《Sol's Ladder》 1.Prologue Zed Marsh stared into the mirror, waiting for the woman to appear on the other side. His mother, Ana Marsh, sat to his left. She turned toward him and adjusted the collar of his crimson shirt without comment. Zed¡¯s father, Ed Marsh, shifted in his seat to his son¡¯s right. He cocked his head slightly as he cleared his throat. Ana shot a glance his way. Ed noticed it and became still. At that moment, their reflections disappeared, and a striking middle-aged woman in ripped jeans and a suit vest materialized on the other side. The Marshes found themselves looking through a digital window into an immaculate studio. Zed recognized the woman instantly. Di was one of the most popular news and entertainment streamers around. Zed didn¡¯t follow current events closely, but he was struck by the surreal feeling one gets in the presence of a celebrity. To Di¡¯s left, Zed could see a studio audience of several hundred people and felt nauseous. He knew he was just looking through a glorified 3D screen, but his sudden stage fright felt very real. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, give my next guests a warm round of applause and welcome to our studio, the Martians¡­ I mean, the Marshes!¡± The audience dutifully laughed and applauded as Di flopped down on the loveseat next to another woman whom Zed didn¡¯t recognize. ¡°Now, as you can see, the Marshes are here with us remotely.¡± Zed knew that to the audience and Di, it looked as if they were sitting on a couch in the studio, their bodies fading away below the waist. ¡°Dr. Marsh, can you tell us why we¡¯re unable to enjoy your actual presence this evening?¡± Zed¡¯s mother straightened and raised her chin, the way she did whenever she gave Zed a lecture in response to a question. ¡°Well, as you can imagine, we have to be extremely careful about the stowaways we carry with us on a trip like the one we¡¯re about to make. If we were to bring a disease with us that we didn¡¯t have supplies on hand to treat, the results could be devastating for the colony.¡± Di leaned in, half-turning toward the audience. ¡°So, like, if you got bitten by a zombie at T minus 6, that would be a problem, I take it?¡± Zed¡¯s mother blinked twice and gave a closed-lipped smile. ¡°Yes, definitely not what we¡¯re hoping for,¡± she said. ¡°Now, before I get to this young man between you, let me ask you this, Ed,¡± Di leaned in as if sharing a secret. ¡°Is it true that you will be working on the systems that, well, turn feces into food?¡± The audience laughed, but Zed could see them leaning in, genuinely curious to hear his answer. ¡°That is correct, Di. We¡¯ve come a long way on Mars, but using every resource available will always be important, especially as the colony tries to be as self-sufficient as possible. Nothing gets wasted, even our waste. Every little shi¡ªuh¡ªbit helps, right?¡± Di bobbed her head as the audience clapped. ¡°Well, Ed, I¡¯m glad to know that at least I would have one thing to contribute.¡± Di jumped off the couch and knelt in front of Zed¡¯s projection as if he were a small child. ¡°Zed, Zed, Zed. Can you believe that in just a few short months, you will be standing on another planet? How does it feel to know you¡¯re about to be the youngest person to ever set foot on Mars?¡± Di asked earnestly. The audience broke out into sustained applause. Zed felt a rush of heat in his face. Why in the world had he agreed to do this? He could barely get through giving a speech in a small class setting. Why did he think he would be okay saying anything at all with a few hundred eyes staring at him from the audience and millions more from the cameras? He¡¯d hoped the remote interview would feel disconnected enough to avoid the twisting knot that was starting to form in his gut, but the immersion of the telepresence mirror was doing its job a little too well. ¡°Uh, cool, I guess,¡± Zed half-mumbled. He wasn¡¯t trying to mumble; he just found that his lips had turned to stiff rubber the moment he needed them. The audience chuckled as Di raised an eyebrow. ¡°If going to Mars is ¡®cool,¡¯¡± Di gave an exaggerated shrug, ¡°then I¡¯d like to see what it would take to really blow your socks off.¡± Zed gave a crooked half-smile. ¡°No, I get that it¡¯s a big deal and all. It¡¯s just been the goal for so long. With all the training and work my parents have put in for years to get to this point, it just feels kind of normal now that it¡¯s here, ya know?¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Di nodded sympathetically. ¡°Well, you might see it as normal, but I wouldn¡¯t sell yourself short if I were you. ¡®Hi, I¡¯m Zed, the youngest person to set foot on Mars¡¯ seems like it¡¯d make a pretty decent pick-up line, no?¡± Zed smiled and looked down at his hands. ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯ve tried that, but I¡¯ll take your word for it.¡± Di continued, ¡°While you will be the youngest, you won¡¯t be the only teen, correct?¡± Zed nodded and smiled weakly, happy to have an excuse to talk about something other than himself. ¡°Yeah, Miranda and George Ens will be making the trip with us, thankfully.¡± ¡°Happy to not be the only kid on the planet, I take it?¡± Zed shuddered at the thought. With all the moving he¡¯d done growing up, making friends had been nearly impossible. Miranda and George¡¯s father, Jacob, had been on the same training track as his parents. That meant that for the last few years, he¡¯d had two friends who were more or less always around and could relate to him more than the random kids at the dozen or so different schools he¡¯d attended over the years. ¡°Yeah, the thought of being stuck on a planet with nothing but other adults is¡­¡± Zed scrunched his nose in disgust. Di put a hand on her heart in solidarity. ¡°On the downside, though, if there¡¯s any mischief in Inauguration, I¡¯m guessing you three will forever be the chief suspects.¡± Zed smiled and shrugged in agreement. ¡°I actually have someone here who wanted to meet you, Zed.¡± Di gestured to the woman beside her on the couch. Zed realized he was so inward-focused and nervous about the audience that he hadn¡¯t actually taken a good look at her. She appeared to be in her mid-fifties, maybe sixties, with pale skin and a buzzed head covered with a quarter-inch of gray stubble. The black suit she wore had the slightest hint of a blue shine. To Zed, it felt somehow retro, like the kind of style he might have seen in a period piece movie set at the turn of the last century. ¡°Marshes, while her face isn¡¯t familiar to most, I¡¯m sure her name needs no introduction. I¡¯d like you to meet Jarra Gunnard¨®ttir.¡± The three of them sat in stunned silence for a moment. There wasn¡¯t a person alive who didn¡¯t know the name, but that face had changed somewhat since the last time anyone had seen her publicly. Di continued with enthusiasm. ¡°We¡¯ve been so incredibly honored to have you on, Jarra. Thank you again for the privilege of choosing our humble show for your first interview in, what, twenty years?¡± Jarra bobbed her head as if weighing her words carefully. ¡°Not at all, Di,¡± she said in a surprisingly soft voice that held just a hint of an accent. She turned her gaze to the Marshes and focused on Zed. He had never more clearly understood the old idiom about a deer caught in headlights. Jarra¡¯s freakishly pale blue eyes felt like they were scanning his soul. Zed tried not to squirm. If Di was a celebrity, Jarra was closer to a figure straight out of legend. She had more or less saved the world with her tech and then vanished from the spotlight, content to run her business empire from the seclusion of her home in Iceland. ¡°I¡¯d like to take just a moment, Jarra, on behalf of myself and everyone watching, to thank you for your work and contributions to humanity during the Three Hell Thirties. I know I wouldn¡¯t be here today if not for you. Your medical advancements saved my mother when she was infected with the Wormwood virus before I was even born.¡± Zed thought Di might tear up for a second, but her quivering smile quickly returned to its usual radiance. ¡°Enough about the past! Jarra, what does the future look like for the Marshes? I know you¡¯ve developed a significant portion of the tech that allows a colony on Mars to exist, right down to the radiation meds that enable someone like young Zed here to make the trip with minimal risk.¡± Jarra glanced at Di, but her eyes quickly returned to Zed as she spoke. ¡°The colony of Inauguration is, quite simply, the culmination of my life¡¯s work. As you alluded to before, the Three Hells taught us all a valuable lesson about the fragility of our species. Inauguration is our first real hope of finding the next rung on the ladder to the cosmos.¡± As Jarra spoke, her words built in excitement and energy, and she became more still, like a calm before the storm. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard rumblings you talk about this in the book you¡¯re about to release, correct?¡± Jarra nodded at Di. Di continued. ¡°But I also heard that you believe that aliens or some power left us, uh, breadcrumbs to the stars. Some kind of trail for humanity to follow?¡± Di said this in her lighthearted way, but Zed could see some hesitation in her body language. Jarra nodded again. ¡°That is more or less correct. Much like the tree in the Garden of Eden was meant to elevate Homo sapiens, I believe similar places exist. Places of progress that will give us just what we need to take our next steps¡ªmore rungs on a ladder to the stars, if you will.¡± Di gave an awkward chuckle. ¡°Which tree are you referring to, Jarra? The tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?¡± The audience joined in with a smattering of uncertain laughter. Jarra smiled but didn¡¯t respond. She instead gestured to Zed with both arms, palms up, like someone holding their arms out to a child who is taking their first tentative steps. ¡°The boy here represents an important part of humanity¡¯s journey forward. I am pleased to see this day come. Godspeed, Zed.¡± ¡°Uh, thanks,¡± was all Zed¡¯s dry mouth managed to mumble. Di stood and turned toward the audience. She cleared her throat and sped through her words, anxious to move the conversation along. ¡°Well, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s all the time we have for our stream today, folks. My thanks to Jarra and the Marshes for taking the time to be with us. Remember, you can watch live tomorrow as Zed and his family launch on their long road trip to the red planet. If you think your family has a tough time with road trips, imagine one that lasts months! I¡¯m Di, and you¡¯ve been a lovely audience. Good night!¡± Di, Jarra, and the audience faded until Zed was once again looking at his reflection in the mirror. His parents did what they always did after any kind of social engagement: They started bickering. Whatever the point of contention was tonight, Zed wasn¡¯t sure. He just sat there, lost in his own stunned thoughts. He couldn¡¯t have imagined that anything could consume his thoughts more than the launch tomorrow. Then again, he never imagined in his most self-aggrandizing fantasies that he¡¯d actually have a conversation with Jarra Gunnard¨®ttir! Sure, the bit about magic trees and ladders to space was a bit odd, but hey, she¡¯d pretty much saved the human race, so she was entitled to a few trillionaire eccentricities. Zed made his way to the bed in what was his room for the week. He flung a quiet, ¡°Good night,¡± in their general direction. It went unanswered. Some people used white noise machines to fall asleep. Zed¡¯s white noise was the muffled sound of his parents¡¯ angry voices humming through the walls. Tonight, it didn¡¯t matter. All the years of sacrifice they¡¯d made, all the moving, all the missed opportunities would finally pay off tomorrow. Tomorrow, life could finally start, even if it was on Mars. Zed had to believe that. 2.Down and Out If there was one good thing about being crammed into a tin can with a bunch of other colonists, it was the short reprieve Zed had gotten from his parents fighting. Privacy being what it was, they couldn¡¯t have a shouting match without the whole ship hearing it, so they did whatever they had to in order to bottle it up. Whatever their issues, apparently, their pride was stronger. Zed hoped that maybe the habit might stick once they reached the colony. His hopes were not high. The trip had been mercifully uneventful. Twenty colonists and two pilots¡ªor babysitters, as they were affectionately called¡ªhad docked with The Attic two days ago. The Attic was the way station that every pilgrim to Mars passed through before making their descent to the rusty landscape below. The ships that traversed the space between Earth and Mars weren¡¯t built to touch down on either world. A small fleet of four landers would take the Marshes