The first thing the robots built was the landing strip. This had been damaged in the “Marsquake” that followed the detonation of the bomb placed at the core of the planet. They fixed all of the cracks in the concrete by filling them with fresh concrete and then smoothing out the surface. Once this was accomplished, they needed to repaint the landing areas. They did this with yellow and white paint that contained phosphorous so that it glowed in the dark. To further illuminate the landing strip, the robots installed green LED bulbs on the edges of the strip. These were so bright that they could be seen from space, providing a clear path for spaceships arriving from other worlds. The lights were programmed to come on only when a ship was within one hundred thousand kilometers of the planet. This feature was included I in the plans to save energy.
The second thing that the robots built was the hangar of the spaceport. They needed to have this built to store the remaining supplies. Some of the things that were brought to Mars were fragile and could not be exposed to the elements for very long without damage. The robots poured a 20-centimeter concrete foundation into a hole. Then they smoothed the foundation so that their wheels could easily maneuver inside the hangar. The slab of concrete was half a kilometer wide and three quarters of a kilometer long. The concrete was allowed to dry for thirty hours. Once the foundation was ready, the robots attached the frame to the foundation. The frame was made of ten-centimeter wide and two-centimeter thick titanium with a lead core. The frame consisted of hundreds of metal strips riveted to each other in a grid pattern. The vertical strips were placed one meter apart, and the horizontal strips were placed two meters apart. Once the foundation was prepared, the sheet metal walls were installed. They were five centimeters thick and consisted of a lead core surrounded by titanium. The walls were all one hundred meters tall, and the robots used stacks of sheet metal as a ladder to reach the great heights. Once the walls were in place, the robots installed the roof of the hangar. They used the same type of metal as the walls for the roof, and they reached the top in the same way they reached the sides. The hangar was now completely built, but completely enclosed; the robots needed to create a door. To accomplish this task, they employed an arc-welding cutter. They cut giant holes in the front of the hangar and then allowed the metal to fall to the ground. Then they smoothed the doors and the newly formed frame of the doorway. The next step was to install the hinges for the doors. They installed nine large hinges per door, and installed the doors. Once the hangar was complete, they moved the remainder of the supplies into the hangar.
The next major project was creating the electrical grid for the town. The first step was to dig trenches to bury the electrical cables. The robots dug trenches one meter deep in a grid pattern. The grid they dug would later be used for road and sidewalk placement. Once the trenches were complete, they retrieved the electrical cables from the hangar and placed them in the trenches. Then Snicker covered the cables with dirt while Skittle packed the dirt on top of the cables. They deliberately left the ends of the cable exposed to easily attach them to the generators and the distribution points. Once all of the cables were buried, the robots retrieved the distribution wires. They then attached the wires to the cables in the pattern that the colonists had assigned to them. The next step in the process was the installation of the generator housing. The actual generators would need to be built at a later time, just before the colonists arrived. Once the housings were built, the robots attached the cables to the new buildings.
Any society’s most important construction is roads. They allow a civilization to move around and then give a clue as to how people live. The robots had a pattern assigned to them to build the roads of the town. At the east to west center of the town, a four-lane divided highway was placed. This road had two lanes of travel in each direction and each lane was four meters wide. The lanes were divided with broken white lines. In the center of the road was a ten-meter wide lowered median. The median was lowered two meters from the roadway and would later be used for a railroad track. At the side of the road, where the electrical cables were buried, a raised sidewalk was installed. The sidewalks were all ten centimeters tall and were one meter wide. All of the intersections of this road would have left turn bays and traffic control lights. The colonists decided to drive on the right hand side of the road just as in the United States on Earth. They placed street name signs that said “Main Street” on the traffic control signals for this street. A similar road was placed at the north to south center of the town. This road was called “Central Avenue.” At the intersection of the two main roads, the biodome would be placed once the roads were finished. Extending north from Main, the robots placed three two lane undivided roads with sidewalks. The roads were all spaced five hundred meters apart and had only stop signs at their intersections, except for the intersections with Main or Central. To the east of Central, the same pattern was formed. In the center of town, the biodome would take up more space than the pattern allowed, so the roads had to be placed farther away from the main roads to the west and south. They were placed two kilometers away from Central Avenue and from Main Street, but once the first road was placed, the same pattern was used. To the east, the roads were called East First, East Second and East Third. To the west, they were West First, West Second, and West Third. To the north, the streets were called Earth, Mars and Venus. To the South, they were Sun, Phobos and Moon. The future roads to the east and west could continue counting, but there were no plans for the names of the future north and south roads. Just past the grid was a controlled access highway. It was a loop road, which went completely around the city. There were exits at both ends of Main Street, as well as both ends of Central Avenue. There were also exits for West Third at the North end of the street, and East Third at the South end of the street. The plans also called for exits at the East end of Venus and the West end of Moon. The robots would complete these exits once the colonists arrived.
