Lost in the Red Hills of Mars

by Jackie Hunter

  “Oh yeah, Martian Girl? And what might that be?” Alex sounded irritated, but it was clear that he was intrigued.

  Celine resisted the urge to show her discontent with the name “Martian Girl.” “He has the coordinates to the Olivine ores that your dad wants.”

  “The what? Why would my dad want olive oils?” Alex laughed. “You’ve got to be joking. This is all a big joke, right? Not funny, Celine,” Alex said as he got up to leave.

  “I didn’t say olive oils, you idiot!” And he’s the one who’s supposed to help me find my dad? “I said Ol-iv-ine ores! It will make your dad super rich!”

  Alex removed his hand from the door lock. “And how do you know your dad even has those coordinates?”

  Celine could see that mentioning the coordinates had piqued Alex’s interest. “He told my mom before he was lost in the storm that he had found the ‘mother lode.’ I think that’s why he and Mr. Takei were really out there.”

  “Who else knows besides your mom?”

  “Everyone knows. Dr. Baylor tried tracing Dad’s life signature, but it disappeared right after he said he had found shelter.”

  “You know, even if I were to help you find some cave, your dad might be dead.”

  Celine stepped back from Alex as if he had punched her. “He’s alive! I know he is!”

  Alex sucked his teeth and exhaled. “I’ll think about it,” he said as he exited.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  The next day, after getting a few hours of light therapy and completing a math assignment, Celine decided that she wanted to go for a swim in the exercise room. She had not yet heard anything from Alex, but she recalled how his eyes lit up at her mention of the ores. He’s going to help me. I know it! She put her tablet in her drawer and checked her eyes in the mirror.

  “Perfect,” she said. “I’m leaving for a swim, Uji.”

  Uji appeared.

  “Perfection is an impossibility,” Uji said.

  Celine decided to have some fun with her AI.

  “Uji, are you perfect?”

  “Mathematically, I am perfect.”

  “How is that possible? You said perfection is an impossibility.”

  Uji was silent for a moment as if calculating. “Perfection is based on opinions of the thinker.”

  “Can you think, Uji?”

  More silence. “Perfection is based on the calculations of the calculator.”

  “Well, by my calculations, I look perfect. See you later.”

  “Wait. You have not finished your school assignments.”

  “I’m taking a break,” Celine said as she stepped into the corridor and headed to the exercise room.

  Celine went directly to the electronic manager in the exercise room. There were several different simulations, but her favorites were obviously wall climbing and swimming. She typed in the number code for a swim.

  The vertical wind tunnel, artificial gravity, and image provider came on as she completed the code. Instantly a pool of blue waves appeared. She dove in. Supported by the winds from the tunnel beneath the room, she began mimicking swimming motions. To her, this was swimming, like the kind she had seen on her computer. However, her dad had told her it felt more like skydiving without ever hitting the ground. Doesn’t matter to me. I love it!

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Alex pondered Celine’s request. Everyone thinks that just because I have an adventure show, I’m really that character. Hate to tell her, but everything on that show is staged. Sure, I can climb a mountain and swim miles in the ocean, but there’s never any real danger. The cameramen are there, the studio’s protectors help me if I need it, and the scene is always scoped out before I set foot on it. But honestly, I have to do this. It’s the only way I can prove myself to Dad. Get him to shut his mouth. I’ve got to get my hands on those coordinates.

  Once Alex finalized his decision, he felt happier than he had in a long time.

  He imagined a conversation with his dad: “I’ll show you what I can do, old man. I’ll get those coordinates for the oil ores while Morg leads you around in circles.” Alex’s lips turned up in a self-satisfied smile. Right now though, I’m gonna have some fun!

  Alex called Stan on his personal Com. “Hey, Stan, where’s my climbing gear?”

  “It’s on the Stellar,” Stan answered from the commons. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll get it together and bring it to you. Uh, where should I bring it?”

  “I’m heading to the exercise room. Bring it there.”

  After looking through nearly half of the ten backpacks filled with clothing and games, Alex found his mountain-climbing-simulation chip.

