12 Experiencing Hardship
THE ALPHA CENTAURI A system consists of the G2 variable star, orbited by five terrestrial planets, three gas giants and a few dozen proto-planets, moons and other bodies. Alpha Centauri B has three terrestrial planets and six gas giants, but only one of the planets are in the comfort zone at fifty-five million miles from its primary. Proxima has four planets, but the flares from the star have sterilized any start that life might have made in the system.
The first and second planets in the Alpha-C-Alpha system are both a bit too hot for life. The Colonists are calling the first planet Dante, a nod to the writer who described Hell. They call the second one Flame, an Earth-sized world with a huge moon, which causes gravitational heating, resulting in high volcanic
