“It’s fantastic! How did you get them to grow so big? And so fast?!”
“The rocks,” offered Ladli. “We’re not sure how yet, but by placing some of these stones in the soil, the plants are growing faster than they ever have. This plant was barely a half a meter tall two days ago.”
“That’s unbelievable! And there’s so many of them. Martian rocks, really? Have you tried them on other plants?”
“Yes, some seem to react better than others. Obviously, as you can see, the tomatoes are doing great. So, did the cucumbers. Look!” She pointed at a box full of them on a table nearby.
“Wow!”
“But it didn’t do much for the grapes. We think we haven’t found the right mineral yet. I’m hoping you’ll find new ones tomorrow, actually.”
“Ladli, why don’t you show him the algae?” asked her Sabrina with a nod.
“Oh, yeah. You’re gonna want to see this. Dedrick got a kick out of this one.”
They walked to the back of the greenhouse where two clear water tanks were setup. Bubbles of oxygen were floating forcefully upward in both of them in noisy columns. The tank on the right was filled with small pebbles and sand at its bottom. The rest of the tank was water. But the tank on the left was quite different. Along the seams of its walls, a thick line of greenish grime could easily be seen. Down at the bottom of the tank, a small rock, the size of a tennis ball, was glittering in the churning water.
“What do we have here?” he asked.
“Actually, we don’t know. We put this rock in there yesterday morning. I’ve analyzed it. Its composition is fairly common for a Martian rock. Nothing stood out in the numbers, except for one element the computer did not recognize. But it’s in very small quantity compared to the other minerals in it, so I don’t know if that has anything to do with it. All I know is that this tank was just as clear as the other one yesterday, and now this. I’ve taken a sample of that green stuff and started analyzing it. It’s a form of algae. Nothing found on Earth, but it’s the closest thing I can think of in terms of its biology.”
“Algae? That’s incredible.”
“I know. This tank was clean, but after we laid this rock in water, all this stuff started growing. I’m not done with my report yet, but it seems it’s gonna help us grow more food.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
“As I said, I still have some tests to run, but so far, everything has come back positive. Unless one of the last results raises a flag, we should be able to add it to the menu pretty soon. I think we’re overdue for a culinary change, don’t you?” she finished with a smile.
“You bet!” He tapped on the outside of the glass, trying to make the algae react.
Chapter VI
Rita
Dedrick, leaning on one knee, put another log in the fire. Rita, his beloved dog, had joined him and was lounging on the hardwood floor nearby. Flat on her stomach, her back legs stretched out behind her and her two front paws crossed. Panting, her tongue sticking out lazily on one side of her jaw, she was looking at him, following his every move, seemingly content. Staring at the flames flaring through the crackling logs, Dedrick was day-dreaming when he realized something wasn’t right. How could he be in this room? He had not set foot in that house in many years. When was the last time exactly? It was a day just like this one, to think of it. Yes, he remembered sitting by the fireplace. He and Vera had made the trip from the Netherlands for a last goodbye. Now it was all coming back. Lars had told them this would be their last trip. Once back at headquarters, they would stay there for good until take off. But wait, that was almost twelve years ago! So, what was he doing here? How could he be back at his uncle’s house? No, that was impossible. The Earth had been ravaged by a terrible epidemic. Everyone was gone. He was on Mars. He had been for almost twelve years now. He couldn’t be back.
Rita suddenly got up and started barking at the fireplace. As Dedrick watched in disbelief the flames turn purple, a tall figure emerged from the smoke and floated to the center of the room. He was big and strange looking. Humanoid like, but definitely not human. It was hard to see any features on his face, except for his big purple eyes. The rest of his body looked dark and blurry, out of focus. The odd being was so tall, he had to hunch over for his head not to touch the ceiling. His legs looked a lot thicker than normal, and disproportionate to his thin body, and his feet were thick and round, and flared evenly under each leg. The mysterious being slowly leaned towards Dedrick, one hand reaching forward, but before he could touch him, Dedrick bolted out of the room and started running down the corridor. He suddenly realized he was moving in slow motion. Rita, running just ahead, was losing him. She quickly turned down the hall to their right, towards the backyard patio.
“Not that way, Rita. Rita! Come back girl! RITA!!”
He had no choice but to follow her, trying to catch up. But the faster he ran, the faster she did as well. He kept calling her, but she was ignoring him. He finally reached the backdoor. Rita was on her hind legs, frantically clawing at the handle. A quick look behind him told him the menacing figure wasn’t in sight yet. He reached for the handle and opened the door. Rushing through the yard, Rita ran straight for the tool shed. Dedrick followed, thinking of the tools he might find there. His uncle enjoyed yard work, and he knew he had an array of saws, picks, axes, and gardening apparatus he might be able to defend himself with. But before he could reach the dwelling, Rita stopped dead on her tracks and slowly turned around. Taken aback, Dedrick stumbled backwards and regained his balance just in time to watch her transform into the tall being he was so frantically trying to get away from. The backyard was fenced and poorly lit, but Dedrick could clearly see the pale blue ray of light that suddenly flashed out of the being’s hand and followed it to a group of barrels stacked up next to the shed. But those were not really barrels. No, they looked completely spherical. He had never seen anything like it. They seemed to be glowing from within. He could almost make out a shadow, a darker mass moving inside, pulsing lightly, like a fetus in a translucent white egg.
While Dedrick was staring at the orbs, mesmerized by the scene, the tall being approached so slowly and quietly that he didn’t see him until he was almost right on him. The Russian froze. Extending an open hand in front of him, the being presented a smaller sphere to Dedrick. Feeling strangely willed by someone else, he slowly raised his hand to receive the object. Instantly melting into his skin, the sphere quickly disappeared, and Dedrick felt as if he was weightless, a sensation he had experienced many times in zero gravity.
Now hovering toward the shed, he suddenly realized the dwelling had been replaced by a large door. One like he had never seen before. The tall portal was full of strange carvings, lines, and geometric forms Dedrick could not recognize. It was covered in a thick layer of dust that gave the impression it had not been used for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. The strange being waved his hand in front of the door. A light appeared in the center, slowly morphing into a widening ring that rapidly spread across the entire doorway, until it faded to give way to a long, dark tunnel. Completely helpless, Dedrick was now inside, moving along with the stranger next to him, both floating slowly forward in the purple lit corridor. He suddenly realized Rita was with him again, hovering just in front of them. Dedrick felt as if he was being taken through an ancient Egyptian tomb. He also noticed he couldn’t taste the air, or smell anything, and the place was eerily quiet. Rita, as if seated on an invisible flying rug, floated calmly ahead. The three of them soon arrived in front of another door. This one looked as if it had been built more recently. It was bright white and free of dirt. The grooves sculpted on it were much easier to see than the first one. Waving again, the alien being made the door slowly vanish and—