Mars Nation: The Complete Trilogy by Brandon Q. Morris

Author:Brandon Q. Morris [Morris, Brandon Q.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hard-SF.com
Published: 2020-08-30T22:00:00+00:00

Sol 103, NASA base

Nighttime darkness surrounded her. Only a dim light could be seen on the eastern horizon. Ewa half-closed her eyes. She didn’t want to miss this moment when the sun’s first rays crept up over the mountains in the East. The star-filled night had been a clear one. Ewa had hoped to see a shooting star, until she remembered that the lack of atmosphere here on Mars prevented stray meteorites from igniting, burning out and fading. Theoretically, even a small rock at a speed of many thousands of kilometers per hour could have done incredible damage to the transparent roof above her. But she had nothing to fear. Nothing would happen, not in this night nor in the next one hundred years. There was no doubt about it. She had just spent one of the most enjoyable nights of her life on Mars.

Lance’s idea had been a magnificent one. The tunnel that led from the pavilion to the base could be sealed shut from the other side. The only person she would have been able to harm was herself. But she had something else on her mind instead. She needed to finally convince the others to accept her gift. Ewa had the feeling that by doing so, her feelings of guilt might lessen. Whatever happened after that didn’t matter.

It was time. The first rays of the sun drew a bright line across the Mars surface. It happened incredibly fast. The line broadened. The sun, which was many times smaller than the same sun as seen from Earth, rose much quicker here. It only took thirty seconds before the entire disk of the sun could be seen. The soil on Mars, which appeared black just a moment ago, now showed its natural rust color. Black specks remained in the spots where boulders and smaller rocks threw their shadows. And she, Ewa, was in the midst of all this, as though she were a part of the planet, not just one of its first inhabitants.

She would indeed go down in the history of the planet—as the one who committed the very first acts of violence here, proof that humans had a dark side that couldn’t be left at home. The others still didn’t understand what she wanted, what motivated her. She didn’t even know it herself, exactly. She hadn’t yet told them about Friday, the thing in her head. She had wanted to talk to him about it first.

But there was no time for that now. Later. For now, she would simply enjoy the sunrise on the Red Planet. She had the entire landscape all to herself. Anyone else would only be a distraction. As the sun gained height, she followed the patterns the rocks made with their shadows. The patterns changed like characters or letters, as though someone was looking to communicate something. But there was no one there with whom she could communicate.

She imagined how Mars would look with trees. It wouldn’t be the same. Any sort of plant life, even primitive lichens, would turn Mars into something else.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.