The World Above Us

Chapter 1

Allison

Allison Hernandez strolled down First Street. She passed the HoverPort and the various robot-manned food stations lining the roadway. She fluffed her jet black hair and glanced up at the Dome, marveling at the red Martian dust that blew over it in thick clouds. She figured she would never get used to that.

Allison was among the second wave of astronauts to call the red planet home. She had been training for this since she graduated college and joined the space program ten years ago. She had been thirteen when the Original Ten touched down on the red planet in 2038. Ever since Georgia Holland had become the first human to step foot on another planet, Allison knew space was her calling. Although, she could do without the Original Ten's fate upon trying to establish a colony.

She smoothed the stretchy Spandex-type fabric of her exercise suit and pressed on with her walk. She had been alternating between walking and jogging for the better part of the morning. As part of the astronauts' fitness plan, she had to manage an hour of cardio each day. She huffed as her space-grade tennis shoes slapped the pavement. The pavement had been specially imported from Earth when the colony was built.

After what happened to the Original Ten, NASA and other private companies responsible for landing them on Mars formulated a plan to better keep future astronauts safe. They had constructed a 60-mile wide dome made from impenetrable space-grade glass on the Martian surface. Once the second wave of colonists landed, they had inflated their habitats and made camp underneath the Dome.

Allison and twenty others were the first to settle underneath the Dome. Gradually, their numbers grew as more private companies began to send their own astronauts to Mars. The Dome currently had a population of about one hundred.

She passed the gym habitat where all their workout equipment was stored. She breathed in the smell of the artificial lawn that had been put down by Novae Terrae, the private company currently funding the Dome from back on Earth. She stared up at the midsize glass buildings that rose up out of the ground. She was amazed that the company had been able to acquire the funding to build permanent structures.

As she jogged, she passed the Novae Terrae headquarters. Located at the heart of the Dome, the Novae Terrae headquarters rose high above all the other buildings. The sunlight glinted off the space-grade glass before another dust cloud blew over the Dome, blocking out the light. The company's name was printed in circular futuristic-looking letters across the side of the building.

Allison checked her fitness log on her holo watch. A bright blue light projected the numbers in front of her. She sighed when she realized she still had twenty minutes to go. She tapped out of the holo feature and the numbers disappeared, readable only on the watch itself.

She turned on the voice feature on her watch and said, "show me Mom and Dad." Instantly, the holo flashed her a picture of her parents back on Earth. It was one of their vacations to the Bahamas before the Bahamas had gone under during Hurricane Bentley in 2041.

Her mother's hair was blown back by the wind and her father was squinting at the camera, trying to shield his eyes from the bright sun. Their thick black hair was beginning to go grey in this picture. Her dad had a bald spot in the middle of his head. Allison smiled. She wondered how they were doing. Due to the regulations about contacting Earth, calls home were only permitted once a month with clearance from Novae Terrae.

Allison would always feel guilty about leaving them. She was their only child. They had sacrificed so much so she could achieve her dreams of becoming an astronaut. That vacation to the Bahamas was the only one they'd had since Allison was born. She had come to Mars to make them proud and show them their sacrifices weren't in vain. Even if it meant never getting to see them again.