  Alex left Admin’s quarters where he and his dad were staying during their visit. After a few perfunctory smiles and salutations, he arrived at the exercise room. The In Use button was lit, so he peeked through the window. He could hear the wind tunnel and saw Celine swimming in the waves of air. Pretty good swimmer, he thought, genuinely impressed.

  Celine noticed him watching her and stepped out of the pool of wind and waves; she was completely dry. She walked over to the manager panel on the wall and turned off the simulation.

  Alex stepped into the room. “Are you done?” he asked.

  “Yep, I did four laps.”

  “Four laps? That’s impressive.” For a moment Alex stood there, wondering what to say next.

  “I see you have a simulation,” Celine said. “May I see it?” She took it from his hand before he could answer.

  “It’s a climb simulation,” Alex said.

  “I love climbing. I’m really good at it.”

  “So you’re a real climber?”

  “I have a chip already programed if you want to use it.”

  “Mountain climbing?”

  “No, wall climbing. Remember?”

  “No, thanks. I told you I need a little more challenge than that,” he said.

  Celine frowned.

  “Wall climbing is challenging too,” he said, attempting to be more considerate, “but I just prefer mountain climbing.”

  “Oh. Is it really all that different?”

  “Two different beasts. Look, anyway,” Alex started nervously. “I’ve been thinking about the conversation we had…You know, the one about your dad.”

  “Yes?” Celine said. Her eyes brightened, making Alex’s heart beat a little faster.

  Ignoring the heart flutters, he said, “I have a proposition for you. If you can learn how to climb—mountain climb, that is—I’ll help you find him.”

  “You will?” Celine asked with stars in her eyes and her hands held as if in prayer. She shrieked with joy. “You won’t be sorry, Alex. Thank you.”

  To Alex, Celine almost sounded as if she was singing rather than speaking. He smiled. Something about the tone of voice made him feel warm inside, but he came back to his senses just in time to step away from her, dodging a hug. “I have some extra gear on my ship if you’d like to try it.”

  Celine continued smiling.

  “Look, will you wipe that stupid smile off your face before I change my mind?” He regretted his words as soon as he said them, and he noticed the crestfallen look on Celine’s face. Too sensitive. How am I going to tolerate her? He was relieved to see Stan peeking at them through the door. “Sorry,” he said to Celine who was now standing with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face.

  He dashed to the door to get his equipment from Stan. “Would you go back to the Stellar and get another climber’s backpack? And put a small climber’s suit in the pack for Celine.”

  “Are you sure that’s all you need?” Stan asked. “I’ve got other things to do.”

  “What, Stan? What do you have to do?” Alex asked. He was not about to let Stan embarrass him in front of a girl, even if she was an ugly one.

  Stan replied, “Yes, sir, Mr. Rittenhouse. I will return with the backpack immediately.”

  “That will be all, Stan,” Alex said. He laughed to himself, and then he turned to see if Celine was
watching. To his disappointment, she had missed the entire episode; she was too busy looking at the gear in the backpack that he had placed on the floor.

  “What’s this?” she said, pulling a bag of carabineers from the backpack.

  “Hey!” Alex darted across the room to Celine. “This is safety gear! Don’t touch it!”

  Celine sat wide-eyed next to the backpack.

  Alex noticed she wasn’t holding the simulation chip she had taken from him moments ago; a rope was wrapped around her hand instead. “Didn’t I just hand you my chip?”

  Celine stuttered, gave a nervous smile, then shrugged her shoulders.

  I can’t believe this. “Where is the chip, Celine?”

  She dropped the rope and began searching the backpack.

  Alex watched her frantically searching for it. He then noticed the chip lying on the floor next to the backpack. Let’s see how long it takes her to notice it. He rubbed his chin where one single hair had grown.

  After pulling everything out of the backpack and lifting the pack to shake it, Celine finally saw the chip lying on the floor. “Oh! Here it is,” she exclaimed, carefully picking it up from the floor, “exactly where I left it.” Then she sheepishly handed it to Alex.