and their fellow passengers on the final leg of their journey. Zed thought The Attic itself had a bit of a haunted house vibe to it. There were no permanent living quarters as such. It was really just meant for transfers and resupplies. Like the ship that had brought them here, every conceivable system was automated. The landers could be summoned to the ground and relaunched without the need for a skilled pilot or for any human to be present at all. When the decision had been made to allow groups of colonists to start making their way out into the solar system, it had become clear that making everything ¡°idiot-proof¡± was the top priority. This meant making the job of traveling through space require as few interactions with vital systems as possible. The babysitters really were just that. Unless something went horribly wrong, there was no need for them to do any real piloting at all. Zed found this reassuring but also a little sad. The reality was a bit more sterile than the stories of the first explorers he¡¯d grown up on. He wondered how someone like Thabisa Jones felt about someone like him getting to Mars on autopilot when she and her crewmates had gone through hell to set that first boot on the red planet. Space was still a horrifyingly dangerous place, but if things were going to go wrong, the engineers on Earth had done their best to ensure that it wasn¡¯t human error that triggered a master alarm. Zed made his way through the stark tunnels that comprised the interior of The Attic. He passed a row of closely set doors that he recognized as the inflatable bulb escape pods he¡¯d been taught how to use during the pre-launch training. For a moment, he had a dangerous impulse¡ªthe kind you get standing on the edge of a cliff, wanting to throw yourself off because you could, or to press your hand to a hot stove. In this instance, he imagined how simple it would be to start the emergency launch sequence, inflate the pod, and hurl himself down to Mars before anyone could stop him. He¡¯d easily beat out Miranda and George for the title of ¡°first teen on Mars.¡± ¡°There you are!¡± Miranda shouted at Zed as she drifted down through a hatch overhead. He stammered a greeting, as if caught in the middle of something questionable. She gave him a curious look but didn¡¯t inquire further. ¡°Come on, we¡¯re gonna miss out on the good seats. George is trying to hold a few on the lander¡¯s upper level. The babysitters said that¡¯s where the best landing views are. Fingers crossed for a real show! Move your ass, Marsh!¡± She spun in mid-air and pulled herself back through the hatch, her flowing pale blond hair giving her movements a ghostlike quality that matched The Attic¡¯s haunted nature. Zed hurried after Miranda, struggling to keep up. In spite of months in space, he¡¯d never quite gotten the hang of free fall. Miranda, on the other hand, moved as if she¡¯d been born in orbit. In short order, they arrived at the ship that would take them to their new home. This lander¡¯s interior was almost entirely filled with flight couches. The colonists¡¯ stowed items and supplies would be loaded into one of the other landers that had an empty cargo layout. Miranda¡¯s twin, George, was waiting for them at the entrance. He swore at them. ¡°Took you long enough. Thought I was gonna have to start throwing punches to keep our seats.¡± He gestured for them to follow him. They floated past other colonists who were making their way into the lander. A few of them gave George looks of annoyance. Zed had no doubt that more than a few of their fellow travelers would be happy to not have to share the same tiny living space with the less mature of the Ens twins. George was a ¡°good kid,¡± as they say, but he could also be a lot, especially when he¡¯d been cooped up for months. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. George led them to the upper level of the lander. There were fewer seats up here, but larger windows. ¡°You guys ready for a fireworks show?¡± George said, rubbing his hands as if he planned to start a fire right then and there. ¡°Don¡¯t say fireworks,¡± Miranda said. ¡°Fireworks blow up. I¡¯ll be happy with some sparks and a safe touchdown.¡± As the three of them strapped in, an Asian man in his mid-sixties emerged from the hatch below. ¡°Hey, Baat!¡± Zed called. ¡°You started praying yet?¡± Baat was to be Inauguration¡¯s first chaplain. Or, if you weren¡¯t religious, he could also serve as a therapist or morale officer. Zed wasn¡¯t sure what exactly any of that entailed, but he got the impression Baat was there to keep people from losing their minds. Besides the Ens twins, Baat was the only other person on board that Zed considered a real friend. Zed was used to making friends with adults to a certain degree. He¡¯d spent far more time around adults than children his own age growing up. Miranda and George were actually his longest-running in-person friendships, and he¡¯d only known them for a couple of years. With Baat, it was different, though. Zed found he had an easier time consulting the graying Mongolian on things that felt too heavy or serious to drop in casual conversation with Miranda or George, especially George. If anything remotely serious came up in conversation, George saw it as an excuse to crank up his already considerable immaturity to the max. While he didn¡¯t hang out with Baat just for fun that often, it was nice having someone he respected and didn¡¯t fear. He felt a twinge of guilt that this description didn¡¯t for a second make him think of his own parents, but the thought of opening up to them created a far deeper sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach than dropping to the planet below ever could. Baat buckled himself in across from the three teens. ¡°Young man, we''ve been living in a series of tin cans with instant death lurking behind every wall and window. I never stop praying.¡± George tightened his harness. Zed had long suspected that for all his bluster, George would be the most relieved of them all to have his feet on solid ground again. Though in reality, being on Mars wasn¡¯t any less dangerous. ¡°So,¡± Baat said, ¡°which one of you will be first?¡± Zed and the twins exchanged glances. They knew that by ¡°first,¡± Baat meant ¡°first teen on Mars.¡± ¡°It¡¯s gonna be me,¡± George said, with a satisfied sigh. ¡°We drew straws, and my little brother won.¡± ¡°Forty-five seconds younger. It barely counts.¡± Baat smiled. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you found a civilized way to decide. I was afraid that the moment we touched down I¡¯d be trampled in your frenzy to get to the hatch first.¡± ¡°Final call before separation,¡± came the voice of one of the babysitters over the intercom. ¡°Check your harness and don your helmets. As soon as we get a green light from all your flight suits, we¡¯ll start our descent.¡± Zed took the simple, clear bubble of a helmet that he¡¯d been holding on his lap and pulled it over his head, being careful to check and recheck the fit and seal. They hadn¡¯t started moving yet, but as he heard the locks that held the lander to the station start cycling, his heart rate climbed in anticipation. It reminded him of an old roller coaster he¡¯d ridden once at a fair. It was the only fair he¡¯d ever had the chance to go to, and his nine-year-old self had been determined to make the most of it. The memory that stuck in his mind hadn¡¯t been the roller coaster itself but the clink clink clink sound the cars had made as they were pulled up that first hill. He¡¯d started with no fear, but by the time he¡¯d reached the top, his stomach had turned in on itself and ended up squeezing all the fried food he¡¯d eaten right out of him and all over the helpless passengers behind him as they plummeted over that first drop. He sincerely hoped history did not repeat itself. Vomiting with a fishbowl over your head was not a good look. He glanced at Baat, who gave him a reassuring thumbs-up. The lander pulled away from the Attic and rotated. Mars spun out of sight, giving way to a view of the way station as it appeared to drift off into the blackness. As the minutes ticked by, the station passed out of sight and was replaced by showers of sparks as they entered Mars¡¯s thin atmosphere. Thin though it was, the lander still required shielding to keep it from burning up at high speed. Zed didn¡¯t dare glance at the twins to see how they were handling things for fear of what they might see on his face. No matter how many times he reminded himself that this was just routine, there was nothing about falling from the sky in a ball of fire that felt normal. The vibration of the landing rockets firing made Zed¡¯s vision go blurry. He found himself pressed down into his seat. It felt as if the lander had decided it didn¡¯t want to land after all and was going to try to blast itself back the way they had come. After months in microgravity, the forces of this landing felt so much more intense than the launch from Earth. Zed closed his eyes and tried to imagine the forces buffeting his body were coming from that roller coaster ride. For a moment, it made things more bearable, but then, as it had on that ride so many years ago, Zed¡¯s last meal decided to make an unscheduled reemergence. This timed out perfectly with the lander¡¯s touchdown, giving the half-digested food in Zed¡¯s helmet maximum splatter. Zed didn¡¯t know if anyone had seen or noticed because all he could see was a panorama of the contents of his stomach. The moment he heard "touchdown" announced, he tore off his helmet, gasping for a breath of fresh air. Zed was so focused on catching his breath untainted by the burn of stomach acid that he forgot he was no longer in space and was, in fact, once more on the surface of a planet with gravity. Considerably less gravity than he¡¯d known on Earth, but gravity all the same. So, as he tossed his helmet off, instead of drifting up to the ceiling as it would have an hour ago, it flew in a lovely arc over his head, only to finish its arc by smashing into the head it had moments earlier been protecting. There was a sudden bustle of activity that Zed couldn¡¯t quite track. He felt more than a little stunned but was keenly aware of a burning sensation over his left eyebrow and the fact that he could only see out of his right eye. Then Baat was standing over him. He unstrapped Zed and helped him to his unsteady feet. The rest was a bit of a blur: Baat helping him to the hatch to wait for the docking procedure to finish, his father speaking to Baat and asking what he¡¯d done now, and moving down the long tunnel to the central hub where strangers greeted them in far-off voices and whisked them to a side room. Zed came to full awareness as his mother shoved a needle into his eyebrow. 3.Need a Lift? ¡°Hold still!¡± Zed blinked at a machine-gun pace. His left eyebrow was on fire. Tears broke free, though he wasn¡¯t really sure if he was actually crying or if it was just an involuntary reaction. Ana Marsh was leaning over Zed. He seemed to be on some sort of table but didn¡¯t dare move his head to look around the room. ¡°Better?¡± Zed could tell from her inconvenienced tone that it was very much a rhetorical question. The pain above his eye faded as if it were seeping out with his tears. ¡°The lidocaine should be taking effect. Now hold still so I can get this stitched up.¡± Zed only blinked, his head clearing as the pain subsided. This had to be the most embarrassing and painful way anyone had started their first day on Mars. ¡°That was an impressive feat of bad luck, kid.¡± Zed didn¡¯t recognize the speaker¡¯s deep voice and mild southern drawl. He started to turn his head only to have it quickly jerked back into place. ¡°Sorry,¡± said the voice. ¡°We haven¡¯t been properly introduced. I¡¯m Jonah Gruene, one of the grease monkeys of Naug. I do a bit of everything but mostly keep the Monstros and Chariots rolling. Those are the two main vehicle types we use around here. The Chariots are a bit like a fancy tricycle you stand on that has its wheels on the ends of robotic arms. Not to brag, but I¡¯m a pretty good Chariot rider myself. I¡¯ve even won a few Earth Day prizes.¡± Zed was well aware of the amazing machines Jonah had mentioned, but Jonah had so much enthusiasm it felt cruel to interrupt. To be fair, Zed wasn''t exactly a great student. He''d forgotten more about what awaited him here than he cared to admit, but a robotic chariot? No teenage boy could help but become just a little obsessed with the concept, even if he had no clue how you were actually supposed to drive one. ¡°Once your mom has you stitched up, you¡¯ll get to ride in the belly of one of the Monstros!¡± Jonah¡¯s enthusiasm for these vehicles was evident. ¡°Now the Chariots are agile, sure, but a Monstro, well, they¡¯re just beautiful. They can haul a ridiculous amount of cargo and drive through the worst terrain Mars has to throw at us. They¡¯re not fast, but they are unstoppable.