The Martian Lie

Interludes

Interludes

I. The First Settlers

Back in NASA's heyday, they had helped The Father put men on Mars. The Father, who had the vision and a crash-course in the technical know how and some smart minds behind him, didn't have the decades of tried-and-true space exploration knowledge that NASA possessed. The Father used them for what they were worth, then took the credit himself, resulting in the loss of their funding and the control of space travel to Supply Line 16. One could say NASA technically morphed into Supply Line 16, like when an older model of a vehicle upgrades to the new year and changes its name while keeping the best parts of the original. This would have worked as an explanation, except "NASA" still remained. It existed as a tiny group of men who watched the sky - the men whose last moment in the spotlight was still on its way.

But, back in its prime, NASA had been the backbone of the first settlement on Mars. It had been their job to pick the best and brightest from their ranks in areas such as Botany, Engineering, and Aeronautics to build the dome that became the home of those involved in the terraformation. It had been their job to make sure all the technicalities of the trip were in place. They ran mission control, just as they had when they put Neil Armstrong on the moon the first time.

When the human race first began to think about making it to Mars, it was only for a visit. Basically, for bragging rights, much like the Moon missions of the 1960's. But The Father's vision of becoming an interplanetary species had incited in the citizens of the world a feeling the must have matched the feeling in Europe when a few brave souls left for the New World to settle it. In short, they felt they had to conquer. It was a feeling as primal and unstoppable as the need to eat. Pure survival instinct. On two planets, humanity would have a better chance of survival. The Father stirred up this mission and even tried to make it happen on his own, but he needed NASA. The Mars mission - AdamEve - went down in the history books as a Genesis of sorts. Not only were these people the first to step foot on the planet, they settled it.

One of the men on this mission was the black sheep.

The people were vetted, of course. They endured countless hours of interviews and physical and psychological testing. Family members and acquaintances were interviewed to corroborate the evidence put forth by the persons themselves. Aptitude tests and simulations were given. No stone went unturned.

But there is always room to slip through the cracks, and Karin Aldrin managed to do it.

Perhaps it was because of her last name. She wasn't related to the late Buzz Aldrin, but perhaps the name elicited some kind of trust in her space-faring abilities among the panel of experts meant to clean out those like her. Those that would have a breakdown at leaving their home planet and everyone they knew. Those who would be unable to handle the desolation of a planet with no life.

It didn't start in space. Karin had been there before. She had done several missions to the international space station to test the growth of her plants there. She was a botanist. But Earth was always big in her window while she sat in the greenhouse. She could communicate with her family members face to face, in real time, even if it was through a screen.

It didn't even happen at first on Mars. She enjoyed setting up the domes. There was a sense of purpose there. She was the lead botanist. She liked assigning jobs and beginning to see green grow on the red planet, albeit indoors. She had a mission, which is something that can mask the deepest of inner turmoil.

But inner turmoil she had, and although it was ignored for a time, it was never dealt with, and it reared its ugly head one afternoon after she had finished monitoring her garden.