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Old Earth History 101

Class OEH1

Page 12

As a result of the unprecedented global crisis, governments across the globe did not invest in the technology required for terraforming Mars. Terraforming called for transforming Mars' atmosphere to become habitable for sustaining life without human intervention through warming the planet.

Frozen carbon dioxide reservoirs that had been discovered on Mars' surface pointed to the possibility of terraforming the planet through melting these reservoirs by inducing a 'global warming' effect. How would this melting have been achieved? Through a magnetic field generator built to deflect solar particles and heat from the sun onto Mars.

Another viable solution was mining and burning carbon-rich minerals from the ground, however, the few mines established by Mars' fifth First in Command; Arnold Dale Harmon, were quick to fall victim to Mars' frequent violent earthquakes – posing a dire health risk to miners and thus, were abandoned.

Mars' 37th First in Command; Rosalia Maree Harmon, opted for an alternative route to ensuring the acquirement of a future as similar to humanity's past as possible – sending five young, brave scientists on a one-way trip to scope the nature of Earth, settle and be the first of many to come to redevelop civilization. Against all odds, communication was successfully received from the team to Mars, confirming that it is possible to re-colonize Earth, although, there were still three obstacles – life would have to consist of underground bunkers until Earth had terraforming of its own, radiation had yet to go back to a safe level and mutated animals posed a new, unfamiliar danger.

Subsequently, two decades later, First in Command Rosalia Harmon, Mars Officials and the Earth team constructed a legally binding treaty to ensure the project of reviving Earth would not be abandoned. This was dubbed the Eden Pact under which five young, healthy Martians will be sent to Earth every sixteen years to add to the gene pool and community.

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With a sigh, Nila closes the hologram of her textbook she had open in front of her with a swipe of her finger and turns her gaze out of the small window looking out into the black abyss called space. She leans against the glass and focuses on nothing in particular in the star-speckled, jet-black void full with beautiful splashes of fluorescent coloured masterpieces. The black smeared with the slight reddish hue of Mars' atmosphere makes for an even prettier painting in her memory. Her eyes twinkle in admiration in the reflection of the thick glass. She eventually turns her gaze to a special star in the sky. From Mars, Earth, cannot be seen with the naked eye. It often appears like a bright star, sometimes dimmer depending on which precinct one lives in. However, much to her enjoyment, every afternoon before dinner, she'd sit in her favourite spot and switch onto one of the few television channels Mars actually has. One of them showcases Earth, via an advanced telescope trained on the brown, red and gold globe. Specifically for those who are either feeling "homesick" or simply curious as to what it looks like.

"M.A.I, channel five please," she requests Mars' Artificial Intelligence system and turns her head to examine the hologram that almost immediately appears below the white ceiling.

Much like the two moons orbiting Mars, Earth, being closer to the sun, also has changing phases. Tonight, the blip of a planet compared to the ones humanity has knowledge of now, has the form of a waxing crescent. Its atmosphere is a murky mixture of brown and red with limited hints of green but nevertheless, Earth still looks beautiful.

"Zoom in," she demands, and the image blurs into a tunnel vision as the camera struggles to keep up with the lightening-speed magnification.

A choir of obnoxious laughter closes in behind her. "Zoom out times ten! Play fun facts!" 

Subsequently, her view of Earth is momentarily interrupted as the lens zooms out so the planet just resembles a brownish blob. Like a cherry on top, the fun facts about Earth playlist begins to play - something people rarely activate as everyone over the age of five would surely have them memorised.

A robotic woman's voice happily chimes in. "Fun facts about Earth. One: 70% of the Earth's surface was once covered in water. Two: Earth is the densest planet in the solar system with its metallic co-"

With a roll of her eyes, Nila glaringly watches as a group of prepubescent boys run past laughing and punching each other's shoulders as if it was a job well done. They head full speed to the cafeteria and slide around a corner out of sight.

"Nuclear fallout did not reach the depths of the 11,034 meters deep Mariana Trench until a century post the detonation of Pandora's Box-"

Nila lets out a sigh. "Zoom in times ten. Stop fun facts," and returns her gaze to the screen.

Earth's atmosphere is a murky mixture of brown and red but nevertheless, the planet still looks beautiful. Nila has only seen its former glory in children's books. One can only imagine the vast deserts and unforgiving sun-scorched terrains the planet has now. Unfortunately, there aren't many informational books on the aftermath of Pandora's Box, so children's books are the closest source of info that she, along with all the rest of Mars' youth has.

