Martian Dawn

Part 2, Chapter 14: Last Day of an Era

May, 2055, Mars Year 54

When Aguila first entered orbit, they set up a telescope in Terra Aurora to look at it, to see it for themselves. It turned out the dome fabric distorted their view, and they were better off inside the Hab, where they could watch the feed from the telescope on Olympus Mons. On dust-free days, that telescope had such a clear view through the almost nonexistent atmosphere at that elevation that the ship in orbit almost looked fake--too sharp, like a special effect.

Nevertheless, it felt more immediate to sit "outside," with no electronics between them and the view of the new satellite overhead.

Five years of preparation culminated in this week. The new dormitories were built, nestled into the canyon walls, but with cheery windows facing out onto a landscape that was as parklike as they could engineer. Concrete pathways of native material connected each dorm to the Hab and other new workspaces, which included an experimental livestock center--glorified inflatables, somewhat larger than the dormitories.

Between the pathways, genetically engineered varieties of dwarf willow and arctic bunch grasses were carefully tended in a spare sort of zen garden layout, with hardy flowering plants providing small spots of color. Meanwhile, the five miles of upper canyon beyond the electromagnetic shield were far wilder in appearance, though the plants that grew there were of the same species.

Safety rails and signs in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French were installed to warn the visitors when they were entering dangerous zones. Each sign clearly indicated what the hazard was and what kind of protective gear was required.

Outside the Dome, they had enlarged the garage and the new buggies, which could run on either solar power or methane-oxygen combustion were parked there. Each of these buggies was stocked with radio transponders, so the new Martian Highway system could be laid out.

Every space capsule that had landed at the Spaceport in the last five years (with the exception of the supply probes Aguila had dropped in the last week) was lined up under an unpressurized tarp, waiting to be towed to its new life as a waystation on the highway. There were twelve of them, so far. Each of these was stocked with supplies, outfitted as living quarters, and they included inflatable modules that would more than quadruple the living space. Such quarters were temporary. The residents would be unshielded from the Solar Wind--bad places to be during a solar flare, at least until the habitats could be buried. And that's what the fleet of new construction 'bots were for. They were simple and cheap compared to previous rovers sent to Mars, but there were plenty of them.

The supply drops of the last week were lined up less carefully, and unprotected by the tarp. They were not yet fully unpacked. They too were probably destined to become the core of yet more habitats or workshops.

At the nightly meeting, they went over their checklists one last time. They reviewed the plan for tomorrow. Then Michael advised them all to take their melatonin before bed and get some sleep.

Dawn went to bed with the best intentions of sleeping, but she wasn't the only colonist who watched the clock tick over from 2439 to 0000.