“Okay, activation of rear propulsion,” Dennis said. “In three, two, one … ignition!”
I noticed a slight acceleration forward, and then it seemed as if the ship had stopped, except that I could still see the landscape moving past us.
It was an enormous red desert, a flatland, which spread out as far as the eye could see. For the first time I was looking at Mars’s surface with my own eyes. The rosy sky stopped abruptly, giving way to a rust-coloured terrain. The sun shone high, lighting that beautiful and, at the same time, disquieting sight. Almost without realising it, I started smiling.
“We are again en route,” Hassan notified. “But we are going down a bit too quickly.”
“Prepare primary parachutes,” Dennis said.
“Ready!”
“Activation of primary parachutes.”
This time the braking was more violent. Michelle and I let slip an exclamation on the rebound.
“Altitude three thousand metres,” Hassan said.
“Station Alpha detected.” This time the inexpressive voice of the on-board unit’s artificial intelligence spoke; it had remained silent since Dennis took the manual control.
On the main screen a bright point was superimposed to the landscape, indicating the position of our habitat.
“Connection with Station Alpha successful.”
As we got closer to the surface, I began to distinguish the details. There were some areas that were darker than others, where the ground rose slightly. Some whitish stones stood out in the dust. As time passed they became bigger, revealing them to be rocky formations with an impressive surface.
And there it was, down there, Station Alpha.
“Altitude one thousand metres … nine hundred … eight hundred …”
Dennis raised a hand, gesturing Hassan to stop it. In the meantime the figures scrolled fast on the screen.
“Airbag inflation.”
None of us dared to speak, to avoid disturbing him during the manoeuvre.
“All airbags inflated,” the AI confirmed after a few seconds.
When we passed two hundred metres, I held my breath.
“Landing in five seconds, four, three, two, one …”
The impact was abrupt and then we were still. As the airbags deflated, dust clouds rose all around the Isis, blocking our view of what was outside. A surreal silence gripped the cabin. Nobody dared to emit the slightest sound.
Then I heard the loudspeaker activate and Dennis’s voice said with nonchalance: “This is your commander speaking. Welcome to Mars, Lunae Planum. It’s eight zero two, local time. The sky is clear. The external temperature is minus eight degrees Celsius. Please keep your seatbelts fastened until the seatbelt sign is switched off. NASA Spacelines wishes you a pleasant stay and hopes to welcome you again soon on board one of its spacecrafts. Goodbye.”
There was a general burst of laughter in the cabin. We tried to applaud, but our suit gloves didn’t provide the right sound. So we started screaming with joy. Even Hassan, who during the entire manoeuvre had remained impassive, let himself go to the exultation.
Meanwhile the dust outside was settling, offering us a view of our new home, which silenced us at once. It was a large, white building, surmounted by a parabolic antenna, with two massive Aeolian turbines on its sides and a roof covered by high efficiency photovoltaic panels. An important part of our nutrition would come from the small garden we would create inside it. On the other side was the chemical plant, which included a small reactor that sucked in the carbon dioxide, widely available in Mars’s atmosphere, to generate oxygen for the habitat and remove the carbon monoxide. Not far from it were two large water tanks, whose content would be used in the most efficient way, by recycling it almost completely. This would allow us to be self-sustaining for several years, while we tested the mobile laboratory, which would eventually extract more water from Martian soil’s regolith.
It looked like a cosy place, a safe shelter from the terrible desolation surrounding us.
“Station Alpha ready to receive the crew,” the AI announced.
“Well, what about doing some extravehicular activity?” Dennis asked with enthusiasm. “If the guys down in Houston haven’t made a fool of me, there should be a bottle of champagne waiting for us in a fridge inside our new home!”
“I’m in!” Robert exclaimed, unfastening his seatbelts.
“Oh, yes, I definitely need it!” Hassan said.
“Hassan, I’m surprised at you! I thought you Muslims didn’t drink alcohol?” Michelle asked, amused.
“I’m sure God will forgive this little sin of mine.” He seemed to struggle to keep a serious tone. He unfastened his belts and turned to us. “I’m not even sure if this rule also applies on Mars!” And he laughed, while our eyes met.
I was listening to them joking and that was when I realised I was living the best day of my life.
I was happy.
What’s happening?
Something is touching my leg, my ankle. I shout at the top of my voice!
I’m still breathing, and it isn’t too cold.
Am I still alive? Where am I?
I hear a hubbub, something is moving around me. I try to open my eyes, but it’s so difficult. I sense light through my eyelids.
How have I ended up here?
Finally I open my eyes. My sight is dim. I see a white environment, with dark figures. One of them is close to my legs. I’d like to move, retract, but I can’t. I’m sore, terrified.
That touch again, followed by the pain.
“Jack, I think her ankle is sprained.”
Who spoke? Perhaps I’m still dreaming. It sounded like a female voice, hoarse.
Another silhouette comes closer. It becomes bigger and darker, casting a shadow on my face. I open my mouth to speak, but no more than a gasp comes from it. I feel my vocal cords locked. I try to raise my head, but I’m dizzy. I try to move my hands and they hit on something wrapping my body. Something warm. A blanket.
“Can you hear me?” the figure over me says. It’s the deep voice of a man.
“Jan…” I murmur.
It looks like the man is shaking his head. “No, I’m not Jan.”
He reaches out over me to touch something on the white wall. Another light comes on. This time it’s brighter. I start seeing more details. His face is close to mine. He is a man with dark eyes and a benevolent smile. His hair is white. His face is run by long wrinkles, as deep as canyons.
Like Valles Marineris!
I was there. I was dying. Am I dead? Am I looking at God’s face?
No, his name is Jack.
“Welcome, Anna Persson.”
I think I can hear a child laughing in the distance.
###
Do you want to know what happens next?
