One Way To Mars

Chapter 9

They had slept for hours. Monkleywoke first, jumping onto Foreman's chest.

'What? Oh. You're awake, so youthink I should be awake. I guess you're right. Boy. I don't knowabout you, but I needed that.' Natural sunlight streaked through thetranslucent roof of the base. 'I have no idea what time it is, butit's day outside. Right now, I'm feeling like a tourist who went onholiday and never left the resort. How about you and I taking a spinin the horseless carriage and have a look around?'

'Fun?' Monkley only understoodone word in ten, but Foreman's new upbeat mood sounded promising.'Play?'

'Sort of play. Yeah. Come on.'

Monkley had to wear his own spacesuit, because it was the only one small enough. Foreman found a newone, and fitted full oxygen packs to both suits. The controls on thebuggy were basic forwards and reverse, a steering wheel, and a brakepedal. That was it. Closing the inner airlock door, Foreman openedthe outer door and drove out. He stopped as soon as he was clear ofthe airlock.

'Monkley. Go close the door, willyou?'

Monkley jumped down, hit thebutton to close the door and jumped back in his seat. Casting aridiculously long shadow, Olympus Mons stretched out into the Martiansky, the end disappearing into the red dust laden atmosphere.Immediately in front of the base main airlock doors was a ramp,constructed to drive the buggy up the side of the crater to theplateau above without the risk of rolling over in the soft iron richsand. Foreman took that route, the six wheels sending red dust cloudsup behind them. After a steady three hundred yard climb, they rockedover the lip of the crater. Once on the plateau, Foreman stopped.Before them for as far as the horizon, the desolate beauty of the redplanet.

Deciding not to stray far inunfamiliar territory, with its landscape of gentle undulations,Foreman followed the rim of the crater. It looked like a sunny day inthe Nevada desert, but he knew that the cold would kill theminstantly, with just the thermal insulation and temperature controlunit of their suits stopping that from happening. And if that didn'tget them, the CO 2 would finish them off. As they drove around thecrater, Foreman's mood became more sombre with each mile. It tooknearly two hours to circumnavigate the crater and return to the ramp.Before driving down the slope, Foreman took in the bleak and lifelessplanet.

With a sigh, his true situationstruck him hard. He was the only human on the planet. If theunthinkable had happened on Earth, he could literally be the last manever. With that sombre thought, he drove at a steady speed down theramp, Monkley jumping out to open the airlock, waiting as Foremandrove inside before closing the outer doors, and opening the innerairlock doors. Once safely inside, Foreman removed his helmet andsuit. Monkley did the same.

'It's official, pal. At least forthe time being, it's just you and me.'

Monkley looked up at him, hishuge soft brown eyes with a wisdom and understanding belying hischimpanzee features. The GenMop was a clone from a tiny family ofother GenMops. Now he too was perhaps the last of his kind. It wasentirely possible neither of them would ever see another of their ownkind until the day they died.

'Hungry,' said Monkley,disappearing into the jungle.

Foreman watched him go, wonderingif the little guy could only see the deep sadness of their situationwhen he looked up at the human. It was obviously easier to think ofbananas rather than think of himself as being one life away fromextinction. Foreman stripped naked, filled the jar with fresh dope,slipped into the small pool and endeavoured to obliterate the darkdespondent thoughts from his mind.