The Box Has Twelve Sides: Thirteen Curious Tales to Delight and Disturb

MOMMA'S BOY

HE HAD JUST PUT the finishing touches on what would be the inaugural display of the New Mars History Museum. There would be many exhibits to follow, but this one had a special place for him. There would never be another artifact like it.

After nearly four years of colonization on the red planet, the leaders had followed his advice and put aside enough credits to start this museum, naming him curator as an added bonus. One day, his children's children would visit this place and see what was endured to tame this hostile world.

Securing the aged and rusted metal onto its base, he was overcome with a sense of melancholy unlike any that had come before. The golden-grey alloy was pitted with green Martian rust; a rust looking vaguely similar while at the same time strikingly different than its Terran counterpart.

On the exhibit's plaque, Dean Bishop's name stood in relief as the contributor. He smiled to himself, a sense of pride in seeing his name on something so prominently featured. There were plenty of times he had remembered, regretted and thought twice about the course of events which brought him to this moment on this new world.

They were the first, the colonization parties which landed on this bleak and desolate planet to make a new home, not only for themselves, but for the people of Earth as well. The colonists had chosen a one-way ticket to, for all they knew, certain death. Nothing of this magnitude had ever been attempted. Not even Columbus, in his quest for the new world, had gone up against such insurmountable odds. But they did.

And they persevered.

Not only did they survive, they found a way to make the impossible possible. Thanks to a multi-national consortium, the group had unlimited funds and was able to put the best minds on the planet onto some pretty unsolvable problems. Answers were found to questions they didn't even know they had.

Dean was on the third of nine spaceships launched from Earth beginning in 2022. There were twelve astronauts on each ship, all with non-refundable tickets to the unknown. There would be no return trip to Earth, no matter what happened. Each of the expeditions could crash upon arrival, and every one of the succeeding launches would still take place.

It was their fate, their destiny.

The colonization of Mars.

Other than the purest spirit of discovery and curiosity, there was no immediate need to leave the comfort of Earth and reach out to Mars. There wasn't a worldwide famine, zombie apocalypse or nuclear holocaust which was forcing mankind to abandon their home world. On the contrary, Earth was becoming a much better place to live. Environmentalists and capitalists were finally working together, coming to a balance between ecological disaster and human advancement. Earth was as much of a home as it had ever been. Nevertheless, it is human nature to explore.

Each colonist left behind loved ones, family and friends. Each had left humanity behind as well. And each had something to look forward to: establishing life on another planet.

It was important for everyone involved to remember where they came from. Each person, in essence, had taken a piece of what made them who they were and planted it in the alien soil. Each colonist had a unique path which had led them here.

Dean, like everyone else, had a story to tell. There were reasons and motivations galore which drove each to make this momentous decision and risk it all. His was just as personal.

While the other colonists were looking for reasons to go, he was looking for meaning in his life, a purpose to define his existence. And the answer came from the most unlikely of places.

April, 2017

"Have you ever thought about going to Mars?"

The question caught Dean completely off guard. His mom had always kidded with him about the most bizarre things at the oddest of times, but this one was out of left field. He swallowed the bite of cake before replying.