by Corey Ostman
“I got bored when you were away at Essex City,” Yvette said. “I started digging through stuff and found my great-grandfather’s archive! It has all sorts of plans, including ones for robots like Planar.”
“Where?” Raj said, reclining.
“It’s—” Richard started to talk, but Yvette glared him into silence.
“Mazz!” Yvette said, waving her arms.
“That heaping wreck of junk?” Wragg was incredulous.
“Don’t you dare, Captain,” Yvette scolded.
“And there’s a copy of Planar, you said?” Raj asked.
Grace watched as Yvette contorted her face.
“Well, kinda,” she said. “More like initial conditions of his cognitive matrix. From what I can tell, it’s old and early.”
Raj looked at Anna. “But it’s a start.”
Chapter 43
The Scout lurched, and Grace startled awake.
“Where are we?” she said to no one in particular. She sat up in bed. “Lights.” The cabin complied.
She pulled herself to the edge of the bed and looked down. Her old clothes were still on the deck, where she’d flung them last night. Raj’s bunk was empty.
“Tim, are you still under there?”
A sound came from behind her. A cross between a laugh and a hiccup.
“No,” he said. “That was very rude of you.”
Grace turned around. Tim lay on the corner of the bed, watching her. His ears were flopped back and his tongue lolled out of his mouth. He was a rust-red dachshund today.
“Rude? How?”
“You kicked me.”
“I was sleeping.”
“Still.”
“You’re the one in my bed!”
“I’m allowed to act sentient now, remember?”
“Then be a gentleman and ask for your own bed.”
“I did. Raj said there was no room.” Tim jumped to the floor.
Grace stood and stretched, then rubbed her back. “Where is Raj, anyway?”
“He slept here. Got up before you.”
“And made his bed?”
“Mazz straightened up.”
“Then why are my clothes still on deck?”
Tim grumbled. “Ok, fine. He stayed with Anna.”
“And you’re jealous.”
“Hmpf.”
“Raj and Anna. Heh. Remind me to tell him he didn’t want to come on this mission.” Grace began making her bunk, military-style. “Where are we?”
“On approach to Elysium Planitia,” Tim said. “Oh, and your father called. You’ll note several backlogged messages on your ptenda.”
“You’re a lovely secretary. I should hire you.”
“You can’t afford me.”
“Tell me about it.” Grace leaned down and picked up her clothes.
Tim stalked across the floor. His face flickered, the mimic skin turning the blue of his tongue before returning to rust-red.
“I dreamed,” he said.
“I thought I told you not to dream,” said Grace.
Tim ignored her. “I hear them now. Euler. The Essex twofers. Even Mazz.” He stretched, bowing low with his paws spread out. “I am connected. Entangled, just as before. Raj says he doesn’t know how they managed it in the first place, since they don’t have any of my blue gel.”
“Then you’re not alone. Isn’t it what you wanted?”
“Maybe. But I’m not staying on Mars.”
“You’ll always have my bunk.”
“Ha.”
• • •
Grace heard Raj’s voice as she entered the crews’ quarters by the airlock. He had laid out Planar’s body on the common table and was speaking excitedly to Mazz.
“So the ball joints allow the limbs to detach with a single command?”
“Yes, sir,” Mazz said. “But you have to send the command directly into the trunk. The network will not respond to external commands.”
Grace walked up next to Mazz.
“Am I interrupting something?” she asked.
Raj grinned. “Mazz was explaining how to disassemble Planar for easy transport back to Earth.” He looked down at his ptenda and made some notations. “I can’t wait to get back,” he added.
“Where’s Anna?”
“She’s in Yvette’s cabin communicating with her family.” Raj paused. “She’s going back to Port Casper with me.”
Grace smiled and punched Raj in the shoulder. Raj yelped in mock pain.
“Did Protector Donner injure you, sir?” Mazz asked.
Raj chuckled. “No, Mazz.”
He sat to work with the main display just as Richard entered with Yvette. She made directly for Raj and bounded into his lap.
“Hi!” she said exuberantly.
“Hi, Yvette.” Raj chuckled and gave her his ptenda, which she began to read with all seriousness.
