by Rishi Sriram
grabbing the manager’s hand, and gently moving it back towards himself.
The manager smiled a little. He noticed that Nathan seemed in a little bit
of a hurry. “You go ahead, kid; I’ll call the police and tell them what
happened.”
“Thanks for that, that’s nice of you.” Nathan glanced at his watch; that
had taken too long. And he really didn’t want to have to talk to the police; he
was already short on time. He waved at the store manager, and ran outside
the convenience store, starting back towards his home. He tried to maintain
his calm; he had something to look forward to.
Soon he was going on an interplanetary mission, “A journey to colonize
Mars for the better of humanity,” a banner had said. Nathan had enlisted for
reasons besides the desire to make the world a better place. That was part of
the reason; he really did have a wish to make a positive change in the world.
But his main intention was to escape the chaos that had befallen Minneapolis.
Tank attacks were just the beginning, the city had been out of control the
moment The Chancellor moved in, and he’d had enough. He couldn’t live
like that anymore.
There was one other motivator. Crane Enterprises, the leader in electronic
commerce, had organized and sponsored the expedition. That way he knew
that it was legitimate, and knowing the company’s previous endeavors, he
believed that he would have a good future on Mars. But he was still wistful.
Separating from his parents wasn’t going to be easy. Their only child was
leaving them at the age of eighteen. But there was no other choice. It was his
only escape from the city, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The thirteen different “colonies” were respectively designated a letter,
such as Point A, Point B, down to Point M, the thirteenth colony. And the
colonists weren’t set to come back to Earth ever. After the thirteen colonies
had been populated, Crane Enterprises had pledged to work toward starting
up more colonies. It was the perfect plan.
Nathan felt that this plan gave him a purpose. His purpose was to
colonize another planet, positively affecting humanity.
That was just what he was going to do, make a progressive difference.
Optimism in the idealist perspective helped him look forward, stay forward,
and move forward. He glanced at his vintage, maple-tinted watch. It ticked
from his heartbeat; every rhythmic thump was aligned with the watch’s
movement. It had been his eighteenth birthday present from his parents, and
engraved on the back were the words, “You are our greatest happiness, and
time will tell how much that means to us.” They were sweet words, and it
kept him going. He felt like he was taking a piece of his parents with him, a
memory of his home would always remain close. He knew that the watch
wouldn’t be of much use on Mars, but he would keep it with him as a
memento.
The life-giving light from the sun covered him with warmth, reminding
him of the time: It dawned on him that if he didn’t prepare to leave for the
Space Center soon, he might miss takeoff.
He hastily sprinted home and kicked off his shoes. He rushed to his
parent’s room. Without any strong emotion, his parents calmly sat near their
mattress, perceiving him cheerfully. It didn’t seem as if they were aware of
the incident in the town’s square, and he wanted it to remain that away, at
least until he departed.
His father rested in his specialized wheelchair, a medicated ventilator
attached to his mouth. Clear tubes wrapped around the back of his head, two
of which were inserted into his body, allowing him to sustain his breathing
and vascular circulation. His father rolled the wheelchair towards his son,
making sure to keep the breathing mask latched. He tapped a few buttons on
his armrest, and spoke through the mask gruffly.
Nathan’s eyes stung at the pain his father had been going through, and it
was all because of The Chancellor. His father gave him an apprehensive look,
“You’re leaving so soon, champ… huff. But I guess… huff… it’s all for the
best. You’re going to colonize Mars! What a dream!” It was obvious to
Nathan that his parents were concealing their sorrow with a false front of
happiness. He knew they were sad to see him leave, and this was their way to
keep that to themselves.
His mother opened her arms and Nathan wrapped around her tightly. His
mother sighed, color flowing through her cheeks, “Keep your father and me
in your heart always, and don’t ever forget us.” She sniffled, wiping her right
eye. “Goodbye, Nathan, I don’t mean to prolong this, so I’ll end it here. Bye,
Nathan. We love you.”
His hands carried no luggage, since Crane Enterprises had promised to
supply the colonists with everything they would need. Nathan walked out of
the house without looking behind him, and breathed in the brittle smell of
nostalgia. Tears puffed up in his eyes. He had always hated the thought of
leaving his parents. If not for his mother having to take care of his father,
they might not have had to separate at all. But it was too late to be thinking
about that.