The second book, “Red Desert – People of Mars”, will be published on 1 September 2014. Join the mailing list (www.anakina.eu) to be notified every time a new book is published.
In the meantime you can follow Anna Persson (@AnnaPerssonDR) on Twitter!
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If so, don’t forget to click “Like” in the book’s page on Smashwords (or in the online store you’ve bought it from) and to share it with your friends. And, if you fancy it, write a short review.
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank all those who contributed to the creation of this book:
- Richard J. Galloway, who carefully revised and improved the English translation;
- Martina Munzittu, for her suggestions during the English translation;
- Julia Gibbs for the accurate proofreading of this book;
- my cousin Alberto Casu, for his precious help in the design of the cover (the Martian desert’s background is his work);
- Fabio Delfino, who created the book trailer;
- Polydream, who gave me permission to use their song “Catch Me If You Can” for the promotion of the series;
- the Italian ESA ast
ronaut Luca Parmitano, for his friendliness and constant inspiration;
- my whole publishing team in Italy, who worked with me on the original version of the “Red Desert” series: Veronica De Lorenzo, my aunt Gabriella Serrenti, Alessandra Fadda, ChiaraOB1, Stefania Mattana, Diego Luci, Luca “Adso da Melk” Cassia, Emanuele Piccolini, Marco Mark, Giovanni Venturi, Germano Dalcielo, and all those who encouraged my work with their comments and support;
- Omar Serafini and the whole FantaScientificast.it crew, who supported me in Italy;
- my parents, who on this occasion turned into science fiction fans;
- and above all Federico Fadda, my first reader, for his constant and loving support.
Bibliography
“Red Desert” is a science fiction work, so part of the scientific aspects are the result of my imagination, but the remainder is mostly based on what is reported in the following sources, which sometimes served just as a hint and which I suggest you take a look at for a thorough examination.
“The Case For Mars” by Robert Zubrin (non-fiction). Latest edition: Free Press, ISBN 9781451608113. Also available for Kindle. – Information on Mars. Technologies for reaching, exploring, and colonising the planet.
“First Landing” by Robert Zubrin (novel). Edition: Ace, ISBN 9780441009633. Also available for Kindle. – The story of a first manned mission to Mars set in 2010.
C.O.S.M.I.C. project (CRS4). – Technologies for human survival on Mars patented by the University of Cagliari, Italy.
NASA Official Website (www.nasa.gov). – United States space agency website, including all information on present and past Mars missions.
More books by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli
If you read Italian, you can already find the remaining books of the “Red Desert” series and other novels by this author.
“La morte è soltanto il principio”, Smashwords, 2 March 2012, ISBN 9781465722867.
“Deserto rosso – Abitanti di Marte”, Smashwords, 27 November 2012, ISBN 9781301420551.
“Deserto rosso – Nemico invisibile”, Smashwords, 28 April 2013, ISBN 9781301337606.
“Deserto rosso – Ritorno a casa”, Smashwords, 28 September 2013, ISBN 9781301541867.
“Deserto rosso” (La serie completa), Smashwords, 12 December 2013, ISBN 9781310691997; also available as paperback, CreateSpace, 6 December 2013, ISBN 9781494358693.
“Il mentore”, Smashwords, 21 May 2014, ISBN 9781310354854.
About the author
Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli is an Italian independent author.
She lives in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy), where she works as a writer, technical, scientific and literary translator, and web copywriter. She is also a biologist and worked as researcher, tutor, and professor’s assistant in the field of ecology at “Dipartimento di Biologia Animale ed Ecologia” of the University of Cagliari until 2004, when she founded Anakina Web. As part of her firm remit, she manages her creative writing and translation activities, as well as web design and music management.
As a cinema addict, she started by writing screenplays and fan fictions inspired by the movies. She is author of poems in English, published in the United States in anthologies and audiobooks, and has written some song lyrics.
She writes fiction since 2009. In 2011 she completed her first original science fiction novel, which will be published in November 2014 in Italy, and in March 2012 she published “La morte è soltanto il principio”, fantasy novel about ancient Egypt, inspired by the movie “The Mummy”.
Between 2012-2013 she wrote a science fiction series titled “Deserto rosso”, including four books, which are having success in Italy. The whole “Deserto rosso” series was also published as omnibus in December 2013 (ebook and paperback). Thanks to this series, Monticelli was selected in February 2014 as one of the best ten Italian self-published authors by the Italian version of Wired Magazine and was invited to be a speaker at an event during the Salone Internazionale del Libro in Turin, the most important Italian book fair.
“Deserto rosso” is now being published in English with the title “Red Desert”, and this is the first book of the series.
She also published a crime thriller in Italian, titled “Il mentore”, in May 2014.
Since October 2012 she is part of the cast of FantaScientificast, an Italian podcast about science fiction. Since April 2013 she is an Italian Representative of Mars Initiative.
As a science fiction and Star Wars fan, she is known in the Italian online community by her nickname, Anakina.
You can find Anakina (or just Carla, as her friends call her) on:
Anakina.blog: ladyanakina.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RitaCarlaFMonticelli
Twitter: twitter.com/ladyanakina
MySpace: www.myspace.com/anakina
aNobii: www.anobii.com/anakina/books
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/anakina
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ladyanakina
Google+: plus.google.com/+RitaCarlaFrancescaMonticelli
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ladyanakina
Smashwords: www.smashwords.com/profile/view/anakina
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/anakina
Check out the interview with Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli on Smashwords:
www.smashwords.com/interview/anakina
The official international website of Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli is www.anakina.eu.
Her official Italian website is www.anakina.net.
Do you want to keep updated on the next publications?
Join the mailing list on www.anakina.eu.
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Copyright and disclaimer
Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli asserts the right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, changed, re-published without the prior written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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