SpacePorch

Mars: Yvette Lowry

Yvette Lowry
Age: 27
Birthday: September 21
Former Birthplace: Vancouver, (BC) British Columbia, Canada
Current Location: Mars

Hello everyone, my name is Yvette Lowry and I grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I lived with my mother, Bobbie, my father, Duncan, my big brother, Trent, and my Anatolian Shepherd dog, Brody. My mother worked as an electrician to a local electrical company, Protogen, my father worked as a car rental agent at a company, Carter's Car Rental, and my older brother is an owner of a very successful e-commerce company, Mudskipper. Finally, I met Brody as a puppy at a market all alone, after I was told no one chose him. I still remembered the way he wagged his tail was when I picked him up and showed him to my parents. The reason why I chose Spacexpansion was to look for work somewhere where Earth couldn't provide.

I already had trouble trying to find jobs on Earth after graduating fresh out of the University of British Columbia as a game developer. I sent several applications to no avail, and I have a new  pc my brother gifted me last year, which I used to make indie games which I sold online to make money in order to pay rent to the landlord. Living in a small apartment in Vancouver, I always have to keep with rent as British Columbia is super expensive. I could consider myself lucky as many patrons and gamers online provide enough money for my games to make ends meet in addition to the money I saved up from the previous jobs during and after college. Unfortunately, the rent would always increased every now and then. Then one day, while working at my desk for another upcoming potential project, I heard the doorbell ring.
Brody sprang at the door from his blue bed as I followed. While peeping through the door's peephole, there stood my next door neighbour, Scott Hebert wearing an orange t-shirt with a swirly sun, blue shorts and a polyester grocery bag filled with goods on his right hand. "Hi, Yve!," greeted Scott staring straight at the peephole. "Hey Scott, how's it going?," I replied. "Do you mind if I come in?," he asked. "Sure thing," I responded. As I opened the door for Scott, Brody sprang up on him and began licking him. "Hey, boy, it's glad to see you too!," laughed Scott. "Okay, Brody, I think he's had enough," I smiled, patting Brody. "Oh, I almost forgot,"noted Scott. "I got something for Brody,". Scott reached into his grocery bag and pulled out a chew toy in a shape of a wishbone. "It's turkey flavoured too," he added.

Scott removed the toy from its package before throwing it to Brody. As Brody cheerfully chewed on his new toy, Scott reached into his bag again for energy drinks. "So, how are things with your new game?," asked Scott. "So far so good," I chirped. "this one's going to be a hit,". "Well, you were our team's biggest brainstormer in BCU," laughed Scott. "No wonder you stood out in your previous jobs,". Scott's ecstatic demeanor soon turned somber. "What's wrong?," I asked. "The new rent increase for the appartement," sighed Scott. "The landlord posted it this morning,". I held my breath, preparing the worst. "And?," I prodded. "The rent that was originally $2,000 has now risen up by 25% this year," Scott replied. I let out a heavy sigh. Although my company, Etoile, has been successful, the rental rate would eventually catch up, making near to impossible to cover everything.

“Also, have you heard about Spacexpansion?,” mentioned Scott. Brody and I looked at Scott in confusion. “Spacexpansion?,” I asked. “What's that and what does it have to do with our situation right now,”?. Scott picked up a black pamphlet with an orange logo of the Earth with a yellow vortex each surrounding it. “Spacexpansion is an organization in which recipients choose the terraformed planets outside of Earth,” explained Scott. “whether it's Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Uranus, Venus, Neptune, or even the Moon. The sole vision of Spacexpansion is to solve the problems that have been hindering  the human race for years. Poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, and of course, scammers,”. Intrigued by this, I wanted to get on board with the phenomenon. “Okay, when do I get started?,” I asked. “Well, the portals are opened weekly from 9 to 5,” answered Scott. “so it's best you book an appointment with them online asap,”.