The year is now 4066 A.E.F (After Earth's Fall). As the community has aged one year older, so has she. Lately, the thought of if her time will come to visit Earth has consumed her mind. No, when her time will come. 'You've just turned sixteen, sweetheart, you're eligible for The Draw now!' The memory of her mother's all so enthusiastic voice echoes in her ears.

The Draw- the biggest opportunity of a lifetime! Lately, the pressure has been on and layered on thick. But that's okay. She's always on the top of her training classes. Perhaps it will be her amongst the few that stands upon that gleaming stage? Perhaps this might just be her year? But then again, her mother and father didn't succeed. The annual draw presents young Martians such as herself the opportunity to sacrifice their life on Mars for the greater good of humanity by competing in gruelling, extensive physical-based competition. Win? And you'll be sent with three others to Earth in order to aid in the re-colonisation of the human race's original home. It all sounded so great and honourable to Nila when she was younger and the thought reminds her of that one class with Mrs Muchannon in the first grade. Mrs Muchannon claimed that there were no aliens when humans arrived on Mars, but what if that's changed?

Who would be considered aliens now? Nila ponders, the Drawn on Earth who arrived in shuttles and space suits or them, on Mars, living in a colony, millions of years after Earth's reckoning, that her ancestors wouldn't have been able to fathom the idea of?

"Nila! Nila!" a woman hisses and tugs at her dress, snapping her out of her daydream.

The woman towers over her daughter with her arms akimbo, glaring at Nila reproachfully. A familiar expression for Nila.

"Hmm?"

Nila's mother clicks her tongue and shakes her head at her daughter's response. 'Dillydallying again?' her disappointed eyes seem to say. Nila simply blinks as her mother's fingers curl around her wrists and she's swiftly dragged towards the dining hall.

"Where have you been? You'll be late for dinner and you know they won't save food for latecomers. Were you planning to starve?" the woman lectures potently as they speed walk down the glossy, white corridors. "This idleness isn't like you."

"I'm not the only latecomer. A group of boys were in a hurry to get there."

Her mother looks down at her with slitted eyes. "At least, they  were in a hurry."

At that, Nila bites her tongue instead of saying anything further. 

Over the centuries that the human race has been on Mars, a city or "community" of sorts had been developed. Which is surrounded by a dome made of layers of immensely thick glass. The dome has numerous bars across the inside of it, where in case of an emergency, a tough, metal-like material would cover the dome for extra resistance against asteroids or storms. Nila can just faintly see the shine of a dented and scratched metal bar overhead, displaying the battle scars of a recent hurricane.

As she's dragged against her will down the long, winding corridors, something gets snagged on one of her feet. Whatever it is pulls backwards against her white-coloured sneaker, causing her heart to lunge into her throat and Nila's heart skips a beat as she almost falls flat on her face. Brushing her dress down, she regains her balance. Her mother, however, didn't seem to take much notice of her lovely trip. It's not long before she gets dragged by the arm once again. Taking a quick glance over her shoulder, Nila catches sight of the pesky obstruction on the floor. A thick, long, black generator cord lays curled up like a snake on the polished tiles.

"Careful. Hurry up."

Ironically, nuclear generators power much of the energy used by the community, the light from the sun not being nearly strong enough.

'I guess that's what you get for not appreciating the planet that was 'just right' enough. Like Goldilocks, we had to go and break all the chairs until we had nowhere to sit.' Nila finds herself getting lost in her thoughts again and her mother's blabbering becomes nothing but white noise.

Adorable, little gardens located in just about every corridor are areas in which Nila takes much joy hanging out by. The gardens are lit with artificial light and in addition to food, supply some of the oxygen needed by the community. If only they had towering trees to match the mini flower fields and grassy patches, Nila would feel like she were actually in a fairytale. Taking Mars' total population into account, solely relying on trees was too high maintenance and would require too many resources to achieve, so the scientists on Mars had found a way to create man-made oxygen molecules. Every few meters is a ceiling vent that those molecules flow out of. The small gusts of wind they emit hit Nila's face at consistent intervals as she speed-walks down the corridor.

