prev p283
‘Zak,’ continued Mum, ‘however you feel about moving to Mars, and remember it’s not something I would have chosen, we are starting a new life there. You must grasp that, and not spend your time looking back.’
‘Yes Mum,’ said Zak. He didn’t want to argue about it now. He wasn’t sure if she could ever come round to his point of view, but at some point he would make the effort to explain it, to try and make her understand.
The pod emerged from the tunnel, and into a windowed chute, not unlike the one they arrived in. At the end of the chute was the space station, similar but smaller to Earth One. The big difference was the view. Ahead of them loomed a giant orange globe – Mars.
Over the past few weeks he had seen many sights the likes of which he had not seen before. But this one topped them all. The difference with Earth could not be more striking. There were no clouds, no blue water and no green land. The ashen orange surface could be seen unbroken. It looked every bit the barren wasteland he had once condemned.
‘It’s amazing,’ he said involuntarily. His words were met with a chorus of agreement.
He scanned for the cities, but couldn’t spot any sign of development, because by the scale of the planet it was still so small. The environment looked pristine from up here. Yet down on that surface, dramas were being played out that had culminated in the attack on the Colossus.
Despite all he had experienced in recent months, Zak was bursting with fear and excitement.
‘This is one hell of a planet!’ he declared.
The End
prev p283