¡± Ana Marsh seemed to be getting annoyed with Jonah¡¯s enraptured descriptions of the vehicles he maintained. Unfortunately for Zed, this meant she was stitching his brow at a frightening speed. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°There, done.¡± She stood and hurried to repack the emergency medical kit. ¡°Mr. Gruene, if you¡¯d be so kind, I think we¡¯re more than ready to get out of here. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ve missed any festivities at this point, but that can¡¯t be helped.¡± Jonah smiled warmly. Zed wasn¡¯t sure if he was ignoring his mother¡¯s curt tone or simply blind to it. ¡°Absolutely, Mrs. Marsh!¡± Jonah held the ¡°o¡± in ¡°absolutely¡± for an intentional mispronunciation that Zed knew would make his mother cringe, and Zed loved him for it. Twisting with care, Zed set his feet on the floor and looked around to get his first glimpse of Jonah. Jonah looked more or less like he sounded. He was somewhat heavyset¡ªat least in comparison to the average astronaut¡ªwith a blond mustache and a ¡°skullet.¡± At least Zed was pretty sure that¡¯s what you called it when someone let their hair grow out in the back as their crown went bald. Jonah hurried over and helped Zed stand. ¡°Come on, kid, let¡¯s get you your first look at Mars proper. There¡¯s no better view than from the cockpit of the beast!¡± Jonah was right. As the landscape stretched for miles before them, Zed watched in unblinking awe. Part of him had worried that after all the years of preparation and being dragged around the world to chase his parents'' plans and dreams, this moment would lack any real punch. He was thankful to be wrong. No matter how many pictures he¡¯d seen or virtual vistas he¡¯d explored, nothing could compare to looking out at the surface of a new world with his own eyes. It surprised Zed just how much color painted the surface of the red planet. You could certainly find the expected strokes of rust, but there was so much more. There were shades of tan and brown, with grays that turned almost blue. Perhaps most surprising of all was the fact that the sky itself was blue. Certainly not a blue like one would expect to see on Earth, but not the empty black horizon that mankind had looked up into after taking their first steps on the moon. The landscape itself was a thing of sculpted beauty. Wind-worn yardangs emerged from the sand, directing the flow of the dunes that washed up against them like waves in a waterless sea. Jonah and Zed sat side by side in the cockpit of the Monstro. Zed hadn¡¯t gotten a good look at the outside of the massive vehicle, but the whale-like features that the name had implied were plain to see. It had a massive belly lined by flip-down seats that could transport dozens of passengers with ease. A large section of the ceiling in the hold looked as if it could open wide, allowing for larger cargo to be loaded. There were even retractable walls in several places that made it possible to expose large sections of the interior to vacuum without disturbing the pilot or other occupants. As Zed watched the rough "road" ahead of them, he was surprised by how little vibration he felt. Terrain like this would have shaken apart most trucks back on Earth, but in the cockpit, it felt like they were gliding down a newly paved stretch of highway. ¡°That¡¯s it up ahead,¡± Jonah said, breaking the silence. Zed looked up as the end of the road came into view. A few miles ahead, an unnatural formation broke the landscape. While most of the rocks around them were sharp and wind-torn, this shape resembled a massive clay bowl placed upside down in the middle of a valley. ¡°Home sweet home. Inauguration in all her 3D-printed glory. Though I should warn you, everyone here just calls it ¡®Naug.¡¯ Why they named a place intended to be an international melting pot something so damned difficult for non-English speakers to say, I¡¯ll never know.¡± Then, as if it were a trivial detail that Zed might find amusing, Jonah said, ¡°Oh, and if you squint really hard and look to your right, you might just be able to make out that crater where they think they found some alien life yesterday.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. What?¡± 4.Welcome to Naug As they approached Naug, the scale of the place became apparent. Zed knew all about how the colony dome had been printed out of Martian cement using an ancient crater as a foundation. He knew how the interior was laid out like the wedges of a pie around a large central mess hall, with sections that could be sealed off in case of an emergency. Yet just as with the Martian landscape, knowing wasn¡¯t the same as witnessing. Naug was a marvel of its time, just as the Great Pyramids back on Earth were in theirs. Not because it was bigger or taller or more ornate than anything back on Earth. An average football stadium was larger, but none of those had been built in an environment so hostile to life. To drive up to something so distinctly human on this alien world was both bizarre and inspiring. Even for Zed¡¯s admittedly cynical teenage heart, Naug was awe-inspiring. As they approached the edge of the crater that Naug was built in, Zed saw an opening appear. Jonah pulled the lumbering vehicle into what appeared to be a massive airlock. The Monstro rolled to a stop, and moments later, there was the metallic sound of a docking clamp making contact with the outer hull. ¡°No need to cycle the full airlock just to offload small stuff and passengers,¡± Jonah explained. ¡°When we need to work on these beasts, we can bring them all the way in, though. Doing all the mechanical work in a turtle suit back in the day was about as much fun as, well, taking a dump in a turtle suit.¡± Zed wasn¡¯t sure what exactly a turtle suit was, but he got the idea. Jonah exited the cockpit and motioned for the Marshes to follow him out the door. ¡°Alrighty then, follow me and we¡¯ll get you sorted out pronto,¡± Jonah drawled. ¡°But just to be clear, Zed, you got that little head wound in a heroic fight to restart the engines as the ship plummeted toward the ground, right?¡± ¡°Well, I mean, actually¡­¡± Zed mumbled. Jonah raised an eyebrow. Zed closed his mouth and smiled sheepishly. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± Jonah said, giving a wink and turning back to the enclosed walkway he was leading them down. After exiting the short airlock tunnel, they turned left and walked down a red corridor with ridged walls. Zed tried to picture what this place must have looked like while the printers were building it up, one thin layer at a time. They exited the corridor, and Zed found himself overwhelmed by what felt like a mass of people. Months of seeing the same handful of faces in cramped quarters had given him new sympathy for the agoraphobes of the world. The hangar bay they had just entered was a hive of activity. Several dozen people were either working on a handful of the odd three-legged Chariots or chatting in excited tones. Seeing Zed¡¯s face, Jonah leaned close. ¡°It¡¯s the crater cave. I mean, when most of your population is made up of scientists and engineers, the prospect of alien life is definitely going to stir things up like baking soda in a third-grade volcano display.¡± Jonah paused. ¡°Kids still do that, right?¡± Zed shook his head. ¡°Yeah, about that whole alien life thing, is that, like¡­¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°I¡¯m assuming this one¡¯s little accident resulted in us missing any kind of introduction?¡± Ana Marsh interrupted. Zed was startled by his mother¡¯s voice cutting through the commotion. ¡°Yes, ma''am,¡± Jonah said more from reflex than thought. ¡°You didn¡¯t miss much really, though since it¡¯s late in the day, you¡¯ll have to wait till tomorrow to pick up your CIGs. I¡¯m sure if you drop by IT tomorrow, Alina will get you all set up. Other than that, you really only missed meeting Commander Jones.¡± ¡°Thabisa Jones?¡± Zed exclaimed. He cringed at the unbridled excitement in his voice. ¡°That¡¯s the one!¡± Jonah said. Jonah gestured to the other side of the hangar bay. ¡°Looks like you just missed her, actually.¡± Zed turned to look. He caught a glimpse through an EV suit faceplate of one of the most famous people in history. There was no mistaking the wide jaw and surprisingly short stature of the first human to set foot on another planet. For Zed, even from afar, she very much lived up to the legend. The stern eyes and the pink scar that ran from her left cheek to her right stood in contrast to her dark skin. There may have been more recognizable faces on Earth, but Zed couldn¡¯t think of any. Ana Marsh stepped in front of Zed, blocking his view. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else we need to do here, I¡¯d just as soon get to our quarters. It¡¯s been a long day, and I want to get some sleep before starting work in the morning.¡± ¡°Sure, of course. If you''ll just follow me, we''ll get you squared away.¡± They made their way through the hangar toward a large double door. As Zed walked through the exit and tried to turn down the corridor outside, he realized too late that he hadn¡¯t fully adjusted to Martian gravity. He overcompensated and found himself hurtling toward the wall at a comical angle. He probably would have ended up with a good bruise and nothing more if someone hadn¡¯t been walking past him at that moment. Zed collided with the stranger, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. ¡°What the hell!¡± the stranger exclaimed, shoving Zed off of him. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Zed said, attempting to help the man up and instead finding himself falling again. ¡°Just back off, kid!¡± The man stood and glared down at Zed. He was in his mid-twenties, with a buzz cut and a poor attempt at a mustache. He turned and stomped away. ¡°Damn kids underfoot now,¡± Zed heard him mutter as he entered the hangar bay. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be more careful, Zed!¡± Ana scolded. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry too much about Andy,¡± Jonah said, helping Zed to his feet again. ¡°He¡¯s a bit of a sour soul, but a talented mechanic, I¡¯ll give him that. You¡¯ve just gotta get your Martian legs, that¡¯s all. Come on, all the more reason to get you folks settled so you can get some rest.¡± Zed was struck by how intensely colorful the walls and ceilings were. Geometric patches of garish color filled the corridor they were walking down. Zed started to notice a pattern. The bands formed broad arrow shapes that always seemed to flow in a general direction. The further they walked in, the shades of color began to change as well. While the walls had started a vibrant teal, they were now walking through a tunnel of bright green. ¡°What¡¯s with the crazy colors?¡± Zed asked, catching up with Jonah as he marched forward. ¡°Hmm? Oh, the gradient? It¡¯s just a handy way to navigate when every corridor starts looking the same. Naug is laid out in a big circle, or a bunch of circles really, so it¡¯d be easy to lose track of where you were without some kind of distinction.¡± Jonah looked at the ceiling for a moment as if seeing it for the first time. ¡°The chevron pattern that runs along the ceiling always points toward the center. The colors vary depending on which wedge of the ¡®pie¡¯ you¡¯re in. And as far as the wacky colors go, well, let¡¯s just say that Mars isn¡¯t known for its shades of the rainbow.¡± Jonah gestured at the hall. ¡°What might look like a neon nightmare on Earth is a balm for the soul here.¡± Zed thought of the mostly colorless interior of the ship he¡¯d spent the last several months on and how colorful even the surface of Mars had seemed in contrast. ¡°Yeah, I guess I can see that.¡± They turned a corner and Jonah came to a stop. ¡°Alrighty, Marshes, this is your¡ªeh¡ªsuite. Let me give you a tour of your Martian abode. It should take about five seconds.