Living under such fragile conditions means everyone has to follow strict, necessary rules in order to ensure survival. These rules are always the same, regardless of what precinct of Mars a person lives in. There are at least ten of these precincts if she can remember correctly from her Mars Geography class. All of them only have their number (based on the areas' order of settlement). Nila's home precinct is the seventh community to have been built since escapees from Earth arrived on Mars. At first, people aspired to set up countries like those on Earth but it quickly became clear that such plans would fail. As for names? Names are unnecessary, why provide reasons for pride? Pride was what made Earth fall. Pride was what unleashed Pandora's Box. Or at least, that is what has been speculated by Mars' elders throughout history. And Nila can't argue with that logic. 'Respect your elders' is a motto Mars adopted heavily and it's one they teach strictly to the planet's youth.

Mars has always had the same set of rules, ever since the first settlers arrived and struggled for survival. Therefore, according to their wisdom:

You cannot have children unless over eighteen.

No couple is allowed to have more than one child.

You must eat everything that is given to you.

Over-eating is not permitted.

No stealing food.

No exchanging food.

No wasting resources.

All children must attend classes and/or training.

No one is allowed outside their district's dome unless they are an owner of the tradesman/tradeswoman title.

No wandering to different workplaces unless authorised.

No changing of one's occupation is allowed unless authorised.

Missing and/or skipping meals is prohibited under any circumstances.

Always take your pills.

All thirteen of these rules can be found practically anywhere the public eye can see and Nila's mother has no problem pointing out rule number twelve for the second time as they bypass a red, bold, impossible-to-miss sign listing them on a wall.

Though, rule thirteen irks her the most. Just the thought of those foul-tasting pills makes Nila grimace. According to Mars' substantial medical team, the pills are a compensation for the lack of natural sunshine, dietary requirements and other shortcomings in the environment of Mars. Whilst other times, they're said to strengthen human's immune systems against certain illnesses only present on the red planet. After dinner, everyone is expected to gulp down two or three small, white pills. The amount depending on a citizen's age. Nila, being sixteen, has to take three. Each pill tasting increasingly disgusting after the other. The older you get, the more the size and number of the pills decrease. Which is exactly why Nila can't wait for her next birthday.

Although Nila comes to the dining quarters every day, she's still momentarily blinded by the stark whiteness within. The walls, plates, seats, everything is bathed in white paint. White, no matter where a citizen goes, is often the most dominant colour in any room. The cafeteria is no exception and probably the biggest culprit.

However, amongst all this white, there are the Holos. Another one of Nila's daily annoyances. They stick out like sore thumbs due to the electric blue screens they emit into the air. Whiteboards, books, paper, phones, they've all been replaced with easily transportable square, black boxes. Officials constantly fiddle with them in their hands, sort of like a Rubik's cube as they munch on their dinner. Whilst guards use the Holos as a data tracking device, marching up and down the long tables to check everyone has their correct portions of food and that everyone is accommodated. Sure, they store massive amounts of data and look cool but the fluorescent, thin projections are harsh to the eye from far away. Nila blinks a few to get a good look at one man's statistics. Perhaps they might even be taking a toll on her eyesight? She wouldn't be surprised. Few out of the many waiters wear a new version of the Holos. A white, shiny virtual reality device that hooks onto the side of their head, connecting into who knows where so they can access the same information through their very own eyes. No bright lights and glitchy holograms involved! If only everyone could hurry up and switch to those.

Wiping down her knee-length white dress, she takes her usual seat beside her mother.

"Hi, dad."

Her father sits across from her and averts his eyes from his Holo, no doubt scanning through the afternoon's work. He wipes his mouth of some stray broth and smiles.

"Hi pumpkin," he replies, then looks at his wife. "Hello, gorgeous."

Nila is no stranger to the dark circles that underline his eyes; remnants of weeks of grief over losing his parents and effectively, Nila's grandparents. They passed just under a month ago, it still hasn't felt the same without them, even more so at dinner time. There's a glimpse of relief in her father's eyes and Nila can sense why. Ever since her grandparents passed away, two friends of her mother's insisted on showing their support and providing some company; Alice and Mabel. The two forty-something-year-olds follow her mother around like squawking geese as the three of them are all Officials. As more time passes, Nila continues to strengthen her theory that they don't truly feel for her family's loss but simply like being associated with her mother because she's high up in Social Relations - public management, social disputes and events etcetera, etcetera.

"Janice!" the two ladies exclaim enthusiastically, each taking turns to plant kisses on her cheeks. As usual, Nila's mothers smile beams and she returns the kisses before taking a seat.