“Morning, Grace. Raj.” Richard sat. “This is it. The Scout’s about to dock at Elysium.”
“Is it safe?” Grace asked.
“For now. Elysium has stabilized, though many domes have not. It helps that there’s a spaceport: Earth lent us some aid.”
“Are there any flights out?” Raj asked.
“A few. All full. But you’ll have seats.” Richard smiled. “The least I could do.” He fingered his ptenda. “I’ve also transferred the funds to each of you per contract. That should be plenty for you on Ceres, Grace. And perhaps Doctor Chanho can use the funds to properly repair Planar.”
“Thanks, Richard,” said Raj.
“What about you?” asked Grace. “What are you going to do?”
“I’ll keep my word to Euler,” Richard said. “I already have meetings scheduled with the dome authorities. They’re just beginning to realize what they have on their hands.” He laughed, but sobered quickly. “I’m not sure I can do this alone. Are you sure you don’t want to stick around and help?”
Grace shook her head. “I’m done with dust. Sorry, Richard. Maybe when Mars is a bit more terraformed.”
“It will be,” he said. “Mars is change. It’s fitting that the first mass AI transformation happened here. We’ll absorb it the way Earth could not.”
“Let’s hope so,” Raj said.
“It hasn’t turned out exactly how my grandfather would have wanted, I think, with the twofers isolated and some humans going it alone for a while,” Richard said. “Hopefully I can make it right. Martians can be stubborn, but I think once they get to know Euler and the others, they’ll come around.”
Yvette giggled as she handed the ptenda back to Raj.
“I see what you did wrong,” she said. “You attempted to apply the initial conditions to a network that wasn’t in its initial state.”
Grace caught the look of surprise on Raj’s face.
“Poppy? Grace?” Yvette said. “Could you excuse us? I need to show Doctor Raj how to initialize Planar properly.”
• • •
They docked at Elysium to unexpected fanfare and more than a little confusion. A cheering crowd greeted them as they exited the Scout, some of them twofers. A quarter of the original robotic population had returned. Some were willing to work; others were only willing to talk. But the tiny improvement over life without twofers put Elysium citizens in a mood to celebrate.
On the trip back to Richard and Yvette’s apartment, their mover made an unscheduled detour so that the local dome authority could congratulate Richard and his crew and, more importantly, beg for Richard’s help in getting Elysium back to work.
Since Richard was occupied with dome politics and Raj was occupied with Anna, Grace and Tim decided to visit the café near the Archdale’s home. Grace remembered how disheveled it had looked when she and Raj hid there to avoid conscription. Now, it had a pleasant waitstaff, and she enjoyed a leisurely puck-based lunch with the PodPooch. On the whole, she decided, nutrislab wasn’t so bad. It was all how you programmed it.
Two days before they were scheduled to leave Mars, Wr
agg talked to her. They were at Richard’s place again, about to head out to dinner.
“Before we join the others, Grace,” he said.
She looked at the captain. He was smiling, though his eyes looked sad.
“When you get to Ceres,” Wragg said, “I want you to look up an old friend of mine. Jacob Rander. The two of us met thirty years ago, before he headed out to the Belt. Good man.”
Grace nodded. “Will do.” She caught his stare. “Anything else?”
He reached into a pocket and held out a clenched hand.
“Just wanted to give you this.”
She reached out as his hand opened. A silver chain and a lump of smooth metal dropped into her open palm.
“What’s this?”
“Removed that from the squirt tube aboard the Scout. The one you blew out with your slug thrower.” Wragg grinned. “What do you make those slugs out of, anyway? It’s harder than metarm.”
It was part of a smashed slug, looking strangely elegant on its chain. Grace smiled.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “Sure you don’t want it as a souvenir, though?”
Wragg tugged at a chain around his neck. “I’m wearing the other fragment.”
They exchanged a look. It was enough.
Grace and Tim spent their last two days touring Elysium, watching the beautiful dome city slowly recover. Too soon, they were heading to the rim port.
“When can you come back to Mars?” Yvette asked.
“I don’t know, sweetie,” said Raj. “Even with your help, it’s going to take me a while to repair Planar.”