¡± 5.Martian Suite Zed wasn¡¯t sure what he had imagined their quarters on Mars would look like, but whatever it had been, this was smaller. Their ¡°suite¡± amounted to two small bedrooms connected to a small living room. The living room was really more of a hallway, if he was being honest. You could probably fit a couch lengthwise with a TV stand against the opposite wall, leaving enough room to walk between them, but little else. Needless to say, the room contained no TV or couch. Zed¡¯s parents'' room contained what looked like a queen-sized air mattress set into a bed frame that had been extruded from the floor itself. In fact, this whole place had been extruded from the ground up. Looking at the walls, he could see the ridges left by the 3D printer that had made them, but rather than plastic, they had been printed with some kind of Martian concrete that had then been sprayed with a smooth sealing agent. Aside from the bed, there was a small desk and chair, as well as some shelving and storage. These too had been extruded into or out of the wall. It made perfect sense, Zed thought. Why haul the weight and bulk of beds and desks when you could just print them with what you had on-site? They crowded in and made their way to Zed¡¯s room. ¡°And this here is the young master¡¯s broom closet¡­ er¡­ bedroom,¡± Jonah said with a poke to Zed¡¯s ribs. Zed was fairly certain their pantry on Earth had been considerably larger than the space he could now call his own. It had a bed with just enough room for one person, some more shelves and storage space extruded into the wall, and a sort of bench at the end of the bed. Jonah leaned closer and said, ¡°Hey, trust me, this might not seem like much now, but once you get set up with your CIG tomorrow, you won¡¯t care if you¡¯re in a hangar or a water closet.¡± Zed nodded. This was what he¡¯d signed up for, right? Well, technically he hadn¡¯t signed up for anything; his parents had, but it made little difference now. ¡°Alrighty, I¡¯ll let you folks get settled in. Since you missed the initial tour with Thabisa, I believe she¡¯s going to swing by at 0700 MT and show you around,¡± Jonah said, heading toward the door. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Ana and Ed nodded. To Zed, it looked like they were thrilled with the situation. ¡°What¡¯s MT?¡± Zed asked just as Jonah was about to close the front door. ¡°Oh,¡± he laughed. ¡°Right, yeah, that¡¯s ¡®Martian time.¡¯ Since the Martian day is a little longer than an Earth day, we¡¯ve just embraced it. If we stuck to Earth time, our days would be constantly shifting because of the difference.¡± He nodded at them with a final smile and made his exit. ¡°Let¡¯s get these cases to the bedrooms and unpack just what we need. I think we could all use some sleep,¡± Ana said. She glanced at Zed. He tried to mask whatever expression of concern he had as he stared at his closet of a room, but apparently he wasn¡¯t quick enough. ¡°You¡¯ve been given a great privilege to be here, Zed. Every kid on Earth would kill to be in your place.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I think you¡¯ve disrupted this day quite enough. I recommend you spend the rest of the evening in your room. Maybe you¡¯ll grow to appreciate it a little more.¡± Zed grabbed his luggage and did as he was told. This was a no-win situation that just needed to be escaped. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right,¡± he said flatly. Ana smiled as if that was all she wanted to hear, and Zed knew that to be true. ¡°Well then, let''s all get some rest. It¡¯s been an incredibly full day, and I¡¯m sure everything will look different after a good night¡¯s sleep.¡± Ana turned and carried her cases into the other bedroom. Ed lingered a moment, looking at Zed. He seemed about to say something but then closed his mouth. He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Zed settled onto the bench at the foot of his bed and put his head in his hands. He was quickly reminded why that was a bad idea as his palm pressed into the stitches that ran through his eyebrow. He swore under his breath. He needed to just sit and process the day. The small room didn¡¯t bother him that much, really. It was certainly more space and privacy than he¡¯d had for the last few months. So what was it that bothered him? Maybe it was the feeling of permanence. Through training or the trip here, it was easy to accept things that weren¡¯t ideal because he knew they¡¯d be moving on to the next place, the next school, the next stage of training. This wasn¡¯t going to change. This was going to be the same for several years, which was a first for Zed. Something about that brought his lack of choice into focus as he stared into this tiny room. Zed shook his head. He couldn¡¯t deal with any of that now. His mother was right about one thing: he needed sleep. So without unpacking, he threw off his pants and blood-stained shirt and collapsed onto the bed. As he sank into a deep sleep, Zed¡¯s last thought was of that all-too-brief glimpse he had gotten of the Martian landscape. It really had been worth the trip; he just wasn¡¯t sure what came next. And then, for the second time that day, everything faded to black. 6.Three Lever Breakfast Am I missing something? If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. These aren¡¯t bad either Or maybe food just tasted different on MarsLike how space has a sort of smell 7.Cigar Sight Keeping up with Thabisa Jones was easier said than done. Zed was well over a foot taller than the Commander, but he had little doubt she would beat him in a foot race. She moved with force and intention, which also made her a poor tour guide as she powered ahead. The Marshes tried their best to keep up with her brisk pace and rapid-fire delivery of information about the places they were passing. She confirmed Zed¡¯s observations about how Inauguration was built. The rooms and structures radiated out from a central hub. Before many people had arrived, robots had been sent to dig into the crater and use those materials to print the spaces they would need within it. ¡°If you observe Naug from the outside, it looks more like a red contact lens than a crater,¡± the Commander said. ¡°Originally, there was enough space printed for up to five hundred residents. After your ship¡¯s arrival yesterday, our population is now at two hundred and sixteen. As it stands, about half of the crater is built out but not in use. It was designed so that we could unseal sections as the colony grew. The crater is divided into twelve wedges like a pie. Seven of the wedges are in active use. All our command structures and major infrastructure are based near the center and are deeper underground to add an extra layer of protection. In case of an emergency breach, we have the ability to isolate each wedge while still providing life support to each.¡± As they walked down the corridors, the Commander stopped in front of a large double door. Like every other door they had passed, there were no markings or signs on it. She turned to Zed and said, ¡°If you have time later, I¡¯d recommend swinging back here and getting Ethan Johns to show you where our food comes from. He¡¯s the chief botanist and acts as both farmer and chef, though he prefers to be called the ¡®robotanist.¡¯ If it grows, it¡¯s his domain. He¡¯s responsible for the plants we eat as well as the automated system that prepares our meals.¡± ¡°While it was via some mealtime Russian roulette, we certainly enjoyed what he made this morning,¡± Ed Marsh said. ¡°Roulette?" The Commander asked, then nodded as realization dawned. "Of course. Your lack of CIGs. I forget how much we rely on them for the little things. It¡¯s V.C.I.G., technically, but you¡¯d be amazed at how many syllables we¡¯ve lost as younger and younger colonists have arrived.¡± Zed thought he detected the hint of a smile at the sharp corner of the Commander¡¯s lips. Now that he thought about it, it was the first hint of emotion he¡¯d seen break through Thabisa Jones¡¯s reticent exterior. ¡°To be fair, they do actually look a bit like cigars or cigarettes, so I guess it is apt,¡± she said, as if it made things any clearer for them. ¡°I miss cigars so much. Right this way,¡± the Commander said, turning and continuing down the hall away from hydroponics. ¡°Any questions?¡± Zed psyched himself up to ask the question that had been on his mind since he¡¯d seen her standing there in the flesh the day before. ¡°What was it like?¡± he asked quietly. ¡°What was it like stepping out that first time? I¡¯ve seen you talk about the events a million times on TV, but¡­ what was it like?¡± Thabisa Jones had been the first human to set foot on Mars, or any other planet for that matter. Her journey to that moment had in no way gone as planned. Despite a harrowing six-month journey followed by the loss of her co-pilot to a freak aneurysm as they plummeted through the Martian atmosphere, she had completed the mission. She had stepped out of the ship, utterly alone. Instead of planting a flag, she had buried a friend. The red cairn she built over Fredrick Gorski was the first structure ever built on Mars. As he spoke, Thabisa Jones stopped and gave him her full attention. She stared at him for a long moment. This time, Zed was positive he could see a smile forming on her lips. For some reason, it frightened him a little. ¡°Much has been made of the tragedy that surrounded my first trip here,¡± she said quietly. ¡°But the truth is that even surrounded by hardship and death, when I first looked out with my own eyes and saw two moons in the sky, I felt utter peace. I think it¡¯s why I¡¯m still here. My hope is that I¡¯ll be not only the first to walk on Mars but the first to die here of old age. I¡¯d like a cairn of my own next to Fred.¡± Her smile took on a twinge of sadness. She turned and continued down the corridor. A little stunned, they silently followed. Ana gave Zed a look that promised a lecture in his near future. A five-minute stroll later, they turned into a long room and were greeted by banks of flashing servers and long workbenches covered in enough electronic odds and ends to make Zed¡¯s inner neat freak have a minor panic attack. ¡°The child!¡± a voice called in an Eastern European accent as they entered. A tall woman who looked to be in her early twenties emerged from behind one of the server stacks and enveloped Zed in a hug, lifting him a few inches off the ground. She set him down and kissed each cheek. ¡°You are adorable! I have so missed seeing children. I have a nephew about your age back on Earth.¡± The woman smiled at him and pinched his cheek. ¡°You and your friends bring new life to Mars! But you, you are the baby now!¡± Commander Jones stepped forward. ¡°Uh¡­if you¡¯re done breaking the boy¡¯s ribs, Alina, I¡¯d like to introduce you to the Marshes. Marshes, this is Alina Kotov. She¡¯s one of our electronics experts, and until yesterday, at least, she was the youngest citizen of Inauguration.¡± ¡°A title I gladly pass on to you, little koshenya,¡± Alina said, beaming at Zed. ¡°You¡¯ve beaten me by almost a decade!¡± ¡°Hi, Alina, I¡¯m Ana. This is my husband, Ed, and¡ªuh¡ªour son, Zed.¡± Ed and Ana extended their hands, which Alina shook vigorously. Zed didn¡¯t bother extending a hand. After the rib-crushing hugs and kisses, he figured he¡¯d been properly introduced. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°It is wonderful to meet you all!¡± Alina gave a little bow. She stopped mid-bow and stared into Ana¡¯s eyes, taking a step closer. Ana leaned back ever so slightly as Alina entered her personal space. ¡°Ah!¡± Alina exclaimed. ¡°You are here for CIGs!¡± She turned to Zed. ¡°You poor thing. Breakfast must have been very confusing for you.¡± She said this as if Zed were her pampered pet dog. Alina laughed and abruptly turned to one of the workbenches, pulling three small rectangular boxes from a drawer. In contrast to much of the other electronics in the room, the objects she held looked shockingly clean and simple. It was as if the drawer contained a portal to the future from which she had plucked alien technology. Alina handed each of them a box. ¡°These are your V.C.I.G.s,¡± Alina said, spelling out each letter with care. ¡°Or ¡®CIGs,¡¯ as we call them. Just be sure you don¡¯t try to smoke them, yes?¡± Alina laughed again, though Zed got the impression she derived more joy from making herself laugh than from trying to amuse anyone else. When Zed opened his, he saw what Alina meant. The box contained what looked like a ten-centimeter-long cylinder about three and a half centimeters in diameter. It was brown and seemed to be made of a silicone-like material, though he could see patterns of metal just under the surface. A seam ran around the middle of the cylinder, and one of the halves had its end colored a crimson red, giving the impression of a cigarette filter by its placement. The ends of this silicone cigar were inset with what Zed could only describe as bottle caps, though these were made of the same silicone-wrapped metal as the rest. Zed gingerly removed the CIG from the box and felt a magnetic tension release as he did so. It felt oddly heavy in his hand. ¡°These are your virtual contact integrated graphics units,¡± Alina said, emphasizing each word in the acronym as she spoke. ¡°As you noticed at breakfast, there are very few screens on Mars. The CIGs let us cut them out entirely, saving a lot of payload space and improving the efficiency of how the colony runs. You¡¯ll see what I mean in a moment. Now I want each of you to break your CIG in two, like this.