  He snatched the chip from her, strode angrily over to the panel and shoved it into the electronic manager. I don’t know if this going to work. She’s too…Alex searched his thoughts for a word to best describe Celine and concluded she was indescribable. He turned to observe her as the air in the room became cold and thin. “How are you feeling?” Alex asked deviously. Then he noticed Stan waiting at the door.

  “Come in, Stan,” he said. “You’re a good man.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Rittenhouse.” Stan smirked. “Mighty cold in here,” he said as he looked over at Celine who had wrapped her arms around herself and was shivering.

  “That will be all, Stan.”

  Stan gestured with his left hand, about to speak. Alex raised an eyebrow and watched Stan’s hand drop to his side.

  “Have a good day,” Stan said.

  “I always do,” Alex replied. He set the backpack on the floor next to Celine.

  “This backpack is for you, but don’t touch it,” he said. Then he opened it and removed an insulated hooded faux jumpsuit. “Put this on,” he said, handing the clothing to Celine.

  Shivering, Celine stepped into the suit and zipped it closed. “Woah…This feels amazing. I’ve never felt anything so warm.”

  “And just in time,” Alex said as tiny white flakes of imitation snow began to fall and he slipped into an identical white jumpsuit. “Normally, these are red,” he said, referring to the suits, “but I heard you colonists wear white here.”

  “Yes, and gray. Most people wear gray.”

  “So I’ve noticed.”

  “Wow, this is so beautiful,” she said as the snow began to fill the room and cover rows and rows of spiraling hills and mountain-like shapes.

  “Don’t you get snow here?”

  “All winter. But we never go to the surface during winter. I’ve never been in it.” Then she held her chest and exhaled loudly. “I can’t breathe, Alex.”

  “Hold on. I can make some adjustments,” Alex said and keyed in 3010 on the electronic manager.

  Celine stood behind him, gasping for air. “Hurry,” she wheezed.

  Alex increased the oxygen level to 20 percent per cubic meter of air. “How’s that?” he asked as he studied Celine’s face. “You’re alive,” he said with a chuckle when he noticed that she was OK.

  “That wasn’t funny. I’m not sure I even want to do this simulation anymore.”

  “Don’t be such a baby. You can handle it. You want me to help you find your dad, don’t you?” Alex could see Celine was struggling with her decision. “Tell you what I’ll do. There will be no more surprises. I promise. If something weird is gonna happen, I’ll tell you ahead of time. All right?”

  “OK,” Celine said hesitantly.

  “Let’s sit on the floor, and I’ll show you what’s in the packs. Here’s where you’ll keep your first-aid supplies,” he said, pulling a white electronic box with a red cross on it from a side pocket on the larger backpack.

  “Look, it has refrigeration for your stem cream. And here,” he pointed to a grayish bulb at the other end of the container, “is blue light sanitizer.”

  “Let me see it,” she said.

  Alex handed her the box. “It’s standard: tweezers, ointments, absorbing cloths.”

  “And a scalpel?” she asked as she opened the box and saw the small cutting tool.

  “Why would I need something like this?” She examined it. “It’s so…primitive.”

  “Look, it saved Stan’s life once. He was bitten by a poisonous snake when we were climbing in this place called Virginia.”

  “I know Virginia. Grandma lives there. That’s my dad’s hometown.”

  “It’s not a town. Anyways, Stan was bitten by a snake, and Dad had to use the scalpel to cut a small hole in his leg and drain the poison.”

  “Oh.” Celine turned up her nose and set the box on the floor. “There are no snakes around here.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It’s now part of the safety kit, and we’re keeping it.”

  Alex pulled out a flat rope that had buckles on it. “Next, we have a safety harness.”

  “Oh yeah, I know what that is! I’ve seen you use it on your show.”

  “Yeah…So, I’ll show you how to put it on correctly.” He pulled a harness from her pack and handed it to her.

  “Watch me first. You step into it like you would a jumpsuit. See?” he said, as he stepped into his harness. Celine mimicked him. “Now tighten it so you don’t slip out. The harness is your safety net.” Celine then adjusted some buckles and pulled on her harness. “Good job,” he said, extremely impressed with the manner with which Celine quickly and skillfully tightened her equipment.

