Transcript For Strip 748

Panel 1
Space-shot, Jupiter looms large in the background, the moon Io is a small, blotchy ball in the middle-ground.
Caption (Moe): Io is the large moon closest to Jove himself, deep in his gravitational well.
Moe: The tidal effect of that gravity has generated friction-heat within Io and a complex, active geology, producing a bounty of 'hot' rare-earth minerals.

Panel 2
Now Jupiter is only slightly larger but Io is a full third the height of the panel. We see her tortured surface in detail.
Moe: Io is not only bathed in Jupiter's intense radio-magnetic field, she is a source of radiation herself.
Moe: The original mining operators put in extensive shielding, making the place survivable, at least, for the 20-year contract terms they used then.

Panel 3
Shot of a mining station corridor intersection. The walls and floor look old and worn, and so do the miners walking by.
Moe: After the original operators sold out to Gensaxwal and OmegaTech Resources, distant vice-presidents decided they could save money by cutting our maintenance budgets.
Moe: As conditions deteriorated, the mercorps found it difficult to maintain adequate staffing.

Panel 4
Moe's family's apartment – dingy, small. Moe's parents are in the kitchenette having an intense discussion while a 12-year-old version of Moe eavesdrops from outside a doorway.
Moe: So Io became home to many thousands of Terrans and Lunans who were deemed inconvenient to have around.
Moe: Including my father, my mother, and myself.

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