¡± She made a gesture of cracking an egg with her thumbs. Zed applied pressure to the cylinder as if he meant to break it in two. He felt another pop of releasing magnets and found himself holding two equal halves of the cylinder. The inner surface was concave, with spiraling ridges running out from the center. Suspended within the concave area was something that resembled a gold contact lens. ¡°Now, take the lens from the half with the red end and put it in your right eye. Then, of course, the other one in your left,¡± Alina said as she pantomimed the actions. They all did as she instructed. For a moment, Zed thought he had gone blind. The contacts seemed to block all light. He blinked once and was shocked when light flooded his retinas again, as if he hadn¡¯t just put a piece of tech in his eye. Alina continued her highly animated pantomime instructions. ¡°Pop the ends from your CIG halves like so.¡± Alina looked as if she were trying to light two cigarette lighters at once. What¡¯s with all the tobacco imagery? Zed wondered. He pulled his thumb over the bottle cap-like insets, and they popped off with a satisfying click. Alina tapped the patch of skin behind her ears, and Zed saw that she had CIG caps affixed there. He wasn¡¯t sure how these were supposed to stick to his skin since they had no apparent adhesive, but he made the attempt anyway. To his surprise, they held fast, and no amount of shaking his head could dislodge them. Zed had to resist the urge to whirl around as he heard three mournful notes played on an oboe just over his shoulder. He noticed his parents having similar reactions. ¡°And last but not least,¡± Alina continued, ¡°take the two remaining halves you hold and unroll them until they snap straight.¡± As she said this, she removed what they now realized was a CIG half that had been wrapped around her left forearm and unrolled it. Once straightened, it held its shape. ¡°And now, give it a good smack against the middle of your forearm, like this.¡± She slapped the long, slim piece down, and it instantly wrapped around her arm. ¡°The one with the red half goes on your right arm, just like the contact.¡± They wrapped the CIG halves around their arms as instructed. Every step of this process felt incredibly satisfying, Zed thought. The moment he wrapped the second band around his arm, he found himself staring at the floating low-polygon head of a purple woman. ¡°Congratulations on receiving your new V.C.I.G. unit, and welcome to Mars!¡± the head said in an enthusiastic voice that Zed thought would feel right at home in one of his old nineteen-fifties radio dramas. An armless hand, rendered in the same low-polygon style as the head, reached out to shake Zed¡¯s hand. He reached out to pretend to shake it. His breath caught in his throat as he made contact with the hand. He could feel every edge and angle as his fingers wrapped around the virtual hand. His brain didn¡¯t know how to process it when he felt a squeeze and a little shake before the hand released his and vanished once more. ¡°What the¡­¡± ¡°When you¡¯re ready to continue setup, just snap your fingers and I¡¯ll be there in a jiff!¡± The head gave Zed a grin that seemed oddly distorted by the low resolution of her design. ¡°So that was Gin,¡± Alina said. ¡°She can help you with any questions you have, but for now, you should be all set! As you can see, the CIGs give you access to an XR interface far beyond anything you would have used back on Earth. Needless to say, these little rolls are crazy expensive, so they¡¯re not available to the public yet. Luckily for us, the company developing these is run by a huge space nerd who was more than happy to contribute to our little adventure. You should have an easier time navigating Naug now. For instance, at breakfast tomorrow, you¡¯ll be able to see the menu over the levers. No more guessing.¡± Zed glanced at his parents, who both appeared to be in similar states of shock as he was at the impossibly physical aspects of their new personal computers. The word "computer" was starting to feel like an entirely inadequate term to describe what this little piece of tech could really do. Commander Jones stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯m afraid this will have to be the end of our tour. Duty calls. If I may, Mr. and Mrs. Marsh, I would like to make a request of young Zed.¡± Ana and Ed exchanged surprised glances but nodded. The Commander turned to Zed and made a few gestures in the air before dropping her arms back to parade rest. ¡°I know you¡¯ll have your studies, but I want to give you a task. It¡¯s not mandatory, but I know how important it can be to feel like we have a purpose and a role in the bigger picture.¡± Zed looked down and swallowed. Clearly, she had heard at least some of the conversation with Andy in the mess hall. He simply nodded. ¡°You¡¯re quite an artist from what I hear.¡± She smiled at him, and Zed relaxed. ¡°As you explore what your CIG can do, you¡¯ll find that it¡¯s a perfect way to flex your artistic skills. Since the CIGs can be used for augmented or virtual reality, they not only serve as a tool but also as an outlet and escape¡ªa way to stay sane on a world that, while starkly beautiful, is far more barren than any desert on the one we left.¡± She paused and made another series of hand motions at hip level. ¡°I¡¯ve just transferred you access to the dimensions and public CIG overlay of the mess hall. Give it some life, Zed.¡± Then the Commander turned and walked away with the same purposeful stride with which she had entered. 8.The Robotanist Ana and Ed had their first days of work to get to, so Zed found himself wandering the corridors on his way back to their quarters. With the contacts in, he could now see each door he passed marked with a label. He passed a series of living quarters with the residents'' names appearing above the doors. A few seemed to have been customized with more elaborate virtual signage. The one to his left read ¡°Taylor¡¯s Love Shack¡± in strobing neon. He was now approaching the large door that the Commander had pointed out earlier. Now, though, he could see ¡°HYDROPONICS¡± written above. Well, I could go back to my room and try to figure out some homework¡ªthough everything is homework now, technically¡ªor I could poke around a Martian crater base. Zed smiled to himself and walked through the door. There was a hissing sound as Zed was hit by a wall of humidity. After months in space, the organic odor of plant life was almost overwhelming. Zed breathed in as if he were trying to fill every corner of his lungs with the sweet aroma. The door automatically closed behind him. No point in letting the moisture out. The room itself was dim. As his eyes adjusted, it didn¡¯t quite look like a room at all but rather a long, wide hallway. Zed saw what appeared to be parallel circles of light spaced in an even pattern down the hall as far as he could see. It was hard to tell in the low light, but he knew the room must be long because it extended far enough that the curve it made around the crater circle cut off his view of the far end. He had no idea how far it went. Zed stepped tentatively forward. This wasn¡¯t at all what he was expecting. He had pictured some kind of domed greenhouse, and this certainly wasn¡¯t that. As he moved further down the long room and came closer to one of the bright circles, he saw that it wasn¡¯t just a pool of light but rather a round shaft, about 20 feet across, that descended into the floor. He looked up at the ceiling and saw the shaft mirrored above. They were filled with plants wrapping along their outer walls. Zed peered over the edge with care. The floor was slick with moisture, and he had no desire to tumble into the green depths. Without warning, Zed was spun around with belligerent force. He rocked back on his heels and felt his weight pass the tipping point that would carry him over the edge and into the silo. A hand gripped his collar, stopping his spin and momentarily halting his fall. Zed found himself looking up into the diamond-blue eyes of Andy Foster. ¡°Yet another reason why children don¡¯t belong on Mars. So many ways to die.¡± Andy didn¡¯t look angry. His face didn¡¯t display any emotion at all, which was somehow more terrifying. ¡°One little slip and that¡¯d be it. You¡¯d be plant food before anyone found you.¡± Andy smiled. ¡°But hey, at least you¡¯d be giving something back to the colony.¡± As Andy spoke, Zed¡¯s mind shifted from ¡°Surely he won¡¯t drop me¡± to ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m about to die.¡± Andy¡¯s grip relaxed, then tightened again, causing Zed to slip back with a jerk before being pulled to a rough stop. The next few seconds were a blur of motion. Zed felt himself flying through the air, anticipating the bone-crushing impact that awaited him at the bottom of the pit. To Zed¡¯s confusion and utter surprise, he found himself instead lying on the floor, looking up at Andy, who was being held in the same position he had been in moments earlier. A gorilla of a man stood with one powerful arm outstretched, and Andy Foster dangled from the other end. Andy looked like a child in comparison to the man. He leaned in close and said something to Andy. Andy nodded vigorously and was set roughly back on solid ground. He immediately turned and scurried to the exit, giving Zed one last sour look. Zed looked up into a wide face set with a chiseled brow and nose. The man¡¯s moss-green eyes bore down on him for what seemed like an eternity; then they softened, and he saw the stubbled jaw crack open in a hearty laugh. The man yanked Zed to his feet and gave him a slap on the back. ¡°Boy, you gave me a scare. Andy won¡¯t be a bother no more. Some people just need to hear the right words to straighten them out. You all right?¡± Zed nodded without thinking. ¡°It¡¯s not often we get new people around here, and certainly no children, as far as I¡¯m aware. For half a second, I thought I was seeing things. Step into my office, boy, so I can get a proper look at you. It¡¯s a bit dimpsey in here.¡± ¡°Dimpsey?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± the man threw his head back and laughed again. ¡°Sorry, my west country accent really comes out when the old blood gets pumping. I just mean it¡¯s dusky in the trough here.¡± Seeing the added confusion on Zed¡¯s face, the man continued as they started walking. ¡°The trough is my domain,¡± he said, gesturing to the long room. ¡°It¡¯s basically just a big, wide hall that all the vertical hydroponics silos pass through. The hands and I keep the plants going strong, harvest when we can, and make sure the mess-bot is fed enough to do his job.¡± Zed thought he mostly understood but felt like every time this man answered a question, he created a few more. They reached a little alcove off the main hall. It was brightly lit and seemed to have similar amenities to his own family''s quarters, just larger. The man gestured to one of the ¡°couches¡± that had been 3D printed out of the floor. They were surprisingly comfortable considering they were essentially concrete. ¡°So you must be Zed, the first little Martian,¡± the man said, though not unkindly. ¡°I¡¯m Ethan Johns, though most people just call me Johns. I¡¯m the head botanist and roboticist, which in most ways actually means I¡¯m focused on keeping us fed. Just don¡¯t call me a farmer. I didn¡¯t earn two PhDs to have that as a one-word summary. Unless it¡¯s ¡®robotanist.¡¯ I¡¯ve always liked that one,¡± Johns said, holding out a thick palm. Zed took it and had the distinct impression that this was what it felt like to put your hand in a bear trap. After a firm shake, he was thankful to retrieve his digits intact. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°So tell me, Zed, what do you think of our fine little settlement? Andy excluded, of course,¡± Johns said, settling back into a couch opposite Zed. ¡°Have you picked up your CIG yet? You found your way in here, so I presume you¡¯re not wandering about blind.¡± Zed wasn¡¯t sure which question to answer first, so he said, ¡°Uh, yeah, I got my CIG like fifteen minutes ago, so other than looking at hallway signs, I haven¡¯t used it much. I¡¯ve only been here less than a day, so I can¡¯t say much about Naug, but it seems cool. I mean, anything on Mars is cool by default, though I suppose, isn¡¯t it?¡± Johns grinned at this. ¡°You¡¯re certainly right about that, boy. I can see by the look in your eyes that you¡¯re the kind of person who can still see the wonder in things. Some people lose that even before they¡¯re your age, I think.¡± The big man put a hand on his knee and leaned closer to Zed. ¡°I think you¡¯ll find this place is something really special. It¡¯s an island of amazing things. Naug is humanity¡¯s keel, cutting through hardship and space to see if we have a real chance of making it. And make no mistake, young Zed, we¡¯ll make it. We¡¯ll make it.¡± This second repetition seemed more for himself than for Zed. ¡°Ah, but you¡¯ll have to forgive me. I tend to wax a bit poetic when I get rolling.