Beyond the Farthest Star: Chapter 22

Amy did not get out of bed until three hours later. She had been alone for so many weeks that she had drifted into her own schedule, and she was finding it difficult to readjust to local Martian time. She knew that her nanites could probably do something to readjust her internal clock, but she decided to leave it alone. If I stay here another few days I’m sure I’ll eventually adjust, she thought. There’s no need to overdo it.

She wearily climbed out of bed, took a shower, got ready, and then headed up to the cafeteria. She was pleased to see that it was empty. At least I won’t have to sit through another horrible meal, she thought. But where are Miles and Noel? You know, I bet they went outside. I wonder what the chances are that they didn’t bring an umbrella?

The girl connected to the nanite network and used them scan the area that surrounded the entrance to New Tikal. She was shocked to see that there were tens of thousands of people outside. In fact, a giant mob was milling around the desert just outside the city’s giant airlock. Some people were simply standing there and letting the rain hit them. Others were walking along the now-muddy road that climbed up the canyon walls. People were talking excitedly, gesturing to the sky. She scanned the crowd and saw that Miles and Noel were at the top of the canyon, looking out over the desert.

I really don’t want to go out there and get all wet, but there’s no telling how long they’re going to be up there. I could always use my nanites to shield the rain, but then I’d have to explain that to anyone who was standing nearby and that could get awkward. I guess I could just bring an umbrella, though. Despite what Noel might think, I haven’t completely lost my mind.

Amy disappeared from the cafeteria and materialized at the top of the canyon, about a dozen feet behind Miles and Noel. When she appeared she was holding a large blue umbrella over her head. The rain was coming down pretty hard and a fierce wind was blowing it around. Amy’s umbrella shielded her from the rain that fell from the sky, but the buffeting wind blew in rain from the side and soaked her.

“Well, that’s not going to work,” she grumbled. “So much for that great idea.”

Miles turned around and saw her standing there. He was soaking wet as well, but Amy could tell that it didn’t bother him in the least. He was wearing a pair of blue overalls, a checkered shirt, and a ridiculous-looking straw hat. It was obvious that he had been standing outside in the rain for hours, simply enjoying the experience.

The ancient man looked at her and smiled. “So there you are! We were wondering how long it would take you to get out here. We were afraid you’d miss it!”

“Oh, there’s no danger of that,” Amy replied. “It’s going to rain for another week. By the time this storm passes you will have all the rain you could possibly want. In fact, you might never want to see rain again.”

“A week?” Noel asked. “That seems highly unlikely! After all, a week’s worth of rain would involve a sizable amount of water, and there just isn’t that much water vapor available in our atmosphere. Mars is really quite dry.”

Amy sighed. “You don’t have to take my word for it, you know. Just wait and see what happens. I think you’ll find that Mars is about to do all kinds of things that aren’t exactly typical.”

“Perhaps! In fact, I hope you’re right. Ecology and biology really aren’t my fields, but it looks like Mars is emerging from some sort of hibernation state. I don’t know what triggered the change but it is heartening to see. The real question is whether or not the plant life will return. That is going to be vital. Will Mars ever become green again?”

“Time will tell,” Amy replied.

“Just how much time are we talking about?” Miles asked. “Should we be looking for sudden changes?”

“Um, you know, probably not,” Amy said hesitatingly. “I mean, think about it. It took a long time for Mars to die, right? So you’d naturally expect that it would take a long time for Mars to become green again. That would be reasonable, right? So I would say that this is the sort of thing you’ll just have to take one day at a time.”

“I would agree with that,” Noel said. “After all, even if we went out today and planted a thousand trees, it could take centuries for those seeds to sprout and grow into an old-growth forest. On top of that, we don’t even know if this rainstorm is a one-time recurrence or a sign that our ecosystem has made some sort of permanent shift.”

“You know, speaking of permanent shifts, what have you done about the air supply?” Amy asked.

“Oh, the air supply! I haven’t made any progress on it, actually. There just seem to be more pressing things to do. I admit that building a self-contained system is critical to the future of our colony, but it’s very difficult to get the mayor to approve a project of that magnitude. The political factors–”

“Not that air supply,” Amy replied. “I mean the one you’re breathing right now! You don’t need to wear a suit anymore to go outside, do you?”

“No, you’re quite right,” Noel agreed. “In fact, that is something we’ve been marveling about. Personally, I think all these changes are tied to temperature fluctuations. Perhaps the planet’s poles contained a large supply of frozen oxygen, which had collected over time. However, as temperatures have increased it has caused the oxygen to thaw and released it back into the atmosphere, thus increasing its pressure and changing the gaseous balance.”

Miles raised his eyebrows. “Is that really your best guess? Come on, Noel, you’re an engineer. Don’t you know how cold oxygen has to get before it will freeze? Sure, it’s been cold out in the desert, but not that cold.”

“I admit that the details of my theory may be a bit off. Still, I think my basic theory is quite sound. After all, these atmospheric gasses must have come from somewhere! Since I doubt they were magically shipped in from outer space, the only other possible source of the gasses is Mars itself. Somehow our atmosphere must have become trapped – either at the poles, or underground, or something along those lines. Now, however, something has changed and those gasses are being released. I’m confident that scientific investigations will eventually bear this out.”