  Next, he showed her how to attach the belaying device to her harness. “This part is extremely important because if you fall, which you probably will, I can use the belaying device to slow you down.”

  “What do I use to slow you down if you fall?”

  “I’ll have to attach us to a wall or a boulder or something,” he replied nervously. “But I won’t fall.”

  He fed the thin but strong rope he had taken from her pack through the belaying device attached to his and Celine’s harnesses. “We’re literally attached at the hip.”

  Celine smiled. “I guess so,” she muttered.

  “OK, let me unfasten this thing before you get some dumb ideas. Here are your boots,” he said as he took a pair of folded boots from her bag.

  “They’re ugly…Do we have to wear them?”

  “These are Gravo-ton boots,” Alex said grandly and placed one in her hand.

  “They’re still ugly. They look like they belong on a low-task robot or something.”

  “Doesn’t matter. They might save your life.”

  “Really? Wait…I’ve heard about these actually. You can adjust the air pressure in them, right?”

  “Yes, you can adjust it to where it feels like you’re walking with Earth’s gravitational pull. Or Mars, or Lunar—whatever you need.”

  “Show me.”

  “Fine. Here’s the pressure button.” Alex pointed to a red button in the arch of the sole of one of the boots.

  “I remember this,” Celine said as she examined the boots. “You used it in that episode when you were playing football on Lunar. After the coach fixed your boots, they kept you from flying all over the place,” Celine pressed a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

  Alex remembered that embarrassment. It was his first time on Earth’s moon, and he was playing as a guest with the Lunar Dusters. He had missed the informational meeting with the coaches and didn’t know the correct adjustments for his boots. At the game, he found himself over jumping and skipping when he attempted to walk. Why did she have to bring that up?


  “Yeah, sure,” Alex said. “Put the boots on. I want you to see how they feel.”

  Alex unfolded the larger pair of boots, slipped his feet into them, and shimmied them up to his knees. Then he tapped each gravity adjustment button beneath his arches and pushed the buttons three times to adjust for Mars’s gravitational pull.

  “They don’t look different,” Celine said as she ran her fingers across the tops of his boots. “Still terribly ugly.”

  “But they feel different. Put them on now.” He handed Celine the smaller pair and pushed the buttons on the bottoms of her boots. “Stand up,” he commanded, “and walk around.”

  Alex watched as Celine stood up. He snickered to himself.

  “I can’t move. Feels like my feet are literally glued to the ground.”

  Alex bit his lip to choke back the laughter as he watched Celine try desperately to move her feet. “What’s wrong, Celine?”

  “I can’t move my feet.”

  Alex’s stomach was tight from holding back the laughter. That’ll teach you to make fun of me, Martian Girl.

  “Is something wrong with my settings? You have them set for Jupiter’s gravity, don’t you?”

  “Yep!” he said between bouts of ear-piercing laughter. Alex couldn’t contain it any longer. “Fine, I’ll set it for Martian gravity.” He yanked one of Celine’s feet back as if he were shoeing a horse.

  “Hey!” Celine said as she almost lost her balance.

  “Stop whining,” Alex snapped. Then he carelessly dropped her left foot and pulled up the other. Celine held her balance. “How’s that?” he asked after he dropped her right foot.

  Celine pranced around like a galloping pony.

  “OK, don’t overdo it.” What an idiot, he thought as he reached down and scooped up the smaller backpack with one hand.

  “Gee, that looks heavy,” Celine said as she pranced back to Alex.

  “It is,” he said. He began placing it on Celine’s back as soon as she settled next to him. “Slip your arms through this,” he said, shoving her arm through one of the straps.

  “How am I supposed to climb with this heavy thing on my back?” she asked.

  “It contains your gear: everything you’ll need to survive in the mountains. So deal with it.” Alex stuck out his chest and held his head high with authority. “You’ll also need rappelling gloves,” he said, “and a small helmet—Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”