The Solar Sixteen

    Don't look at the Sun! April read the sign every "morning" on the way to work, not that accidentally glancing at the sun was much of a concern these days. The solarium platform had grown quite large since she'd started working on the deck, but when she first started, blindness and vaporization were serious concerns. That was the first milestone, though: to decrease the risk of exposure to the sun enough that conditions were bearable.

    Back on Earth they'd spent a majority of the planet's energy for several decades creating just 12 solarium blocks. An initial mission sent these blocks into a low-Sun orbit, LSO, and assembled them into a four by four square. Once it was confirmed the blocks were in place, they launched the basic equipment for the facility. The fabricator's sole purpose was to create the solarium blocks. Engineers had taken everything they'd learned on Earth and optimized it for use in the LSO.

    An energy management unit was responsible for the extraction, storage and distribution of power to the various systems. A mobile solarium crane would be used to move the newly fabricated blocks and connect them to the edges of the platform. Lastly, a small, eight-person quarters provided basic "shelter," initial food, and hygiene for the eventual crew.

    Of which April was a member. Those first weeks were harrowing. Even with protective gear, one mistake meant instant death. Every block they placed, though, decreased that risk, so for weeks they worked in rotating ten-minute shifts to expand the platform by 84 blocks. 100 blocks in total was the threshold at which they could take longer, more efficient shifts.

    By now they had placed 384 blocks, up to 400 in total, and the work had become routine. The platform had grown big enough that the initial crew could no longer maintain it by themselves, and Earth had sent more supplies, equipment, crew members, and even comforts. They kept their initial platform, The Solar Sixteen, marked both to keep the center of the platform referenced, and to remember where they started. It'd be nice to have help, but the new additions to the crew wouldn't have the same appreciation for their new home that the original eight did.