My name is Nola and I am a male of my specie, the Senoolies. I stand, in my stoking feet about 3 feet 5 inches, which is considered tall for my kind. For most of my species, in the past, were around 2 to 2 ⅔ feet tall. We originally lived on a heavy-gravity planet and everything on the planet was in ideal proportion to us; thus, with no other species to compare with, we considered our height to be perfectly normal. Until we landed on Gardia, we were never aware that compared to other intelligent mammalian species that we are small of stature, at least in this Universe. My skin color is light brown, my hair is dark brown, slightly curly and I have dark periwinkle blue eyes.
The people living on Gardia are very tall compared to us, on average they range from 5 to 7 feet. Only later did we discover that they are not even the tallest people in this Galaxy, but only considered average. To us, well really my great-grandparents and grandparents they seemed enormous. It was my Great-Grandparents' and my Grandparents' generations that landed here and with each new generation that is born on Gardia, we grow taller. The Gravity on Gardia is very light, only .96 Gauss and I am sure that is the primary factor in us becoming taller.
We were lucky, Gardia is a beautiful planet and 'the Tall Ones' bid us welcome with open hearts.
Gardia is a very old planet with an old Sun, but it will never go Nova. Our Sun is a G-Star-it is a reddish-yellow color; it has just started its journey into becoming a Red Sun, but it will take many millions of years before it get into the red stage where it will start to expand. It is however the center of a very small solar-system, there are only four other planets and none of them have any sentient life. The inner planet is close to the Sun and is a scorched rock, two are gas-giant, of not quite equal size, and the third one is so far out it a frozen Methane Ice ball.
Our system is placed in the middle of a Galaxy Arm, close to the center of our Galaxy, but on the side of the arm that faces away from the Galaxy Center. It is a little outside the main populated area, in a way it is the third point of a triangle between two more populated systems. As such, it was ignored until the 'Tall Ones' landed. It was as the planet did not welcome visitors back then and it did not have any Space Port.
In addition, the whole of the arm is highly inhabited with populated Solar Systems on both side of our Solar System. Many of the systems have more than one planet that are habitable, but not always by the same type of species. Thus, after the Space Port was build, the 'Tall Ones' had no problem in becoming another port on the Trade Route, and the planet also ended up as a popular Holiday Resort.
Because of the planet's age it has long since ceased to be a geological active planet and it is weather-beating to the point that there is little left of former high mountains. They are now rolling green hills with rocky out-cropping here and there. In places where rivers and stream flows over those rocky areas, they have produced some of the most spectacular, powerful and beautiful waterfalls, and besides being a great tourist attraction, they also provide us with all the electrical power that is needed on Gardia. But, in certain areas we also make use of both Wind and Solar power. Another reason for using natural power sources is the 'Tall Ones' absolute passion against anything that may damage the environment. They fled their planet of origin because the planet's ecological system had been destroyed by their ancestor's industrial society. Also, Gardia has no metals, precious or otherwise, nor any oil or gasses, only a few minerals and some semi-precious stones. We do not know if there ever were any natural resources of the type used by industrial societies.
The Flora, on Gardia, is a mixture of what is native to the planet, the seeds that were brought by the 'Tall One' and what my people brought from our planet of origin, which was little, since we left in a great hurry, but all plant species seem to get along well. Gardia is very much like a huge garden or maybe a park, even the wild areas has a groomed look to them. Whether we seed or plant plants native to Gardia or from off planet; it all grows very orderly. For example, in a field of grass, only grass grows, no weeds and it limits its own size, thus requires very little maintenance; it is like that with all plants and trees all over the planet. The planet appeared to have been modified, sometime in the past maybe, so it requires a minimum of work. Don't misunderstand me, everything grows well, it is a green, lush planet, but orderly, as I said like a well-kept park.
Because of the type of planet Gardia is, most of what we export is of agricultural nature or handy-crafts. The rest of our national income is from visitors from all over the Galaxy and with a large modern Space Port; Gardia is a favorite holiday planet of many species. Most of our visitors prefer the spring and summer seasons, but quite a few like our fall. Not so many do we see in the winter, since it never gets really cold, only as far as minus 10 Celi, with a little snow and frozen-over ponds, but it never stay around very long, most of our winters we see more rain than anything else. And, with no high mountains, we are not a planet for winter sports. Winter is the season where we relax and prepare for the next year's onslaught of visitors.
The planet does show faint traces of former inhabitants, but only as darkened outlines of strange forms, in the soil. We think they were once buildings. No other archaeological remains have ever been found.
The only treasure on Gardia is what is grown here, and we, who live here, think that the planet itself is the greatest treasure one can ever have. Of course, people have different views on what treasure is, and some people are very uncomfortable on Gardia, but those types of people are the ones who dislike honest work. It is odd, but in many ways I think the planet itself decides who it want to live here and we seldom see immigrants, only a handful have stayed to become Gardians, since the 'Tall Ones' and my people arrived.
Gardia take 410 days and a bit, to go around our sun, to even out the year we adds a bit to the last day of the year. Gardia has two moons, in opposite orbits around the planet and are of similar size; they pretty well even out each other pull on the planet, and thus have a very stabilizing effect on our climate and our oceans' tides. One moon, "the Silver Lady" has a silvery white color and the other "the Green Lord" has a green color, sometime they both get a reddish-mauve tint to them, when they are at the right angle from our sun.