Water is the lifeblood of any civilization. Without it, no life can survive. The robots had been instructed to place water pipes along the sidewalks, but not to bury them. They were to run titanium pipes lined with bioplastic adjacent to the sidewalk on the side away from the roads. There were two sets of pipes running in opposite directions placed directly next to each other. The pipes would then be insulated with rubber to keep the water from freezing during the intense Martian winter. The insulation also contained electrical heating elements to keep the water warm on particularly cold days. All of the freshwater pipes would later be attached to the central water storage container at the center of town. The wastewater pipes would be attached to the water treatment facility near the spaceport.
The water on Mars would not be utilized for quite some time, at least not until it was deemed safe by the colonists. All of the water that the colonists would use, therefore, had to come from Earth. All of the water the colonists brought from Earth was salt water, so it had to be desalinated. The robots built a desalination chamber next to the central water storage facility. The water treatment facility was attached to the water grid in both directions, so that it could both receive water for recycling and return cleaned water to the grid. The desalination chamber was only attached to the grid to deliver water into the system after it had been desalinated. The colonists would leave the desalination chamber even after the final delivery was made from Earth so that they could use it to desalinate Martian water once it was deemed safe.
The streets to the north and east of the biodome were designated for living quarters of the colonists. Every person would be assigned a portion of land equal in size. Married people would receive a double portion of land so that everyone would have land that truly belonged to them. For now, only the terraforming team’s living quarters had been built. The rest of the colonists’ homes would be built once the terraforming team had completed their tasks. Each home was built on a piece of land fifty meters wide by sixty meters long. The homes were built in the same manner that the hangar had been built except that the sheet m
etal had been cut to form on Earth, and the doors all had hermetic seals on them.
Every home had five rooms in it. The first room was the living room, and it had enough room to hold a couch, a television, a computer desk, and a coffee table with plenty of room for up to four adults to move about the room comfortably. The next room was the kitchen. It had a counter with a double sink that had a garbage disposal and a place for both a dish drain and a microwave oven. The sink had a soap dispenser that was operated by a motion sensor. There was also a paper towel dispenser that was operated by a motion sensor. It also had an island for food preparation and a trash bin area carved out. It also had a walk in pantry with plenty of room to store dry food and food preparation equipment. There was a place for a refrigerator in the corner and a place for an oven right next to that. There were electrical outlets all around the room to allow the use of appliances. The next room was the bathroom. It had a toilet that used water from the sink to fill the tank and bowl. It also had a motion sensor that triggered the power assisted flushing mechanism. The sink was also motion sensitive, and there were soap and towel dispensers similar to those in the kitchen. The shower was not only motion sensitive, but also voice activated to adjust the temperature of the water. The water heater was built in to the showerhead. The mirror had a wiper built in to it, which was voice activated so that the occupant could see the mirror even when the shower or sink had fogged up the room. The final two rooms were both bedrooms. They were both large enough to hold a king size bed and two nightstands, along with a full size dresser that held a television. The rooms also contained two walk-in closets to store two people’s clothing and other belongings. Every room except the bathroom had a ceiling fan with light fixtures and two lamps. The bathroom had a bank of lights above the mirror, a ventilation fan, a normal overhead light, and a hot overhead light for cold days.
The first building that went up was the spaceport hangar. It was located at the northwest corner of the town at the intersection of West Third and Venus. The next buildings were the biodome, electric generator casing, the central water storage facility and the satellite receivers at the center of town, near Central and Main. The other water facilities were built adjacent to the spaceport so that the community would not need to see or smell them every day.
The area of the town to the south and west was designated to hold government buildings. These buildings would not be built until the colonists began to arrive. They included the Parliament building, the library, the consul’s office, other offices, and the transportation hub. To the south and east, stores and schools would be built. About five kilometers from the edge of town in any direction, mining operations and refining operations would take place. They would require their own roads. Manufacturing would be allowed near the spaceport, but not near any other part of the town.
The grand centerpiece of the colony was the biodome. It was two kilometers wide and two kilometers long. It had been built in the same manner as the hangar except that the walls of the biodome were made of concrete until they reached ten meters tall, and then they were made of titanium without any lead. The colonists did not want lead to leech into the plants that they would need for food. The total height of the biodome was about 80 meters. The roof was made of transparent titanium, so that the plants could photosynthesize naturally without allowing Martian dust to permeate the structure. The walls also had transparent titanium windows to allow the crew to see what was going on outside the structure. Both the roof and windows were built like magnifying glasses to allow the plants to receive more light. Along the corners of the roof, the robots hung ultraviolet lights to also enhance the sunlight of Mars, which is only 43% of the sunlight on Earth. The crew would turn off the ultraviolet bulbs when they walked into the building so that they would not expose themselves to the damaging rays from those bulbs. The robots also placed carbon dioxide collectors outside the biodome to collect this plant friendly gas from the atmosphere of Mars. The atmosphere of Mars is nearly 95% carbon dioxide, so there is ample supply for the plants that the colonists will plant. The water supply for the biodome was the central water supply for the colony. The biodome was actually the very first connection of the water pipes, and the most important use of water would be food production. Once the water was inside the building, it was sent to a “RainMaker 3” irrigation system. The system took the water and sent it to an overhead sprinkler system where it would be set to fall on a schedule. This method of irrigation was the most like natural rain that the crew could find, so they preferred it to any other that they considered. A central heating unit heated the building with vents spaced every ten meters. The crew would place soil on top of the concrete floor once they arrived, and they would eventually mix in enriched Martian soil to extend the amount of soil available. Directly outside the biodome was another building, which was currently under construction. It would eventually be connected to the biodome by a small tunnel. It was a compost heap for recycling of dead plant material and food waste. It would be used to ensure that the colony became self-sufficient.