¡± ¡°It¡¯s totally fine,¡± said Zed. He actually found the man¡¯s excitement inspiring. The idea of coming to Mars had always been an exciting one for him. Living on Mars, however, had been a vague concept. His parents had their jobs and responsibilities, of course, but his normal life and teenage pursuits had been something he¡¯d left behind on Earth. It hadn¡¯t really hit him until the weeks before their launch just how much he was leaving behind. Here was someone who was taking it upon themselves to be a forerunner for all that would come after for humanity¡ªto ensure the colony succeeded. That gave Zed a sense of hope for his own purpose here. Sure, it was a bit grandiose, but it was something. Something that would make his time here feel like more than just a marketing box checked for promoters trying to line up more families to settle on Mars. ¡°I don¡¯t exactly have a job here, but I want to help, you know? Like, I have my classes and stuff, but I don¡¯t really have a purpose here, and I know it. Commander Jones gave me some art project to do for the mess, but I don¡¯t know how useful that is. I think she just felt bad for me because she saw Andy¡­¡± He trailed off. Zed wasn¡¯t looking for sympathy. It was truly the last thing he wanted. Sympathy made him more than a little uncomfortable. Johns nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not really my place to say, but I heard about the comments made to you in the mess this morning, and while I didn¡¯t hear what Andy said to you just now, I assume it was more of the same. Don¡¯t let that get under your skin. Andy¡¯s just young and insecure, and you¡¯re the first thing to show up that he felt was below him in the order of things.¡± ¡°He was gonna kill me; I¡¯d say that¡¯s a bit more than insecurity!¡± Johns swayed his head from side to side. ¡°Not to downplay the fright you had, but I think scaring you was the extent of it. Not much sense in killing in Naug. Nowhere you can run. You won¡¯t have to worry about Andy Foster anymore. You have my word on that. I told him if I heard even a rumor of him giving you trouble, I¡¯d tell the messbot to put laxatives in his pancakes for a month.¡± Johns sat back in his seat and grinned like a satisfied cat. Zed smiled back. ¡°Understand, life here isn¡¯t easy. It¡¯s downright brutal some days, as you¡¯ll see. Everyone here works hard, and what¡¯s more, they worked hard to get here. It doesn¡¯t make giving you a tongue-lashing any better, but know that it¡¯s not about anything you¡¯ve done. Besides, I have a feeling you¡¯ll have them eating crow by the shovelful in time. I don¡¯t wish anyone ill, mind you, but I do love a good humbling.¡± Johns clapped his hands and laughed, making Zed jump in his seat. ¡°But what can I do?" Zed said. "I¡¯m not like my parents. I have zero skills when it comes to math or engineering. I¡¯m certainly not doctor material. The sight of blood puts me into full-on fire hose puking mode." Zed mimed a gag, and Johns grimaced. ¡°No, we certainly can¡¯t have that now. But everyone has their own talents. What are yours? Just because it won¡¯t help keep people alive or the air filters running doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s of no use to Naug as a whole. Even a math moron has his place,¡± Johns said kindly, crossing his arms over his barrel chest. Zed knew the answer but found he was embarrassed to give it. Something about being in a place entirely comprised of the brightest minds¡ªwell, the brightest minds and Andy¡ªmade him feel silly for being passionate about something that seemed lesser. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m sort of an artist.¡± ¡°Sort of an artist,¡± Johns parroted. ¡°Well, are you or aren¡¯t you?¡± Zed straightened up. ¡°I am an artist. Not like drawing or painting, but when it comes to 3D stuff, I¡¯m pretty good. I¡¯ve made some XR experiences and even a couple of games. I haven¡¯t even had time to mess with making stuff with the CIG yet, but if it¡¯s as powerful as it seems, I bet I can put some amazing scenes together for the mess. Ya know, like the Commander asked for.¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, that¡¯s quite an opportunity then, isn¡¯t it? To show the Thabisa herself what you¡¯ve got.¡± Johns sat quietly for a moment but never took his eyes off Zed. Zed found he couldn¡¯t meet that gaze for long, so he looked around the room instead. What the space lacked in decor, it made up for in character. A glance was enough to explain why Ethan Johns referred to himself as a robotanist. The mix of tools and machine parts, layered with dirt and grime, stood in contrast to the relatively clean rooms and hallways he had seen up to this point. This space felt more like Earth. The dirt, the moisture in the air, the hints of green, and the artificial sunlight he could see in patches along the wide corridor¡ªit all reminded him of where he''d come from. Yet instead of making him feel homesick, he felt excited that such a thing was possible on this new world. Was that all Earth was? Wet dirt and plants? Maybe that was enough. ¡°You may have come at a very opportune time, young sir,¡± Johns said, startling Zed from his reverie. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡± ¡°Listen to me, Zed. My one goal in this life is to make sure this colony succeeds at all costs. I don¡¯t see the poisonous air or the freezing temperatures as the primary barriers to that goal. No, sir. The biggest hardship on Mars is Earth. The resources and purse strings are at the whims of people who quickly forget why we¡¯re here. Mars needs something special. This discovery at the crater cave may be just the ticket, and I have reason to believe you may be able to help. That¡¯s all I¡¯ll say for now, but are you interested? Will you help me give Mars a place in the solar system?¡± Zed wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d expected Johns to say, but it wasn¡¯t that. It sounded far too grand for the cramped room, but when he saw the look in Johns¡¯s eyes, he believed every single word of it. And really, it didn¡¯t matter if the big man was completely off his rocker; it sounded like a reason to be here, and that was enough right now. ¡°Uh, I mean, yeah, of course. I¡¯m not sure how I can help with all that, but yeah, I¡¯m willing to give it a go if you think I have something to offer,¡± Zed said, realizing how weak his voice sounded next to Johns¡¯s roaring baritone. Johns slapped Zed¡¯s shoulder, and Zed felt his arm go numb. ¡°Proper job, Zed! I¡¯ll be sure to let you know more as I can.¡± Zed just nodded at this, still unsure what contribution he could possibly make. ¡°Say, have you had a stroll yet? Gotten some fresh air?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean have you gone outside? As in, outside Naug.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Zed said, surprised at the thought. ¡°No, I mean, I haven¡¯t even been here a full day. Is that even allowed for someone like me?¡± ¡°Someone like you? Zed, you¡¯re the first kid here; there¡¯s no rulebook as of yet. Maybe it¡¯s time to do a little trendsetting, eh?¡± Zed grinned. He couldn¡¯t wait to tell Miranda and George about all this. He knew George had to be pissed about Zed beating him off the ship, even if it wasn¡¯t his fault. He¡¯d be livid if Zed made the first surface walk too. But then he thought about what going outside really meant. ¡°I¡¯ve never done a spacewalk. I mean, I had some suit training back on Earth, but it was just to get used to the suit and how it works. I¡¯ve never done it in actual space and not with the suits you guys have here¡ªjust a training room back at NASA.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s good enough for me!¡± Johns said. ¡°It is? I mean, I won¡¯t mess up and die?¡± Johns shrugged. ¡°Maybe. Welcome to Mars!¡± 9.Turtle Suit A short walk later, they arrived at a small, circular room with what appeared to be a series of bulbous doors set into the walls at five-foot intervals. There were no space suits in sight, and no airlock that Zed could see either. ¡°And here we are," Johns said. "The suit and boot rooms are all along the edge of Naug. In case of an emergency, you want to be able to get out in a hurry, even if it is just in a turtle suit.¡± Johns saw the confusion on Zed¡¯s face and continued. ¡°Ah, yes, this probably doesn¡¯t look quite like the training on Earth. That¡¯s because on Earth you could just get into the suit and muck about for practice, but here, the priority is being able to get into the suit and out into the sun as quickly as possible. And to do it with no assistance, mind you.¡± Johns walked over to one of the little hatches in the wall. ¡°See this hatch, boy? If the light is green,¡± Johns pointed to a small green light in the center of the door, ¡°then you¡¯re good to go. It means there¡¯s a suit in the station. If I open this like so, you¡¯ll find that I¡¯m actually opening up the suit from the back. The backpack portion acts as a hatch into the suit. Now, it takes some practice to exit it without just falling flat on your ass, but if this old bag of bones can manage it, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure it out.¡± Zed peered into the now-open hatch and saw that it had automatically pulled off the suit¡¯s backpack, which contained the systems needed for a Mars surface walk. What it left was a sort of door into the back of the suit interior. ¡°To make things easier, the suit can relax its shape and loosen up when you¡¯re exiting and entering. Once you¡¯re in and you¡¯ve triggered the door to close and the pack is locked onto your back, it¡¯ll size to your body, give you a little squeeze, and you¡¯re good to go! Easy as that.¡± ¡°Easy as that, huh? But what if I mess something up and end up all Total Recall with my eyes popping out?¡± Zed said, grabbing at his throat and doing his best "Arnold yelling" impersonation. Johns laughed. ¡°I take it you must have done a Mars movie classics binge at some point before your trip. Don¡¯t worry, though. When they made plans for this colony, they knew not everyone was going to be a professional astronaut. Everything from the suits to the CIGs was designed to be childproof. That¡¯s why there¡¯s no easily accessed manual controls about. Your CIG controls what you have access to and what you don¡¯t. Keeps a young lamb like yourself from venting the station or something worse.¡± Zed wanted to take some offense at this but stopped his reply short as he realized that yes, it was a fair concern, and he did indeed feel safer knowing that he was unlikely to accidentally kill everyone. Now he just had to trust that he wasn¡¯t going to accidentally kill himself. ¡°So I just climb in? That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all there is to it. Once you''re in, your CIG will connect to the suit and give you all the information you could want. Why don¡¯t you give it a go, and I¡¯ll follow you out?¡± Johns said, giving an encouraging gesture toward the open back of the suit. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Zed took a deep breath and, with something less than grace, managed to get all his limbs through the back of the suit and into the correct legs and sleeves. He felt his feet hit bottom and pushed his torso up the rest of the way until his head emerged into the helmet. He found he was looking down at a bit of an angle, bent over as if the previous wearer had been about to tie their shoe and then just froze. All he could see was the solid lip that was printed into the ground around the edge of the crater¡ªa Martian sidewalk, he guessed. Before he had a chance to turn his head, he felt his fingers fit into place, which triggered some kind of reaction in the suit. The backpack door closed behind him, and his ears popped. He was still very much attached to the hatch behind him, however. Zed had never thought of himself as having any phobias, but he learned that day that claustrophobia was at least somewhere in his makeup. Climbing into the suit had been fine, at least while he knew the hatch was still open. Once the back had sealed, he felt a little pressure in his throat. What pushed him over the edge, however, was the automatic fitting. Starting at the fingers and toes, the suit began to conform to his body¡¯s dimensions. It didn¡¯t squeeze him, but it did what it was meant to do and removed all extra wiggle room for a perfect fit. Zed had the feeling that he was being wrapped like a mummy. That led to thoughts of something he¡¯d read about mummies having their brains pulled out through their noses, which was probably what would happen to him if there was a suit breach. Being exposed to the Martian air felt like a very real possibility at that moment as Zed found himself struggling and thrashing within the ever-contracting suit. Thankfully, Martian equipment was meant to last. The back seal held, and true to what Johns had told him, it was indeed idiot-proof. Sensing the struggle, the suit relaxed its grip, returning to its initial state. The door opened, and Zed felt himself being lifted out like an infant being plucked from a crib. ¡°Zed!