Chapter Twenty
“And here is our lettuce farm.”
Vivian stared at the heads of lettuce stretching in rows down the long greenhouse. She remembered the first time she’d eaten Martian lettuce, devouring chicken pita sandwiches with Luz. This was the place where that lettuce had grown.
Standing at her side, Ren glanced at the clock above the back wall and stifled a yawn. “Very nice.”
Never mind him, Vivian thought. She moved through the rows of vivid green, breathing in the humid, earthy air so different from the rest of the dome.
Their Earther tour guide, Alvin, gestured her to look below the trays of lettuce heads to the filtration system.
“Mars has spent two hundred years developing the most efficient approach to growing food.” His voice held the barest hint of a familiar drawl that made Vivian almost taste the salty sea air of her childhood.
“Hydroponics results in larger, faster yields with less water than soil gardening. The system recycles water efficiently by using a pump that pulls water from the reservoir into a tray and then slowly drains through the porous substrate, back into the reservoir.”
She crouched down to examine the pump. “Like a Martian shower?”
Alvin’s eyes lit up at her interest. “That’s right. Only, the water circulates over the course of days, not seconds.”
Ren remained some distance away, arms crossed and tapping his foot.
When Vivian caught his eye from across the greenhouse, he dropped his hands to his sides, as if to hide his impatience.
He was trying. Vivian should give him some credit.
After all, he’d agreed to escort her here even though he clearly didn’t care about food production. Ren was a decent man. A decent choice.
Her parents needed to pay rent on a trailer in three weeks.
Vivian touched her chest involuntarily to Xavier’s letter hidden in her clothing and felt the comforting crinkle of the real paper.
He’d asked her to burn it, but she couldn’t muster the strength to do so.
I love you against my will and my reason.
She rubbed one shoulder and tried to push away the memory of Xavier’s glowering brown eyes, inches from her own.
And that smile that had slipped out when she’d teased him about his written apology.
He wasn’t an option for her. She had to be practical.
An Earther woman in gray coveralls entered the greenhouse. “Counselor Nakamura, sir? The plant manager would like a word, if you are amenable.”
“Certainly,” Ren agreed, a note of relief in his voice. “Vivian, I won’t be long. Please do not hold the tour on my account.”
Alvin stared after him. “Never thought Counselor Nakamura had any interest in food production. His family is more focused on the mining industry. Does he mean to invest?”
“I … I couldn’t comment on Ren’s investment decisions,” Vivian said diplomatically. “But he’s here today because I asked him to bring me.”
Alvin jerked up his chin. “Whatever for? I assure you, Mars will feed your future children quite well.”
“I needed to understand. How is the government here able to feed everyone on the dome? Aren’t there lean times?”
“Why would there be?” He shrugged. “There’s no weather or seasons under the domes. Few pests. When there’s the occasional mold or disease outbreak, we isolate it and stamp it out.”
Vivian looked around the productive greenhouse with sudden frustration. “Then why can’t we do the same in America?”
“You know, when I first arrived, I asked myself that question every day.” Alvin ran his hand through his graying blond hair and grimaced.
“Now? I think the answer is simple. Political will. In Arcadia, providing for the basic needs of everyone is baked into the foundations of the government. In America, not so much.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Oh, nearly nine years now. I left when my university closed in Savannah.”
Vivian swallowed. “After Pippa?”
“That’s right. I was a professor of English Literature.
Not a practical bone in my body. But I scraped together all my savings to buy a ticket here and learned, for the first time, how to make a living using my hands.
” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I gotta tell you, I’m mighty jealous of your position. ”
“Of me?” Vivian exclaimed. “Why?”
“I’m stronger than a native-born Martian and that makes me valuable on the job market.
But my biological assets have only given me the means to rent a one-bedroom apartment.
Yours will give you access to a walled estate.
” His lips turned up in a cynical smile.
“I hear the Nakamura Estate is stunning. They even have a koi pond. Can you imagine the expense?”
“The Yarrow Estate has a fountain,” Vivian offered. “The spray is taller than a Martian’s head.”
He shook his head. “And here I am bending over backward to conserve every drop of water in this place as if it were a sacred calling.” He glanced at the clock. “Come on, let’s continue the tour.”
As they moved through the rest of the tour, Vivian reflected on Alvin’s words. Did she have the better deal? Maybe, but in that moment, she’d trade almost anything to swap out her current future for a tiny apartment and a manual labor job.
But she wouldn’t trade her parents’ security.
Ren met her on the street outside the greenhouse.
Vivian looked around their surroundings, fascinated by how different this neighborhood felt from the others she’d been to.
The street facade consisted of a row of gray buildings with wide garage doors and a line of small trucks.
The streets were nearly empty of pedestrians.
“What other industry is in the district?” she asked Ren.
She saw a sign on the building across the wide street and began walking toward it to get a better look.
“All sorts.” Ren caught up to her in a few strides. “Water treatment, air purification, solar cell manufacturing—all the elements for ensuring life is sustained on Mars. The industrial district is the backbone of Arcadia.”
“Martian Collective Sovereignty,” Vivian murmured.
Ren looked taken aback. “Indeed.”
“When I was in the law library the other day, I saw the original Charter of the Planet Mars. Is it true that all Martians must support the essential services, or is that just the idealism of the founders?”
