CHAPTER 8 #2
“Being cloistered inside a windowless box is no way to live. Not to mention the difficulty in fabrication and food production. Why do you think we left?”
“I do have to ask, if you’re the only full-blooded Martian left, why do you care so much if Mars is livable or not.”
“Because I’m not the only one,” her soft reply.
“Not everyone wanted to relocate on Earth.” She brushed her hand on a wall, and it illuminated, showing a chamber, massive in size, filled with tanks.
Thousands upon thousands of them. “Some chose to place themselves in stasis when it became clear Mars could no longer sustain us. They entrusted me with finding a way to fix our world. To bring it back to its former glory. Because of my failure, my people”—her voice choked—“will eternally slumber.”
Well, that explained why she was so obsessed. “It’s a good thing I like a challenge.”
“A challenge that will drive you mad.”
“Speaking from experience?”
“What do you think?” her growled retort.
“Well, despite your pessimistic attitude, I’m not giving up. So let’s shake on it. If I fix Mars, you provide the means to destroy the Kukakk.” He held out his hand.
She sighed. “Why not? It’s not as if you can succeed. There is no machine that can bring it back.”
“We’ll see about that. Now, I don’t suppose you can show me what Mars was like before the solar storms stripped it?”
She hesitated before nodding. “It will mean you stepping further into my mind, though.”
He glanced at the floor and his feet. “How when I don’t even know how I got inside your head in the first place?”
“This is new for me as well. I’ve never shared a dream with anyone before.”
“Guess that makes me special. And special people can do incredible things.” Spoken with a wide grin, but the claim twisted her lips and had her uttering a rueful, “I wish I could believe that.”
“So how do we step into the past?”
To his surprise, her fingers laced around his. “Follow me, although I warn you… This might be slightly jarring.”
“More jarring than somehow being inside your head?”
Her lips held a ghost of a smile. “Very. Prepare yourself for you might see a past version of me that you won’t recognize.”
Clasping hands, he followed her lead when she walked forward toward a wall, but instead of crashing into it, they emerged on a grassy field that definitely didn’t exist on Earth.
The fronds underfoot appeared fatter than the regular strands he was familiar with and a deep blue in color. He crouched and ran his fingers over it. “Unbelievable. The same and not at once.”
“In many ways, our planets evolved in a similar fashion, with Martians simply being several thousand years ahead of humans in terms of evolution.”
A glance around showed trees, the tall darkish boles topped with branches and leaves, star-shaped and a bright red. Bushes, squat and vividly orange, sprouted white flowers. Overhead, puffy clouds floated across a pale pink sky.
“Where are we? I don’t see any buildings.”
“Because we’re atop the Citadel in the rooftop garden.”
His brows lifted. “Seriously?” He stood and took in a more panoramic view, which included a sprawling city beyond the multi-level monolith.
“Damn. This place is like the Jetsons cartoon.” Zipping aerial cars, shiny dome-shaped buildings, lots of gleaming glass and moving dots on the ground that had to be people.
While he glanced around in wonder, Ishtar’s expression appeared sad.
“This was the day everything changed, not that we knew it. Unbeknownst to us, a scout ship had landed on Mars, a small meteor barely worth noticing. It splashed into a lake and might never have managed to send out a signal if it hadn’t been eaten by a hipposwin. ”
“A what?”
“Think of it as a hippopotamus crossed with a pig. Large, eats everything, delicious when roasted. It swallowed the scout transport, and a nanobot took it over. Through the hipposwin’s eyes, it saw the splendor of our world. We never even realized it sent out a signal.”
“I’m surprised with all your advancements that you didn’t stop the asteroid before it crashed into your planet.”
“Unlike humanity, Martians weren’t a violent people.
Things like missiles and projectile weapons weren’t something we ever bothered creating.
To protect our planet, we had an energy shield to deflect stray meteors and larger asteroids that might cause harm.
Only the Kukakk ship smashed through our barrier and crashed hard into the surface.
You can still see remnants of the crater, which astronomers have called Hellas Basin.
Even then, we had no idea of our peril as we dealt with the aftershock of the impact.
By the time we realized the true threat…
” She paused. “Well, you saw what happened on Earth with just a single Kukakk and a few Saursu. Imagine it on a large scale.”
“How did you fight if you didn’t have guns and stuff?”
“Not easily. We quickly learned fire was our best tool and developed flamethrowers, which took care of the Saursu, but the Kukakk were another matter. It didn’t take long before the four that landed controlled entire cities.
Torturing my people. Pitting them like animals against each other.
Several attempts were made to kill them, but as you know, they just need a new body to come back. ”
“I’m confused. Back in the cave, you said it couldn’t take over your body. So what… Were the Kukakk ruling through animals?”
“No, the Martians at the time were susceptible. The scientists hidden in the citadel eventually found a way to tweak our genetics just enough that it couldn’t attach itself, but by then, it was too late.”
“Hold on, couldn’t we modify people so this thing can’t snatch any bodies? If it can’t control humans, then it’s kind of like killing it.”
“Modify the genetics of billions?” She arched a brow.
“Guess that’s not really feasible, hence why you blew them up. Did you drop a bomb on them?”
“More like released a greater energy than they possessed, one that shredded them apart, and yet left my people unharmed. The most complex machine I ever built.”
“You built it?”
“I did.” She hung her head. “Everything that happened afterwards was my fault.”
“This is what we call a rock-and-a-hard-place situation. If you hadn’t acted, your people would have died horrifically. Instead, you gave them a chance. Yeah, they had to move, but if you ask me, that was the better choice.”
“Only they didn’t have a choice. I didn’t ask permission. I saw a way to get rid of the Kukakk and took it without thought for the aftermath. I was selfish.”
“You did your best, and now, you have a chance to make a difference again.”
“Even if I wanted to help, I can’t. The weapon I used can’t be recreated on Earth.”
“Why not?”
“Because the elements used are exclusive to Mars.”
“We could go get them.”
“You’re asking me to knowingly destroy another planet.”
Aquarius could have screamed, as she kept getting caught on the same point over and over. “We made a deal. I fix Mars, and you help us.”
“And I will keep my end of the bargain.”
“Because you don’t think it can be done.”
“It would take the power of a god.”
With those words, she was gone, and Aquarius woke in his bed. Disoriented at first, and his mind whirring. Could he ask a god to help them?