¡± Johns was standing over him, genuine concern on his face. ¡°Are you alright? Are you injured?¡± Released from his cocoon, Zed felt his heart rate slow as his breathing leveled out. ¡°No, I¡¯m OK. I¡¯m so sorry. I don¡¯t¡ªI¡¯ve never¡ªI just felt trapped. I didn¡¯t think it would bother me, but something about being in there with nothing outside to breathe. I freaked. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± ¡°Oh, there now. That¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. Believe me, you¡¯re not the first, and you won¡¯t be the last. It just takes some getting used to, that¡¯s all.¡± Johns helped Zed to his feet and triggered the turtle suit hatch to close. ¡°Imagine my first time in one of those things. I¡¯m a big man, and I don¡¯t have much wiggle room even when the suit is fully relaxed. I feel closely related to a microwaved banger when I go for a walk. And make no mistake, just as sweaty too. There¡¯s a reason they keep me in hydroponics.¡± Johns fanned his underarms and made a face. Zed smiled weakly. ¡°Now then, I think that¡¯s enough excitement for any boy to have in a given day. Maybe getting back to your lessons, or whatever you do, might not be such a bad idea. I¡¯m guessing your parents would be more than a little peeved if I got you killed on day one. Not to mention Thabisa.¡± ¡°Yeah, I think you¡¯re right. Maybe some other time. Thank you, though¡ªtruly. I¡¯ll swing by again. This was really cool. Ya know, other than me losing my marbles for a minute.¡± Johns smiled and turned to go. ¡°If you ask Gin, she¡¯ll give you directions back to your quarters. I¡¯d imagine you¡¯re a bit turned around at this point.¡± ¡°Thanks, and yeah, I most definitely am.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be seein¡¯ ya, Zed,¡± Johns said, giving a wave as he took off toward hydroponics. Well, that was embarrassing, Zed thought, clenching his fists. He took a deep breath, feeling his nails bite into his palms. ¡°Um, hey Gin, is there a rock I can crawl under? Also, how do I get home?¡± 10.Virtual Exorcism Between the walking, flailing in the space suit, and the adrenaline rush that came with it, Zed was exhausted by the time he reached his tiny bedroom. He collapsed onto the bed and immediately fell into a restless sleep. Zed dreamed he was back on the Attic waypoint station, looking down at Mars. No, not looking down at Mars; he was falling toward it. He realized he was in one of the inflatable escape bulbs diving toward the surface at impossible speeds. Zed pushed at buttons and switches, but to no avail. As the ground approached, he saw that he was going to crash inside a crater¡ªa crater with a jagged-edged hole at its center. Zed gasped as he fell into the dark maw. He looked up, expecting to see the cave opening fading into the distance, but instead found himself once more staring into the cold eyes of Andy Foster as Zed fell down the grow silo. Leaves and branches scraped against him. A noise was building steadily in the background. There was nothing he could do. Nothing he could grab onto. No way to stop his fall. Just as he braced himself for certain impact, Zed realized the noise he was hearing was coming from outside the dream. It was enough to wake him, but the helpless feeling remained. It was his CIG that had woken him. He was receiving a call from George. The icon was displayed on the back of his left hand. He could feel it like a tap-tap-tap in time with the chime. Zed tapped the icon, and a shockingly lifelike rendering of George¡¯s head appeared, welded to the back of his hand where the call icon had been. ¡°Whoa! Cool!¡± George exclaimed. ¡°Can you see my head too?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, your head is on the back of my hand. Are you not using a camera or something?¡± ¡°Nope, just the cigar thing in my eyeballs. This is so cool! You can touch stuff and actually feel it!¡± Zed could see from the change in head position that George was marveling at his own hands. ¡°I honestly haven¡¯t had any time to mess with the CIG yet. It¡¯s, uh, been a day.¡± ¡°Well, come over, and you can tell us all about it. That and figure out if there are any games on this thing.¡± ¡°Where are you guys, anyway?¡± Zed asked, already on his way out the door. Homework could wait. It wasn¡¯t like anyone was going to check if he was keeping up with his studies as long as his grades were okay. ¡°We¡¯re hanging out in the mess. It¡¯s huge, and that just kind of feels good after those months in transit. There''s enough space to actually run!¡± Zed understood all too well. It was strange that you could feel a craving in your body for open spaces, but he really did. ¡°On my way.¡± When Zed entered the mess, George was swatting at something in the air, and Miranda appeared to be typing on the blank surface of one of the tables. ¡°Hey, guys.¡± Miranda looked up and smiled at him. George seemed to snap out of his reverie. He walked over to Zed and gave him a not-so-good-natured punch on the shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s for being first on Mars.¡± Zed rubbed his shoulder and put on his best wounded puppy-dog face. ¡°You do know I didn¡¯t exactly make that decision, right? Head wound. Gushing blood. Any of that ring a bell?¡± Zed gestured at his still-tender stitches. ¡°You certainly rang your bell. I¡¯m still pissed, though. You got to be first, and you¡¯ll come out of it with a badass scar.¡± ¡°Pretty sure hitting myself in the head doesn¡¯t qualify as badass, but whatever. For what it¡¯s worth, I didn¡¯t mean to steal your thunder.¡± George looked dubious but gestured for Zed to come sit with them. ¡°You boys done yet?¡± Miranda asked. She had yet to stop typing. ¡°What are you up to?¡± Zed asked Miranda, sitting down opposite her. ¡°Looking for CIG-specific code tied to Gin. I don¡¯t like Gin,¡± Miranda said without looking up from whatever only she could see. ¡°Uh, okay. Can you tell me how those two sentences are related?¡± ¡°Gin¡¯s the default AGI, but she¡¯s locked in. I want to use Granny, but the bitch won¡¯t let me.¡± Zed was a little taken aback. He couldn¡¯t remember hearing Miranda swear before. George leaned close to Zed. ¡°She¡¯s a little protective when it comes to Granny,¡± he whispered. ¡°We¡¯ve been training our AGIs since we were legally allowed to. Granny¡¯s been with me since I was seven; I¡¯m not about to trade her in for some generic talking head. You¡¯re telling me you¡¯re okay cutting out Manny, George? What about Douglas, Zed?¡± ¡°Wait, what do you mean? What about Manny?¡± Manny was George¡¯s personal AGI. Each of them had trained their own artificial general intelligences as soon as they were allowed and had been building on them ever since. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Like most kids their age, they took a dim view of using corporate-created AGIs and instead opted to build their own with readily available open-source software. Over time, the AGIs adapted to the preferences and needs of their owners. Many people ended up turning theirs into nothing more than useful sycophants. Zed¡¯s parents used AGIs that functioned this way, and they were hardly the minority. Even at a young age, it was clear to Zed that this wasn¡¯t exactly healthy. Seeing his parents'' generation embrace personal "yes men" had really put him off the traditional approach to AGI usage. It bothered him enough that his own artificial generative intelligence, Douglas, didn¡¯t even have the ability to speak. Zed had designed Douglas to resemble a nineteen-fifties-style cartoon astronaut kid, complete with a fishbowl space helmet. He used thought bubble text pop-ups and broad gestures with his rubber-hose arms to communicate in the absence of a voice. Douglas was more than just an assistant for Zed. As an aspiring artist, Zed had trained Douglas using his own art. There were differing schools of thought on the topic, but Zed leaned towards a mix of embracing modern tech while holding on to an element of pride in earned abilities that wasn¡¯t necessarily in style. Douglas was his art assistant but was limited to generating items based on other pieces of art that Zed himself had created. Because of this, Douglas was far more restricted than even the most basic corporate AGIs when it came to image or scene generation, but that was the way Zed liked it. He had an extensive collection of his own art and animations combined with a library of scans of objects and moments he¡¯d been accumulating for most of his life. Zed didn¡¯t have anything against people using more advanced AGIs that generated art from everything they could scrape up with little input from the user; he just hadn¡¯t found any joy in it. He¡¯d always enjoyed the process of creation itself. Douglas helped make that more efficient, but there was a line that was easily crossed, making him feel less like an artist and more like a spectator. In the midst of creating something new, he felt in control of something in his life. He had no desire to give that up. So Zed had built up his skills bit by bit. He was a decent generalist now and had even won an online animated short film competition once. And through it all, Douglas had been right there. While Zed certainly didn¡¯t approve of AGIs as an emotional crutch, he had invested a lot of time and sweat into Douglas. A lot of memories, too. Douglas was the closest thing he had to a beloved pet, and the thought of suddenly having to trade him in for this generic ¡°Gin¡± was jarring, to say the least. ¡°Any luck?¡± Zed asked Miranda with a newfound sense of urgency. ¡°Patience, I¡¯m doing my thing.¡± ¡°How exactly did you even know where to start, anyway? I¡¯m betting there¡¯s not a ¡®how to hack your CIG¡¯ manual readily available.¡± Zed drummed his fingers on the table, a subconscious tic of impatience that drove Miranda crazy. Today she was too absorbed to care. ¡°I may have had a few hints from a certain Ukrainian IT person with a mad obsession with having children on Mars.¡± Zed grinned. ¡°Ah.¡± While Miranda worked, Zed began to familiarize himself with his CIG and what it could do. For now, he¡¯d have to make do with Gin¡ªa necessary evil. Since he had some time to kill and the mess was empty, Zed pulled the public overlay access key for the mess that Commander Jones had given him. A notification popped up on the back of his hand again, informing him that he now had access to a new 3D file. He searched for the 3D programs available on the CIG and was relieved to see that anything accessible on XR headsets back on Earth seemed to work just fine on this newer tech as well. Zed opened the file in Blender and was greeted with a miniature version of the mess sitting on the table in front of him. He was familiar with the Blender interface but had never seen it like this. The program took his body position and the environment he was in into account, placing every button and tool naturally around him. He reached out for the dollhouse-sized mess and felt a thrill of adrenaline as his fingers made contact with the virtual surface. This was definitely going to take some getting used to, but it also triggered a wave of exciting possibilities in Zed¡¯s artist brain. Whatever this tech was, it allowed him to actually feel the things he was creating. Maybe that was old news for the handful of people left who carved actual stone and clay; for Zed, it was something new and exciting that he¡¯d never even known he wanted. Well, crap, he thought. I don¡¯t have any of my files with me. I¡¯m not even sure how to get them in here. Zed flipped through some of the default files that came with Blender. He stopped when he saw one titled ¡°Tyrannosaurus Walk.¡± He flicked the file onto the table and saw it appear at a relatively correct size within the tiny mess. It began to roam about on its walk loop. No point messing with this any further until I get my own files and can decide the best way to decorate the place, Zed thought, and hit ¡°save.¡± A pop-up appeared. Would you like to apply? YES/NO Zed touched yes. A few moments later, Zed heard a scream echoing off the domed ceiling. Both his and Miranda¡¯s heads snapped to attention, only to see George on the floor, scooting himself sideways like a crab as a massive, extinct carnivore bore down on him. Even though Zed knew he had just placed that exact model into a tiny version of this room moments earlier, he had to fight the urge to scream and run. It was just so convincing. He could even feel the vibrations of the creature¡¯s massive feet impacting the floor through his fingers, which were now wrapped around the edge of his bench as if he expected gravity to flip and send him flying toward the ceiling. George screamed again, snapping Zed out of his own reverie of horror and wonder. He reopened the file as quickly as he could, flung the dinosaur out of the scene, and hit apply. Zed turned just in time to see the ancient lizard vanish a moment before a massive three-toed foot would have landed on George¡¯s face. ¡°Sorry about that!