“It’s true.” Ren’s face remained befuddled, but he answered her readily enough. “In a 687-day Martian year, all native-born Martians must volunteer a combined fifty days at the facilities for the production of water, food, air, and energy.”
“Even you?”
“Well … my contributions may be more advisory in nature.”
“Of course,” Vivian said with some disappointment. Even on Mars, it seemed the wealthy found ways to avoid getting their hands dirty. She had reached the sign, lettered in bold on the top of the large door. “Oh—the water treatment plant. I’d love to go inside.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Vivian bit her lip to hide a smile at his carefully neutral expression. “Another day, I mean. When I met Chancellor Hawk, I was surprised to hear them say that there was a water shortage on Catena. Arcadia doesn’t seem to have any problems with water.”
“You met Chancellor Hawk? First the law library and then meeting a foreign politician. You have certainly been getting around, Vivian.” Ren seemed a bit bewildered by the conversation, as if Vivian was not staying in the box he’d put her in.
A rebellious part of her enjoyed shocking him …
but, no, she didn’t want to drive him away. He was her best option.
“I was with Reverend Adair at the time,” she explained.
“Oh … I suppose that’s alright then.” He took a breath and offered her his arm. “Would you care for a stroll around the district, my lady?”
Vivian let her smile show. He might have a sense of humor after all. “I would love that.”
Roaming the industrial district felt like her textbook coming to life.
Every industry she’d read about was represented, each building maximizing the limited square footage by reaching multiple stories into the air.
After a walk of a good twenty minutes, they reached a structure labeled Terraforming Research Facility.
In the doorway, Caspian Hayes stepped through, putting a top hat upon his head as he ducked out. He stopped short upon seeing them. “Counselor Nakamura, Miss Bowen, what a pleasant surprise.” He touched a hand to his hat.
“Counselor Hayes, how do you do?” Ren asked stiffly, and Vivian remembered witnessing the disdainful way he and Mitzi King had spoken about Xavier and the Hayes siblings on her second day on Mars.
“Vivian and I were just touring the industrial district. It seems she has an interest in Martian Collective Sovereignty.”
“Do you?” Caspian’s eyes brightened. “I’ve been trying to convince the Council to expand the definition to include terraforming.
Unfortunately, without success. The Council does not regard an effort that will benefit our descendants, and not ourselves, as essential to the well-being of all Martians. ”
“Surely,” Ren snarled. “Witnessing River Hawk debase themselves in front of the Council to beg us for water is a cautionary tale. We cannot take our staples for granted.”
Vivian wondered what Xavier would say if he were a part of the conversation. Even if Ren and Xavier were political rivals, she suspected Xavier would agree with him on this. She should ask him the next time she saw him.
Her stomach clenched. There wouldn’t be a next time. Xavier had promised as much.
“I come from a place,” she ventured, “where the government doesn’t care about the basic needs of its citizens. I hope that the Council will always make sure our needs are met.”
“Well said,” Ren told her approvingly and patted her hand on his arm.
Caspian shrugged good-naturedly. “Point taken. How is your sister, Miss Bowen?”
“Very well,” Vivian replied automatically. “She has chosen Mitzi King as her partner and is nearing two weeks into her pregnancy.”
“I heard,” Caspian said with a good cheer that rang false.
“She was sorry to see you take yourself out of the running,” Vivian told him, wanting to wipe the false bravado off his expression.
She was rewarded by seeing Caspian’s face fall. “So was I,” he murmured. “Very sorry indeed. I—” He looked at Ren and then back to Vivian. “Ivey and I both decided that as much as we hope for a continuation of the Hayes line, this approach was not for us. I wish—” He broke off without finishing.
“You mean you let Dorsey do your thinking for you,” Ren snapped.
Caspian jutted out his chin. “I’m my own man. X simply made a compelling case. The sacrifice asked of the Red Mothers is too great.” He bowed to Vivian. “Forgive me, Miss Bowen. This does not seem to be a fit matter to discuss in front of you.”
A snort of laughter escaped Vivian before she could suppress it. Yes, why discuss a procedure that directly impacts my own health in front of me?
Under her fingers, Vivian could feel the tension vibrating off of Ren as he said, “I would think, Counselor, that as a fervent supporter of terraforming, you of all people would understand. Are we not taking an action today that will directly benefit our descendants? And we’re doing it in a much shorter timeline than converting the planet’s atmosphere.
It’s a sacrifice necessary for our long-term survival that our generation must bear. ”
“You are not the one making the sacrifice.” A red flush stained Caspian’s pale face as he looked pointedly at Vivian.
While she appreciated Caspian’s sentiment, Vivian understood why Ren had spoken in terms of a generational sacrifice.
Her mind turned to Wim on his knees wrestling with his artificial god.
What would it do to this generation of Martian aristocrats to witness their wives go through the agonizing pain of carrying the modified fetuses to term? Three times. Vivian shuddered.
“I should get Vivian home.” Ren made a gesture to his driver, who’d been following in the groundcar a discreet distance behind as they walked the district.
Caspian bowed. “A pleasure to see you, Miss Bowen. Please … tell your sister …”
“I’m not telling my sister anything,” Vivian said, more sharply than she intended. “Delilah’s already chosen a spouse. And it’s not you.”