“You’re still missing my point,” Amy said. “Think about the colony for a minute. Now that the outside oxygen content and atmospheric pressure are much higher, have you adjusted the colony’s air towers to match the new surface conditions?”

Noel blinked. “Um, well, you know, that’s a good question. Don’t they do that automatically?”

“Automatically?” Miles asked. “What are you talking about? Noel, you have personally built air towers in the past! You must know that there’s nothing automatic about them. Do you mean to tell me that you haven’t been adjusting them to keep pace with all these climate changes?”

“It’s really not my department! I’m more on the energy side of things. I try to avoid getting mixed up in climate sciences.”

“You need to move now. Don’t just stand there – get going! Make sure that this is being handled. If the air towers aren’t adjusted they’re going to overwork themselves and burn out their motors – if they haven’t already! Do you want to be the one that gets to explain to the mayor why the colony’s air supply is gone?”

“I’m on my way,” Noel said hurriedly. He ran over to the muddy access road and began hiking down the canyon as fast as he could go.

Amy shook her head. “How have they survived this long?”

“It truly is a wonder,” Miles agreed. “Although letting the air towers burn out might not have been such a bad idea. After all, it would have forced them to leave New Tikal.”

“And where would they go, exactly? Are you going to invite them all over to your place?”

“Oh,” Miles replied. “I see what you mean. I guess I just didn’t think it through.”

“I actually have been thinking this through, and I’ve come up with a plan. First, the planet is going to go green again – in a slow, gentle, natural way that cannot be traced back to me.”

“I see! So that’s what this is all about.”

“Exactly. My sister wasn’t discreet about terraforming Xanthe and the natives hunted her down and killed her. I’m not going to make that same mistake. After all, you weren’t discreet about your plans and looked what happened to Don Elliott!”

“That was two thousand years ago,” Miles protested.

“Are things really any different today? Do you honestly believe that the mayor is going to be fine when people leave his city to recolonize the planet? Are none of the politicians going to get upset over the fact that their citizens are leaving?”

“But that’s a different issue entirely! How the mayor will react to that is entirely different from people knowing that you are the one who saved them.”

“I am not going to make myself the focus of all this,” Amy said firmly. “I don’t see any possible good that could come from it, and it opens up a lot of potential problems.”

“That seems fair enough,” Miles agreed. “But, speaking of problems, just what are you going to do about the Mayor? For that matter, how are you going to convince people to leave New Tikal?”

“That’s the fun part. When the rain stops, people are going to find out that the rain has washed away the sand and uncovered the ruins of a vast city.”

“They are?” Miles asked, surprised. “Are you sure? I don’t mean to doubt you, of course, but I spent years looking for the lost ruins of Tikal. Do you mean to tell me that it was there all along and I just missed it?”

“No, you didn’t miss it. Tikal was mostly destroyed when the Emperor attacked, and none of it survived the millennia. It really is gone. In fact, this city is actually going to be brand-new, but the locals aren’t going to know that – at least, not at first. What their scouting parties will report is that they’ve found the ruins of a giant city that is far more advanced than New Tikal, and holds incredible secrets and treasures. However, the city is partially broken and it’s going to take some work to bring it back online. Not too much work, and not impossible work. But it will take work.”

“Oh!” Miles said. “I see what you’re getting at. So you’re planning on creating a ruined city, planting it in the desert, and using it as bait to lure them out. Then you want to create problems within the city that will act as challenges to focus their efforts and drive them forward.”

“Exactly,” Amy said. “However, I’m not going to do this by myself. This is something that you and I are going to work on together. I’d really like your help, if you’re willing.”

“But I can’t create a city!” Miles protested. “In fact, it’s all I can do to build a sand castle!”

“Oh, I can fix that. Trust me.”

“All right,” Miles agreed. “So let’s say that we create the city and people flock to it. What do we do then? Is that your end-game?”

“Not quite. There’s one more step to all this.” Amy paused for a moment. “Miles, the Earth needs us. Do you know what’s been going on over there?”

“In fact, I do. I know exactly what you are talking about. I tried to help them but my efforts were useless. Whatever disease is affecting the natives is beyond my ability to heal. It’s quite different from anything I’ve ever seen before.”

“I know,” Amy said. “I couldn’t cure it either. I think that Steve can, though.”

“You know, speaking of Steve, he was actually here not long ago! Although, come to think of it, I guess it was a while ago. It was late December, I believe. In fact, I’m almost certain he stopped by my home the very same day that you left Mars.”

“Really?” Amy asked, surprised. “I bet he was looking for me, wasn’t he?”

“Oh yes, he certainly was. He told me that things were not going well on Xanthe and that he needed your help.”

“I guess we both need each other’s help, then,” Amy said. “Do you know where he is now?”

“On Xanthe, waiting for you. I told him you would return when you were ready.”

Amy nodded. “I guess I’ll deal with one problem at a time. First, though, I need to finish dealing with Mars. Then I can return to Xanthe and figure out what to do there.”

“So you still haven’t made any decisions?” Miles asked.

Amy sighed. “It’s not easy,” she said.

“I know. But no one ever said it would be.”