“You two had better get aboard,” Richard said. “Yvette and I will escort Grace and Tim to their transport.”
Grace looked at Raj. His eyes were wet.
“Come here.” She hugged him. “You take good care of Anna.”
Raj squeezed her tightly. “And you watch out for Tim.”
Grace smiled. “You mean ‘The Tim’? I can take care of him,” she whispered.
“Ready, Raj?” Anna said. She waved. “Thanks for everything, Richard. Watch out for your father, Yvette. Oh, and Grace: have fun on Ceres. See you when you return to Earth.” She laughed. “Earth! Never thought I’d see it.”
Grace smiled, not trusting herself to speak. Now she knew why Wragg hadn’t come to see them off. Military and emotions didn’t mix.
She watched her old friend walk away. Tim pressed against her leg. She thought she heard a whimper.
“I’ll miss Doctor Raj. Don’t you go, too,” Yvette pleaded to Grace.
She hugged the little girl. “You and your dad will be so busy, you won’t even know we’re gone.”
Richard smiled. “No kidding. As soon as you leave, Yvette and I are headed to Albor Dome.”
“Why Albor?” Grace asked.
“A pair of twofers didn’t head down to the geyser. Ended up in Albor and wanted to listen to music while they worked the port. The folks over in Albor still don’t understand.”
Grace laughed and gave Richard a hug.
“Goodbye puppy,” Yvette said, kneeling down to Tim and wrapping her arms around the PodPooch. He gave her a lick with his blue tongue.
“All right, now. Let’s be off.” Grace scooped up Tim and started up the gangplank. She turned at the door and waved. Richard and Yvette waved back.
“I think I’m going to miss her.” Tim’s voice rippled in Grace’s dot.
They were early. Most of the seats were open. These were upright seats, long rows of green upholstery, different from the beds on the ship from Earth. She was thankful the cruiser had no viewing portholes. It was hard enough to say goodbye to Richard and Yvette outside. It would have been worse to see them as they lifted off.
“You take an inside seat, Tim,” she said, putting him down. “I want to be on the aisle so I can practice my zero grav moves.”
The PodPooch curled himself onto the seat. Grace reached over and strapped him in.
“I’m going to miss Mars,” she said, patting Tim on the head. She stretched out her legs and buckled her restraint.
Tim looked at her. “You’ll miss the lack of law? The dust? The cold?”
“No, but—” she saw his smirk, “I’ll miss the bacon pucks.”
Further Reading
Hang out with Grace, Raj and Tim.
Visit our website http://portcasper.com to find out about our ongoing research and upcoming books. Be sure to join our mailing list!
Acknowledgments
Corey began the first draft of Mars Descent on March 5, 2012 and finished it on April 12, 2012. He set the project aside seven months to concentrate on editing Port Casper. From December 2012 through April 2013, he and Justin whipped the second draft into shape.
Like Port Casper, this novel was edited by the talented Vanessa Phin. She’s always a joy to work with and Mars Descent sings because of her skill. If she never visits Mars, may she always dream of it.
Alan Gutierrez’s cover art perfectly captures Grace, Raj and Tim about to land at Elysium Dome. The cover layout and typography are the fantastic work of Kit Foster.
Corey’s wife Nenita was instrumental every step of the way, along with our dear friends aka the beta readers: Darlene and Bob, Lana, Nastasya, Phil, Scott and Shawna.
Thank you for reading Mars Descent. We have a few seats available for the next flight from Mars to Ceres, or you can always hide in the luggage like Tim Trouncer.
October 2013
Copyright
Mars Descent
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
Copyright ©2013 by Corey E. Ostman and Justin A. Pecot III.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
Published by Fifteener Press, LLC.
Fifteener Press, LLC
45 Lafayette Road #245
North Hampton, NH 03862
1-857-244-1493
http://fifteener.com
ISBN-13: 9781939475039
Edited by Vanessa Phin.
Cover Illustration by Alan Gutierrez.
Cover Design by Kit Foster.
Kindle Version, October 29, 2013.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Further Reading
Acknowledgments
Copyright
Table of Contents
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