Copper ore. I found the stuff while digging about the ground as I tried to level a hill near our new home. With the rain being such a common feature on the planet, I worried that having this hill so close could result in a mudslide destroying our work. I've worked on it for a couple of days now, the hill growing shorter and shorter as my compacted dirt supplies grew larger and larger. Eventually I had most of it atomized by the manipulator, keeping some in case we needed a little bit for another project.
I had a few dozen nuggets of the orange ore along with a lot of coal, and the AI ran me through what I had to do with the smelter. After it was done I had just as many bars, and I decided to use a few for some nicer light fixtures in and around the house that replaced the small torches that kept animals at bay or the windows that let in light during the day and night when the skies were clear and the sun or planet was out. Yeah, technically this is a habitable moon, but it's large enough that it's a planet to us. The gas giant we orbit around floods the night with an otherworldly, pale violet light that brings a peaceful glow into the house. I got to work on those new lights in the ship, and some sort of plumbing so we didn't have to run to the ship for those amenities; it'll still be a while before I have it finished, but it's a start.
The look on Tifa's face when I came down with a bunch of shiny lights was priceless. This place is slowly getting nicer and nicer as we get the hang of everything. We have a rain barrel for water, but I kind of wish there was a nearby pond for the kids to play in. If matter manipulators can move solids around, I wonder if it can do the same to liquids? I'll go back to the space facility tomorrow before I get to work and ask someone about it.
Speaking of which, that's where Tifa is getting some new recipes for all this weird produce we're growing. I almost cracked a tooth on a pearlpea the other day, and she had to ask a visiting cook how to prepare the hard little things properly. With his help, she made something called pearlpea risotto, and it's not bad. Could use some salt.
Tomorrow I'll finish flattening that hill. I keep hearing weird noises from the ground...I wonder what it is?