He walked down his front porch, and then he stopped for a moment—the
taxi was waiting in the street. All around him the world seemed to move
slowly. There were people normally walking along the sidewalk. And faint
honks from vehicles in traffic. The chilly breeze flowed through the air. It
took something like that to show him that the world would continue the same
without him, it didn’t rely on him to continue. Not a soul cared for what he
did, he was merely a random teenager, and what did it concern them? It
wasn’t like he was going to make a difference or anything, but that’s where
they were wrong. He could feel it in his bones, that one way or another; he
was going to make an impact
The Space Center was a moderate distance away; and he had to take a
taxi, which had been waiting outside his house. He handed the driver the
money and sat inside the back. The taxi drove down the street; past the stop
lights, past the memories, past his parents, a sob nearly escaping his throat.
CHAPTER 2
THE LAUNCH
Fact: Mars has season’s familiar to Earth: winter, spring, summer, and
fall, which last twice as long as they do on Earth. But Mars also has two
other seasons, caused by its highly elliptical orbit.
The Space Center was a large building, and Nathan had to walk down a
passage of hallways before he reached the shuttle area. In front of him, a
set of doors slid open with a fssshh, making way for the angry cabin crew to
throw whatever they could get their hands on. Sticky wads of paper hit
Nathan in the side of the face, an uncapped pen barely missing his left eye.
The safety specialist tossed a packet of papers at Nathan’s chest: “Fill it out.”
Nathan gave him a blank look, astonished at the offensive treatment.
The specialist sighed, “Look, buddy, all of the other colonists arrived
hours in advance, giving them time to fill out these papers, wear their suits,
and get comfortable. You’re nearly late. So just fill this out and don’t make
the situation any worse.” Biting back a retort, Nathan grabbed a pen off the
nearest counter and started writing. The document was tedious, but he was at
the end before he knew it. In a compelled fashion, he shoved the papers back
into the crew member’s hands. Another set of doors opened, making way for
an attendant who gestured him towards the ramp leading inside the shuttle.
The ramp was still open, he wasn’t late. Not yet. He walked up the steel
ramp, his foot making a hollow noise each time he stepped. The shuttle doors
opened and he walked through, as thousands of heads turned to face him,
followed by a wave of laughter drowning him in embarrassment. He
observed the colonists, who were all wearing highly specialized suits. The
suits were engineered to keep them safe when the shuttle travelled high
speeds. The suits were all created the same size; however, the aesthetic
microfibers allowed for the material to change shape, amply suiting the
person wearing it. It was clear that the colonists were prepared. Nathan on the
other end was sporting a black jacket, trousers, and sneakers.
A robotic attendant arrived at his rescue with the specialized suit in its
hands. The suit was a beautiful combination of science and art at its best. It
was artistically attractive, black lines elongating down the seams, shining
metal adorning the helmet. There was also a series of plushy buttons that
ornamented both forearms. The micro-fiber suit smoothly adjusted to his
body, with three compact oxygen tanks attached to the back end for
emergency purposes. And fire-resistant material protected the wearer from
vast ranges in temperature.
In ten minutes, Nathan slid into the suit. He glanced around and noticed
train-like systems on both inner sides of the shuttle. This way, the passengers
didn’t have to walk the entire way down the shuttle to get to their seats. The
attendant dropped its metallic jaw, the prosthetic skin on its head stretching,
forming wrinkles in the ends. It said, “That is the transport lift; however, it is
not authorized to travel for just one passenger. My apologies for the
inconvenience, it is the policy set by the company, as the lift exerts too much
energy for it to be used for the comfort of one late passenger.” That last
sentence stung.
Directing him a few blocks down the shuttle, the robotic attendant forced
a coy smile. Nathan sighed and started down the shuttle. It was a long walk.
His footsteps felt awkward, as they tracked down the silica tiles, while he
looked away from the other colonists. It couldn’t be helped; it was his fault
for being late. Though to his defense, the arrival time was written as 12:00
p.m. It didn’t make sense that instead of twelve, they really meant three hours
before. How was he supposed to know? The farthest he had been from
Minneapolis was his pre-school trip to a ranch near the city’s outskirts. After
he had reached the gestured area, another attendant showed him to his seat.
He latched himself in and began flipping through the safety procedures
booklet in front. In the back of his mind, he tried to remember if there was
anything he had forgotten to do before he left. Crane Enterprises had stated
that the colonists would not be allowed to take anything with them, and that
all of their needs including clothing would be provided shortly after arrival.
Nathan wasn’t too sure how that would work, but he was curious to see how
it would play out.
To his right sat a cranky child and his parent, who frantically attempted to
console the infant. And to his left, an old couple was shooting ugly glances
across him at the parent. Nathan was patient, kindly smiling at the child, who
giggled at the sight of him. Nathan found it remarkable that there was such a
diverse range of ages on the shuttle, that they all had their roles in colonizing.