Mabel clears her throat, "Janny dear, we were just discussing the annual senatorial party Kathleen's husband is hosting this year. Did you get an invitation?"

And just as quickly as her smile arrived, it dissolves into a complexed frown. "Oh..no I don't think so."

While her mother and the two geese continue blabbering on, Nila locks eyes with her dad and lets out a giggle as he rolls his eyes.

"Oh and we were just talking about how wonderful it is that your daughter is going into The Draw! I'll tell you then, Janice, once Adam hears about that I'm sure he'll invite you and Jerad to his party. Nothing greater than having a daughter as honourable as that, hmm?" Alice turns her gaze to Nila, catching her off guard.

"Um, yeah...I guess," she says with an awkward laugh.

Promptly, Nila feels her mother's elbow nudge her in the ribs from under the table and she looks up to see her mother's icy blue eyes staring down at her practically screaming, 'don't be rude.'

It is true about the Draw. Competing has always been considered one of the most honourable acts of service to both Mars and Earth. For the people who get Drawn, their purpose is threefold; act as soldiers on the surface to defend the numerous base camps of human civilisation from mutant animals, scavenge and restore derelict areas and the least spoken about that is always the elephant the room....add to the gene pool and repopulate. That is a given when you are aiding in the rebuilding of civilisation, she supposes. Nila got over that eventually at the start of 11th Grade when she started to view a certain boy in her class a little differently. More so now, he definitely grew into his looks compared to when they were younger in Grade 1 together. At her age now, the repopulation concept still irks her but Nila wouldn't mind becoming a little more than just friends. 

Nila clears her throat and begins scanning the room. This awkward situation would be a whole lot better with Dylan around. Dylan. The thought of him makes Nila realise his absence.

She scans the room over. 'Where is he?'

"Eat up sweetie," her father prompts eagerly after her plate of food is placed in front of her.

Looking down at her "food" she can feel the corners of her lips tug downwards. With about five billion people living on Mars, not only is food scarce but also incredibly plain. Not to mention, tasteless. Nila's plate is packed full of vegetables, vegetables and...vegetables. Her plate seems to practically glowing green and orange, with only two precious eggs. A sinking feeling makes its way down her abdomen as she analyses what she gets to eat tonight. Despite being a bit disappointed that she wasn't given any meat, she 'sucks it up, buttercup' as her dad would say and begins to munch miserably on a piece of celery.

"You seem to be enjoying your dinner."

Nila looks over her shoulder at the owner of the devious remark and rolls her eyes. "Dylan? You're late. How come you're getting fed?" she interrogates him playfully, yet a slightly bitter tone can be heard hidden underneath.

"Well, being the son of the second in command has its benefits." The raven-haired boy shrugs as he sits down beside her.

Dylan's father has the second most important role of leadership on Mars and doesn't usually attend dinner. In fact, Nila has never really seen or come in contact with the man much at all. He's far too busy advising the first in command on how to run the entire community, coordinate the pods travelling to Earth, not to mention maintaining the population and whatever else. Nila has never really cared much for the world of politics and governance. Though it sure does pay well. All that work is the price one has to pay to be a Government Official of Mars, she presumes. But in a sense, Nila feels a tad grateful as if it weren't for his absence; Dylan and herself probably would never have bonded as much as they have.

Dylan is one of Nila's best friends, besides Chloe and Anna. Together, they fit snugly like two peas in a pod. They pretty much grew up together, since they share the same sector of dorm rooms and used to be the only kids in that area. Due to the strict restrictions on childbirth, people rarely want to risk having more than one child and then have to face the hardships of the other being taken away.

In a huff and a puff, the waitress from before scurries down the many lines of tables and serves Dylan his food.

"I see you didn't get any meat this time. Want some?"

Nila immediately throws him a glare. "You know we can't do that! It'll show on my health examination. Besides, it's not real meat anyway."

"Suit yourself," he sighs and starts digging in all the while Nila miserably eyes off his food.

"On second thought..." Nila checks to and fro to make sure no one's looking and grabs a chunk.

He gives a loud gasp. "And Miss Goody-Two-Shoes rebels!" he remarks in the most dramatic tone of voice and Nila simply snorts, giving him a nudge in the ribs.

She places the cube-like chunk of "meat" discreetly on her plate whilst Dylan snidely giggles in the background and they both return to eating. Dinner is probably the most relaxing part of the day for pretty much everyone. Living on Mars isn't simple at all. Things have to be checked, food has to be grown, the dome has to be under surveillance constantly, health examinations are a daily nuisance and all minors have to do training or classes. So Dylan, Nila and her family make the most of it and happily share stories in the pleasure of each other's company while they still have the chance.

