People like the exoticness of it since forests are non-existent on ZAM-Zeta. Its atmosphere is produced by lake algae and moss, rather than trees. It's mostly a big, rocky, steppe-like wasteland, without large oceans, only rivers & lakes.
The Capital (i.e. the Structure) is the only noteworthy large settlement. The outer zones have farms that run mostly automated, producing food, resources and the necessary extra air that gets pumped into settlements. Outside the Structure the atmosphere is too lacking in oxygen to sustain much of any wildlife. ZAM-Zeta's terraforming is still a work in process, has been for 400 years, with occasional setbacks.
Depending on the planet, terraforming can take only a couple decades, or a millenia until the planet becomes habitable for humans. The more water, the better are the chances of it happenign fast. ZZ had decent pre-conditions, earth-like gravity, enough sulfur & nitrogen, good distance from its sun to be neither too hot nor to cold. (On average it's 30 °C in its populated areas, rarely drops below 10 °C, no winters, no rainfall. That's why Iki sleeps in a hammock and dresses very lightly.)
The water of its lakes had to be imported via icy meteor crashes, just hurled onto the planet from space. Extremophile micro-organisms were introduced to start producing atmosphere, that took about 50 years to settle, raditaion was held off with a giant solar shield till the air was thick enough to hold off major radiation. It had an up and down for another 100 years, until the first humans were able to settle.
150+ years sounds like a long time, but considering people will live 300 years and beyond… Companies will not easily give up any potentially inhabitable planet. When you find a planet with human quality conditions, that's a jackpot, an investment for the ages. Sometimes populations will voluntarily gene-alter themselves specifically to settle on an unideal planet. Too high gravity? Increase bone structure, no problem. Won't be able to move to another planet easily, but you can just save up to alter yourself again!
Anyway, all that as an excuse to draw D. in short pants.
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