“Portals?,” I asked. “Yeah,” replied Scott. “the portals are the gateway that Spacexpansion uses to teleport new residents to their desired terraformed planets through their spaceships without any delays. You’ll be able to locate them through the Spacexpansion website, along with the schedule for each portal. But you better hurry, seats for the ships are very limited, so no tardies,”. I was still full of answers. “Is that even possible to teleport people to other planets?,” I asked. “And what kind of ships?,” “The ships that are similar to the aeroplanes, but in space,”. I pondered around the thought. Then it hit me. “Do you mean like those space planes? The ones that scientists have been testing to accomplish space travel?,” Scott nodded his head. “It took years to accomplish it,” started Scott. “but in the end, they managed to accomplish what many people back in the day deemed impossible,”.

Although the thought of a new life on another planet loomed over my head, I couldn't help but think of my life here on Earth. It's true that I haven't received a lot of job requests since graduating BCU. Despite all this, I managed to start Etoile and make a fortune through the numerous games I released  across Canada and worldwide. But looking at my laptop, my drawing desk, my equipment and numerous sketchbooks stacked up from previous and current projects, conflicted on whether or not I’ll have to shutdown Etoile. “But, what about my company?” I pondered. “If I decide to move to another planet, I might have to break the news to my patrons, publishers, and audience,”. “About that,” noted Scott. “since we have terraformed planets, you can do still do business outside Earth through interplanetary trades,”. My concerns became relief. “So when do I start?,” I asked.

That Saturday, I had already finished packing up all my things from my apartment, with Brody behind me chewing on the same toy gifted by Scott . My phone repeatedly rang. I picked up the phone to see my mother’s phone number. “Hey, Mom,” greeted Mom. «Hey, sweetie» beamed Mom. «I'm with your father and Trent and just wanted to know how you're doing with your indie game studio?». “I’m doing very well,” I responded. «That’s great, honey» added my father. «Yeah, my friend’s little brother and his friends got hooked on one of your games» acknowledged Trent. I was surprised get acknowledgment, especially by Trent. Then I held my breath. “Mom, Dad, Trent,” I announced.“this will shock you , but I booked a trip with Spacexpansion. I’m going to Mars,”. My family was in disbelief. «Are you serious?! Spacexpansion?!», exclaimed Trent. «Congratulations!» bubbled my mother. «About time» said my father.

«Anyways, how much will the flight cost ?» asked my mother. «and when are you leaving?».“The flight costs $35,” I answered. “and my scheduled flight to be leaving Monday at 7 am, so I’ll have to be at the portal by 5 am,”. “Alright,” said my father. “call us when you arrive,”. “Okay, Bye!,” I responded. With that, I hung up the phone. “Well, bud,” I beamed, scratching Brody’s fur. “the SpacePorch cargo team be there any minute,” Then heard the doorbell ring. As I opened the door, a man in a black uniform and cap holding a clipboard appeared . “Are you Yvette Lowry from the seventh floor, room number 234?,” said the man. “Yep,” I replied. He picked up his phone. “Alright folks, prepare for packing,” he responded. They say that prior to its terraformation, Mars was originally parched and actually gelid, despite the belief that it was humid.

While reading this a pamphlet while awaiting in a building near the portal, I saw a familiar face sitting on my left.“I heard it's sought after too!,” bursted a voice behind me.  “Scott?,”I gasped. “Looks like we’re sharing a planet too, huh?” laughed Scott. “Now where’s Brody?,”. “I had to put Brody in cage for the cargo pet plane,”. I watched as Brody was shifted to the cargo plane. “See you there, bud,” I apologized. As Scott and I were called separately, we went through SpacePorch security team before we boarding the plane to portal. “Thank you for choosing SpacePorch,” announced the pilot. When we reached Mars, we were astonished how familiar it was to Earth, especially with the  two moons, Deimos and Phobos. We moved into a townhouse addressed to us and was able to start anew with Brody and Scott. Thanks Spaceporch for making this possible.