"Attention, everyone!"

Everyone's heads turn to a man standing on a podium at the back of the room, with a megaphone in hand. Even though everyone knows exactly what he's going to say, they wait patiently in attention. The same announcement is replayed every night, every single dinner, every year.

"Caretakers will be passing each and every one of you a cup of water with your designated amount of pills. You must take all of them, these are vital for your health and are very important! You all know the drill!" she and the announcer recite in unison.

"Blah." Nila makes a fake vomiting sound and sticks her tongue out at the pills placed in front of her.

Nila's mother throws her a questionable look. "Nila, they're not that bad. You're sixteen now, I shouldn't have to bribe you every dinner. Besides, you'll find that the most effective medications are the ones that taste the worst. You use to take them without question," she states and begins retying her luscious, brown locks back into a low-lying ponytail. As she waits for a response, Janice throws Dylan a friendly smile, showing off her early forming crow's feet.

"I know that but they didn't use to taste like solidified trash," she contradicts. A female caretaker places a small plastic cup in front of her and Nila examines one of the pills gingerly between her fingers.

"Nila..." her mother starts, her tone full of warning. Her eyes worryingly flutter between Alice and Mabel who sitting across from them. "Hurry up."

Nila sighs defeatedly. "Yes, mother." And braces her taste buds for what comes next.

Afterwards, Nila chugs down her cup of water then turns to Dylan.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow in training?"

"You bet."

The three loud dings that signal the end of dinner echo throughout the monstrously-large room. With that, everyone starts to get up and leave the cafeteria. Her family soon does the same and Nila waves goodbye to Dylan.

"Prepare to get embarrassed in front of everyone tomorrow!"

"We'll see about that!" he replies cheekily and turns away to walk to his dorm room.

Nila puts one leg in front of the other to make her way back to her family's room when she's abruptly pulled to a halt.

"Honey? Could we talk for a minute?"

She turns to see her smiling mother, looking down at her with her eyebrows furrowed slightly in concern. Her row of stark white teeth symbolises she's in a jolly mood as usual but the wrinkles spreading on her forehead signify something different. The paradox of expression only serves to confuse Nila more. So Nila probes, with her ever so hated, "Hmm?"

"Yes mother, I believe is supposed to be the response. What I've been wanting to say is, I can't say I'm overly impressed with your attitude lately sweetheart and can't help but think that perhaps the stress of the Draw coming up is negatively affecting you?," she starts and Nila's eyes ever-so-slightly scan behind her to her father, who must've volunteered to help the cleaners as he wipes down tables in the background. Her father is far less authoritarian than her mother, maybe, if she could just get his attention...

"Are you listening to me?" Janice's voice suddenly becomes more than just white noise.

"Um, yes," the girl stutters, her eyes widening with vulnerability.

But all her mother does is sigh. "I know the training is hard and demanding but you've been in TED for years, you're prepared for this. Just keep forging forward, okay? Also, the pills aren't really as much as a nuisance as you've been making them out to be lately. They're only for your benefit. Oh, and, Nila?"

"Yes?" she asks in between a nervous cough.

"I saw your little exchange of food at the dinner tables earlier. Don't break that rule again," she says with a much stricter tone, "and don't let me catch you." Janice adds the last bit with a small smile.

With that, she anxiously smiles back in reply. However, on the inside, she can feel a pit of dread building in her stomach. Not wanting to disappoint her mother any more than she already has, she utters, "Yes, mother. I'm sorry. It won't happen again and the complaining will stop."

This seems to please Janice as she styles a proud smile on her face. A little roughly, she grabs Nila's cheeks in her palms and draws her daughter's forehead in for a big wet smooch.

"Good girl, now off to bed." Her mother jabs her head in the direction of the exit that leads to the hallway and Nila happily obliges.

She rarely gets in trouble and even when she does, it's really not that bad. But it is the awkward, guilt-inducing moments like that, that make those moments quite undesirable. Besides, she always bounces back. Almost with a skip and a jump in her step, Nila marches down the hallway to her dorm room. She's not quite sure if it's in order to create a larger distance between her and the uncomfortable situation with her mother or the fact that she must get a good nights sleep for the big day ahead tomorrow.