¡± Zed called out. ¡°Just getting the hang of this public overlay thing.¡± George stood, his knees unsteady. ¡°That¡ªthat was awesome. Please don¡¯t ever do that again, Zed.¡± The dinner crowd was starting to trickle in now. ¡°Yes! Got it!¡± Miranda said, pounding the table. ¡°Sending you both the workaround. Just let it run, and you should be able to fire up your AGIs.¡± ¡°Miranda, you¡¯re a miracle worker,¡± Zed said as he ran the file and began the process of swapping out Gin for Douglas. Douglas appeared in all his animated glory and gave Zed a warm grin with his giant cartoon buckteeth. Zed didn¡¯t like putting emotional weight on fake beings, but even he had to admit it was good to see a familiar face in this alien place. ¡°That¡¯s much better,¡± Miranda said with visible relief. ¡°Good to have you back, Granny.¡± Zed couldn¡¯t see or hear if Granny responded or not. ¡°Did you know that Gin refuses to talk about Jarra Gunnard¨®ttir?¡± Zed was taken aback. ¡°Uh, OK, so what?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know you¡¯re a bit of a fanboy, but she made this tech, so I asked Gin about her. Gin pretended like she didn¡¯t exist. Ask her about anyone else, and she can hand you their biography. I dunno, it just creeped me out.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess it''s odd. Maybe a security thing? Either way, thanks for giving me Douglas back,¡± Zed said, giving Miranda a little bow. ¡°Hey, you know me¡ªany excuse to break things and make them better. Kind of like what that Tyrannosaurus was trying to do to George.¡± ¡°Very funny,¡± George said, giving his sister the side-eye. ¡°I will say all that adrenaline definitely made me hungry. Any chance the robo-chef is serving surf and turf tonight?¡± The three of them ate dinner together. When they finished, Zed said goodnight to his friends and returned to his quarters. It was getting late, but his parents were nowhere to be found. Presumably, they were still working. ¡°I guess some things never change, no matter what planet you¡¯re on,¡± he said to the empty apartment. 11.Swords to Plowshares
***
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Stop it, Zed. You¡¯re going to psych yourself out. 12.No Good Deed
Hey Commander, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re busy and all, but if you want to check out the new mess hall overlay I¡¯ve been working on, I¡¯ve attached a preview. Let me know if you¡¯re good with it, and I¡¯ll make it public! Also, I was wondering if I could request the overlay code for the quarters of Andy Foster. Before you ask, no, it¡¯s not for a prank or something, just a gift I made. Anyway, thanks! - Zed
Zed, Excellent work on the mess hall overlay. I was not expecting dinosaurs, or any of the rest of it for that matter, but you made it work beautifully. Well done. In light of that, I¡¯m going to grant you access to not only Andy Foster¡¯s room overlay but also the whole colony. I have a feeling you¡¯re going to start getting a lot of requests from other colonists, and I can¡¯t be bothered to approve every one. Just don¡¯t let me discover you¡¯ve been putting virtual strippers in the corridors, understood? If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Again, excellent work. Sincerely, Commander Thabisa Jones
13.A Glimmer in the Dark Zed wandered the corridors blindly. He felt stuck in his head, looping through emotions. He was shocked, then mad at himself for being shocked. He should never have listened to Baat. This was always how it was going to turn out. Then he was angry at Baat, but he couldn¡¯t hold that for very long. He felt hurt, and he resented that feeling because it was the last thing he wanted Andy to do to him again. Eventually, his angry stalking slowed, and Zed looked up to see that he was standing in front of hydroponics. Desperate for any distraction, he entered, hoping Johns was around. He hadn¡¯t spoken to the man since that first day, but he hadn¡¯t forgotten the hope and ambition Johns had exuded. As Zed entered the long, curving hall, he saw Johns hanging from a line. He appeared to be doing maintenance on one of the robots that looked after the plants that spiraled up the walls of each of the artificially sunlit silos. Zed stood and watched the big man work, not wanting to startle him from his perch. The lines Johns swung from looked terrifyingly thin for someone so large. The giant arm he was working on reminded Zed of a book he¡¯d once read on origami. This oddly shaped robot was made of countless folding polygons, each its own robot. Together, they formed an oddly angular arm that ended in a bloom of grasping appendages that served as hands, even though they certainly looked nothing like any hand Zed had ever seen. These polybots were far more adaptable and easier to transport than the bespoke robots of decades past. Zed knew that huge arm could probably unfold and refold itself into something no bigger than a square meter. Still, all he could think when he saw it was that if this were a video game, that would most certainly be the final boss. Johns finally noticed the boy standing below and waved, a smile lighting his wide face. ¡°I¡¯ll be down in just a moment, lad!¡± he barked. ¡°Make yourself at home in the office if you like.¡± Zed nodded and waved. He made his way to the side room full of machine parts that Johns called his office. When Zed entered, he noticed a few new items on the workbench that stood in contrast to the other mechanical odds and ends strewn about, as if Johns had gotten into a fistfight with a terminator and won. These new objects were indeed machines, but they were clearly intended to fly. The toroidal propeller blades seemed exaggeratedly large for the small round bodies they sat atop. There were three drones in various states of completion. Johns appeared to be stripping parts from one to enhance the other two. ¡°Your timing is perfect, Zed.¡± Zed turned and saw Johns enter the workshop while wiping his profusely sweating forehead with a greasy rag. Upon seeing Zed''s face, Johns¡¯s smile fell. ¡°Are you alright, boy? You look like someone kicked your dog.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m alright,¡± Zed said with a half-hearted thumbs-up. ¡°Uh huh,¡± Johns said, still staring at Zed. He crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. Zed attempted to hold a neutral expression but found himself faltering under Johns''s gaze. ¡°I just tried to do a nice thing for someone who totally didn¡¯t deserve it, and it completely blew up in my face, which I knew was going to happen. I mean, how could it not?¡± Zed blurted. Johns made a twirling motion with his fingers and gave an encouraging nod. ¡°I should have just gone with my original plan¡ªprank him. That he would have deserved, but instead, I wasted hours and hours of my life on an asshole without two brain cells to rub together.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Zed realized he had stood up during his diatribe and abruptly sat back down, eyes locked on the floor. ¡°Sorry. Not your problem, just a bad day is all,¡± he said more quietly. ¡°This wouldn¡¯t have anything to do with a certain young mechanic, now would it?¡± Johns asked. He walked over to the seat across from Zed and sat down with a groan. Zed looked up, surprised. ¡°How did you know? It literally just happened.¡± ¡°Oh, this is the first I¡¯ve heard of what just happened, but based on the last time I saw him with you, I didn¡¯t get the impression you were bosom buddies. It¡¯s just as well you didn¡¯t go after him, even if your well-meaning kindness didn¡¯t go to plan. You probably would have just gotten caught and been worse off than you started.¡± Johns wove his fingers together and leaned closer. ¡°Next time, come to me first. I¡¯m sure I could come up with a suitable idea or two.¡± Johns smiled, and Zed felt, for a moment, like he got a glimpse of Johns as he must have looked as a mischievous ten-year-old. Zed smiled back. It felt better to at least have someone who saw things his way hear him out. ¡°I¡¯ll do that. I¡¯ll definitely do that. Thanks, and sorry for the emotional vomit all over. I don¡¯t have a lot of people I can really talk to.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Johns said, sitting back. ¡°What of your friends or your parents for that matter? I ran into them the other day, and they seemed like nice enough folk.¡± ¡°They¡¯re just¡ª¡± Zed started and then shut his mouth. ¡°They¡¯re not really an option. My parents, I mean.¡± Zed hurried on before Johns could ask any follow-up questions. ¡°My friends, Miranda and George¡ªthey¡¯re great, but it doesn¡¯t feel fair to involve them in my mess when Andy might just end up picking on them too.¡± Johns nodded. ¡°I see. Well, for whatever it¡¯s worth, my door is always open. Of course, that could be because my office doesn¡¯t actually have a door.¡± Johns slapped his leg and let out an infectious chortle. Despite his dour mood and the relative lameness of the joke, Zed couldn¡¯t help but laugh along with him and felt a little better for it. What Johns told him next distracted him entirely. Johns wiped a tear from his eye and gestured toward the workbench. ¡°What do you think of my little minions, Bel and Nebo?¡± he asked, saying the names with a father¡¯s pride. ¡°They look super cool, but what are they?¡± ¡°These little beauties are going to change the world, Zed. Or at least, with your help, they just might.¡± Zed wasn¡¯t sure how to reply to such a grand statement, so he just listened. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of the excitement around the discovery of potential Martian life in that crater cave.¡± ¡°Yeah, the day I got here, it was all anyone was talking about. I haven¡¯t really heard anything beyond that, though.¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s a reason for that. We don¡¯t know for certain if we¡¯ve found life or just some interesting readings until we get someone in there to take a real look and get some samples. That¡¯s no easy feat because of how deep the area is located in the cave system. If the commanders are going to approve a human mission, they¡¯re going to need a reasonable route through.¡± Johns stood and picked up the bulbous little drone, turning it slowly in his hand for Zed to see. ¡°That¡¯s where these little turnips come in. Bel and Nebo are going to map the cave system more fully and hopefully find a route that¡¯s safe enough to convince Thabisa and Bao to give the go-ahead.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a full array of cameras in these bulbs that should send back high-resolution 3D scans. I had to, eh, conscript a few other surface drones from the colony to put these two together, but it¡¯s all for a good cause.¡± ¡°What can they do?¡± Zed asked. ¡°And how do I come into this? I¡¯m no drone pilot.¡± ¡°Nor am I,¡± Johns admitted. ¡°They''ll fly themselves. That part¡¯s actually pretty basic. I ripped some coding from the structural inspection routines the regular maintenance drones have. Since they¡¯re just mapping, they don¡¯t need anything more complicated than a three-dimensional version of what the vacuums that roam the corridors use.¡± Zed saw what he was getting at now. ¡°You want me to take all that data and make an explorable virtual space.¡± ¡°I knew you were a sharp boy. Yes, indeed. A life-size version of the space laid out for route planning would not only save time but might be just the thing to make the final sales pitch. What do you say, Zed? Would you like to go down in history as the boy that had a hand in finding life on Mars?¡± ¡°Of course! I mean, I think that¡¯s amazing if you think I could be a help.¡± What was it about Johns that seemed to stir up excitement about whatever he went on about? I bet this is how cults start, Zed thought to himself, but he was grateful for the distraction. It really was incredibly exciting stuff. ¡°When can, uh¡­¡± Zed gestured toward the drones. ¡°Bel and Nebo,¡± Johns said, holding them both up. ¡°When can Bel and Nebo get started?¡± ¡°Just as soon as I can get the Commander¡¯s approval. But since there are no people at risk, I don¡¯t expect that to be difficult. In fact, if you were to come with me, it might sweeten the deal. I think Thabisa has a soft spot for the baby of the colony.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, sure. Why not?¡± he replied, ignoring the friendly jab. ¡°Let¡¯s go spelunking.¡±