There are many things our scientists have yet to find out about our planet and the Solar System it resides in, since both we and the 'Tall Ones' have been there such a short time. For example, our extended Life Span, both of our species live to be, on an average between 250-300 years old -Gardia's years and we still do not know why, neither species lived that long on their planet of origin. Which brings us to the second puzzle that has confounded my people as well as the 'Tall Ones'? But, to better understand the second puzzle and how it influenced my people future here on Gardia. We must go back to the past of the 'Tall Ones.' As I mentioned earlier, the 'Tall Ones' came from a planet where their environment was so severely damaged that it posed a threat to all living things, animate and inanimate.
After they landed on Gardia, all their actions were influenced by an acute environmental awareness. As the 'Tall Ones' build towns all over the planet, no town was any bigger than a person can comfortable walk from one edge of it to the other. And, all of the towns are built by material in their particular area. For example, Reddick (my town, it is located a short distance from our Space Port) and both the town and the space port is build mostly of natural rock and baked clay bricks of a color that range from red to brown to almost black; other towns may be red, yellow, grey, blue, sand colored or any other type of tints depending on whatever are the colors of their rocks and clays. Our streets are formed of laid-down bricks or natural cobble stone. Since those early days no vehicles are allowed in our towns, we do have electric cars and trains that runs between the towns and in the countryside.
Each of ours houses is built in similar fashion, but they have their own individual looks. Nearly all have store-front, since we all, in one way or another are in the tourist business. The store-fronts are built level with the street and each has an apartment in the back, a step or two down in level with the garden. Some houses back apartments are level with the front stores and seem from the back the gardens forms many different levels of terraces. There is also an apartment over the store, which is a bit larger than the back apartment. Even if our houses are built similar, no two look the same, since windows, doors and other decoration are different and follow the individual owners' taste. They, the 'Tall Ones' has allowed for expansion of the population in building our towns, so much so, that even today there are ample room to further population growth. We still have the majority of houses only filled to less than capacity. Of course, our Inn are always full (in the Tourist Season), but nobody arrives without prior booking their rooms, and the Inns are build in same style and the same material as our houses: The way we have built our Towns, Inns and Houses, are seen to many people from other planets, as rather small and have a Fairyland look to them.
This is how housing was when my Great-Grandparents crashed on Gardia and that was when the strangeness started that puzzle my great-grand parents for a long time. All the Senoolies was received by the 'Tall Ones' as long lost dear relatives. They all wanted to take in a family to live in their houses. So much they drew lots, because there were not enough of my people to go around. To begin with my people did not question their action, because of the crash they were in bad shape and needed care. Most of the descendants are still living with the families their ancestors were first assigned to, and new couples or single people, find their own housing with people they are comfortable with. Most houses consist of one family of 'Tall Ones'(may only be a single person) and a family of my people (may also only be a single person). But, there are houses with both families are 'Tall Ones' or both are Senoolies; it is a personal choice. I for one share house with a 'Tall One,' a Lady, and we are both single. She lives upstairs over the shop, her shop. She is a Herbalist, natural medicine and sweets and for the tourists she dressed up as an old fashion witch (according to the 'Tall Ones' tales), tall black pointed hat and all, and I am sure no real witch would not be caught dead in such an outfit. The sweets are similar of witches brew, licorice mini witches' brooms, eye of newt hard candy and so on. I live in the back apartment, facing the garden, I like gardening and I am a Historian and a Teacher. But, sometime I help in the shop when she needs help.
One thing is different on Gardia than many other planets; housing is considered a right, not a privilege. No one on Gardia pay for their housing other than helping built it, when a new house is needed; the whole community gets together and built it, with community funds, since the whole community owns the resources. I do not pay rent, the 'Tall One' and I own our house together and pay for expenses-of up-keep together. However, we cannot and do not sell our houses if we want to move. When I or we move out, the people who move in will own the house and be responsible for it, as we will own and be responsible the new house we move into.
That is the way it is done in all our towns and communities and all without monetary exchange. As a nation and a people we make enough profit from our tourist trade. Besides our building material is free and freely given to us from the planet and belongs to all, only our labor is needed to in house-building. It has been like this since the 'Tall Ones' handed on Gardia, which brings me back to why did they act like we were dear relatives. The story finally came out, the 'Tall Ones' told my Great-Grandparents that our people was part of their past, part of their history and it was considered good luck to have one of us living with them and now they had whole families.
My Great Grandparents went over everything in the legends and stories they had about what they call 'Leprechauns' and there could be no doubt about it, after their description, they were definitely Senoolies. They even had the same powers we have here. Powers, which seemed to the 'Tall Ones' as supernatural, but they were only due to us coming from a heavy-gravity planet and an awareness of that Reality is made up of energies and energies are easy to manipulate, provided one can see them. But, how could their ancestors have known Senoolies, how could this be?
All the Senoolies' Ships left our home planet all in a span of a week, mind you, all set out in different directions. One of those ships, landed in the Past on the home planet of the 'Tall Ones' and my Great-Grandparents' ship landed on Gardia in the Future of the descendants of those people, who recognized the Senoolies as Leprechauns.
It seems that the Past and the Future has certain fluidity to it. That Space-Time can be shifted or twisted in different area of the Universe; that the Highways and the Byways of the Universe may lead to every Time and Space. I am not really as surprise as my Great-Grandparents was then, because since this planet has become a popular tourist-vacation-resort, we see and talk to many persons from near and far. Thus, I have heard many strange tellings, which lead me to believe that the Universe is a strange, complexed and extra-ordinary place, and the more I hear, the stranger it becomes.
In addition, one more puzzle, which has my people and the 'Tall Ones' shaking our head, both our DNA are almost identical, except for our sizes. We have not been able to come up with an explanation for that one, except somewhere in our past we have common ancestors.
But, one thing we both agree on is that our planet Gardia is the closest thing to living in Paradise while still having a physical body.