The Colony

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,