The town was taking shape while the crew traveled through space, but the crew was having trouble adjusting to a life away from Earth. The robots were trying very hard to ensure that the colonists would not have a difficult time adjusting to life on Mars.
Chapter Thirty
Becky
Becky Garcia always wanted to go into space. Now that she was there, it was far more terrifying than she ever imagined. She lived for the work of the ship every day after the initial excitement wore off. Then John Johnson asked her to go out with him, and even arranged a semi private table in the galley. She was very excited to go on the date, but a lot of apprehension flowed through her gut as she prepared for the date.
John was preparing for his date with Becky in his quarters. He was a little scared to see the woman that he wanted. He didn’t know if his feelings were shared, although she did agree to the date rather quickly. He was also afraid that the relationship would not work out in the long run, and he was also afraid that it would.
He thought, “What if she really likes me, and we get married? Am I ready for that? Who is? What if she likes me at first and then changes her mind? What if she likes someone else more down the road? Why am I so worried? I should just enjoy the time I have with her tonight, and take things one day at a time. If I try to live the whole sequence out, I’ll go even crazier than I already am.”
Becky was having some of the same thoughts as she got herself ready for her date with John. She took a quick shower because the ship’s water policy only allowed two gallons of water to be used for a shower, and the ship’s gravity and pressure were barely sufficient to pull the water down to the floor in a stream. The water felt good as it trickled down her back and chest, and she thought about how good it would feel to take a real shower when they got Mars and set up the water system.
She thought, “I can hardly wait to get to Mars. Then I’ll feel less frightened. Maybe I should see Leona about my fears, but maybe John will be a distraction from the terror of space.”
John was dressed in his best suit and shoes. He walked down the corridor of the living quarters’ trailer, and tried to psyche himself up for his date with Becky.
He told himself out loud, “You’ll do great. Just be yourself, and you can’t help but impress her. Don’t mention your strange relationship with your sister or you might scare her away. Actually, don’t mention Jane at all; no good can come from that. Just keep it all about yourself and her.”
Becky had just dried off when John knocked on her door. She hit the door’s camera button and saw that John had arrived exactly on time.
She opened the peephole and said, “I’ll be ready in just a minute.”
Then she quickly applied deodorant and powder. She wanted to show John her best look this evening and odors were not her best look.
She thought, “I have to hurry. I was hoping that he’d be fashionably late. Now he’s going to think I can’t be ready on time.�
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She put on her best dress. It was black with a sequined starburst design over the right breast. The dress was low cut, so it showed off her cleavage, and the dress ended six centimeters above her knees. She did not wear a bra because the dress had one built in. She did not wear underwear because she hoped it would get in the way at the end of the date.
John was beginning to sweat as he waited for the door to open. He wanted to see Becky, and he wanted her to see him in his best suit. She had told him that she would be ready in a minute, but that was seven minutes ago. He wondered if she was trying to find a way to back out of their date.
He thought, “Is she delaying to blow me off? Why hasn’t she come to the door yet?”
Then the door opened. She appeared before him in her best little black dress, and his jaw dropped as he gazed at her. She looked at John in his best suit and was very impressed herself. She grabbed his hand as she walked out of her quarters.
She said, “Come on; let’s go to the galley and start our date.”
She turned around and locked the door. Then she grabbed John’s hand again and gave it a small squeeze.
John thought, “Yes!”
Becky said, “You look sharp tonight. Very sharp. I always see you in your work clothes, and even then, you’re quite handsome. Nothing like the way you look tonight, though.”
John said, “The same goes for you. You look terrific in your work attire, but you look like a goddess in that dress.”
They walked to the galley hand in hand and unable to keep their eyes off each other. Both of their thoughts were of how great the other looked. It was almost a magical evening. It was almost as if the universe brought them together at that particular moment.
Once they arrived in the galley, they saw two tables set up on opposite ends of the galley. The one on the far end of the galley had been reserved for Scout and Kathy. The one on the near side had their name written on it. The hologram with their name was written in a brush script font and was ten centimeters tall and half a meter wide. Shai was waiting with a room divider, which she needed help to move into place.
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