It made the most sense so that the demographic never died out. The younger
people were needed to continue the process once their time came. And most
of the elderly were thoroughly educated, world-renowned scientists who
would join Crane Enterprises’ team of biologists in research.
Nathan looked out the window, clouds outside like bright cotton candy.
They drifted with an icy, unnatural slowness, floating across the heavy sky
with its scattered vapors. Undefined edges of crystal-clear foam sifted
through the bright sun, allowing streams of light to pass through. The clouds
made him wonder about the weather on Mars. He had heard that seasons
supposedly lasted longer on Mars than on Earth. Then he came to the
realization that it wouldn’t affect him either way since the colony was
atmosphere-controlled.
The clouds slowly drifted away, allowing others to float through. The
entire world seemed different to him inside the shuttle; it was as if his eyes
had been warped to see differently, in a good way.
From the ceiling, a voice croaked, “Good afternoon, ladies and
gentlemen. Welcome aboard the SS Noah for the first ever manned
interplanetary colonization journey. We are currently off our estimated
departure due to a certain passenger. Don’t worry, I won’t call names, ahem
seat number 24,753. Yet again, heads rolled around to face him, and in
response Nathan flushed in embarrassment.
“Apart from the delay, we are in line for take-off and are expected to be
in space in approximately three minutes’ time. The time is 12:24, day of
November 17th. For safety reasons and minimal paperwork, we ask that you
please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure all baggage underneath
your seat or in the overhead compartments. We also ask that your seats and
table trays are in the upright position for take-off. However don’t fret, due to
the recent advancements in radio electromagnetism, personal electronic
devices including laptops and cell phones are permitted throughout the course
of this trip, including take-off.”
“If you do not wish to follow any of these regulations, please leave the
nearest exit as prescribed in the forms signed before take-off. We remind you
yet again that this is a non-smoking flight. Smoking is prohibited on the
entire aircraft, including the lavatories. Tampering with, disabling or
destroying the lavatory smoke detectors is prohibited by law and can result in
being thrown off the shuttle…in space.” Nathan internally screamed, and
then he realized that the pilot was joking.
There was a soft laugh behind the intercom and then they continued, “If
you have any further questions about our flight today, please refer to the
overhead screen which will post hourly updates about travel distance and
other important information. In the case of an emergency please don’t
hesitate to ask one of our friendly flight attendants. Thank you for choosing
Crane Airlines and we hope you enjoy the flight.” Nathan tossed aside his
booklet. What a great way to start a new life. The shuttle hadn’t even left yet
and he had already created an uncouth reputation. He felt a tap on his
shoulder. He turned h
is head around, expecting an earful from a passenger,
but it turned out to be one of his old classmates, Kara Schultz. She was nice
to be around, with a unique personality. It was always hard to read her
emotions; she was composed, and never fawned over anything small. Her
long, amber-colored hair was swept to the right side of her face, tucked in
behind the helmet. Happy to see him, she held her hand out for a handshake
and said, “Look who it is, can’t believe it’s been nine years. I can barely
recognize you.”
Nathan just nodded.
Kara’s grin dwindled, “Last we met was in—”
“Third grade,” said Nathan. He was surprised to see her. “What are you
doing down here, shouldn’t you be up by the cockpit in first class? You
know…with your father?”
She frowned, “No, I didn’t want to bother him.” Kara smiled, “After all,
this is his big moment.”
Nathan nodded, convinced. “That’s nice.” He looked around, not
knowing what to say. “OK, then, well, I’ll catch you around.”
Kara nodded, a little amused, “Yup, after all, we’re gonna be sitting near
each other for the next…what, seventy-nine hours?” Nathan nodded a little
unsettled. The embarrassment had thrown him off and he couldn’t think
straight. He quickly looked away, trying to escape the awkwardness. He
picked up another booklet and flipped through, there was information on
everything from harvesting fertile land, apartment complexes, to water and
food storage. The location for each of the thirteen settlements had been
decided as per the water levels in that area. NASA had found large reservoirs
of ice scattered around the planet, thus identifying the sites on which the
colonies were built. A large water harvester dug miles beneath the surface,
striking and heating the ice reservoir, and then filtered the water on its way
back up. The reservoir was thought to last the colony for at least ten years,
and Crane Enterprises claimed that in that time they would certainly find a
permanent solution.
Nathan spent the next few minutes digesting as much information as he
could. According to the booklet, all the colonists lived in habitation modules
called “dorms.” Point A was the name of the colony they were set to land on,