group of colonists in charge of high-level decision-making. This will be an opportunity to share your initial observations about life on Themis, ask questions, and share any ideas for improving your new society. Someday you will be on the SC, welcoming the latest Pioneer to their new home.