the kentons had experienced their last landing for a while. after a final gentle bump, ted shook his head to clear it and waited for the side wall to move into proper position. then he began unfastening the straps of his couch. he was the first to his feet. as the rest of his family were unbuckling, he did what everyone always did after a space-ship landing. he went over to the window and looked out.
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mars—their new home. at last they were here. from his height of several hundred feet above the ground, ted had the best view he would ever have of lowell harbor, center of earthmen’s activity on the ruddy planet. it had been named in honor of percival lowell, the great astronomer of the past century who had been so strongly interested in martian geography.
ted felt a breath on his cheek. he turned, and there was randy right behind him. there were tears of joy in his eyes, and ted knew that this must be one of the happiest days of randy’s life.
“what a beautiful spaceport!” said mrs. kenton, who had come over to the window with the other members of the family.
a huge waterway cut the landscape in two at the edge of the spaceport. beyond this stood two large square buildings of transparent plastic substance. still farther out was a sprinkling of houses, one of which the kentons would occupy. as far as ted could see, the ground was rust-red.
“what makes mars so red?” jill asked her father.
“it’s believed that mars once contained much more oxygen than it does now,” the scientist replied, “and the ground was nearer the color we’re used to seeing it at home. but over the centuries the oxygen was absorbed by the soil, forming iron oxide, which is the redness we see now.”
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“is there any oxygen left?” ted asked.
“very little,” replied dr. kenton. “that may be what caused the martian races to disappear. this is the greatest mystery about mars and is one of the main reasons i’m here—to discover why there are no martians here now.”
“but there’re birds and animals and insects,” ted said. “why didn’t they suffocate too?”
dr. kenton shrugged helplessly. “another mystery. maybe they were able to adapt themselves to the change over the thousands of years by growing larger breathing apparatuses or something like that. apparently, man was the one who lost out in the battle of survival.”
the command to disembark came over the speaker, and the kentons gathered up what small luggage they had kept with them and retired to the dressing room. when they had suited up with the other passengers, they entered the air lock and waited for the escalator to roll into position.
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as soon as randy’s feet touched the soil moments later, ted saw him stoop down and seize a handful of red dust and let it trickle slowly through his gloved fingers.
(uncaptioned)
the commander addressed the group that was gathered around him. “it’s been a pleasure to have you people with us. this is where we part. a steward will take you over the bridge across the canal to one of the large buildings on the other side where you will register. a truck will bring your luggage over later.”
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as the party walked buoyantly over the ground toward the bridge, jill said, “i sure feel light-footed.”
“you should be,” her father said. “you weigh less than half of your earth weight here. wait until you go back to earth after this low-gravity life. you’ll be tired for about six months.”
“i won’t mind that,” jill answered earnestly. “i’ll be so glad to get back.” ted could see that despite the excitement of their new surroundings, jill’s thoughts were still on her distant home in the blue ridge mountains of virginia.
crossing the bridge, ted looked over the side at the calm waters of the canal.
“this bridge is five hundred feet across and took quite a bit of engineering work,” dr. kenton said, “but it still wasn’t as big a job as the martians did on this canal and the others all over the planet. how they built these giant waterways is another great mystery we may never know.”
“look! aren’t those the little boats you were telling us about?” jill asked, pointing.
there were a number of tributaries extending out from the canal. it was along these that the individual houses were located.
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“that’s right,” her father said. “we’ll have a boat of our own, too.”
before leaving earth, dr. kenton had explained to his family about the transportation system that connected the people with the main headquarters building of lowell harbor. when the colony had first been built, it was figured that the cost of fuel and cars for each individual family could be saved by making use of the natural waterways. a simple aluminum boat could run on cheaper fuel.
the new arrivals entered the nearer of the two largest buildings in the colony, and because of the compressed air inside, dared remove their helmets. in here were housed all facilities that had to do with the running of the settlement.
as they walked down the corridor to the registration room, dr. kenton said, “you see, the building is made entirely of panes of heavy plastic so that a hundred per cent sunlight gets in.”
after registering, the kentons were assigned their new home.
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“i’m afraid you’ve got the house farthest out, dr. kenton,” the clerk said. “you’re the last family to arrive, and they’re not building any more until more materials are sent from earth.”
“that’s all right,” dr. kenton replied. “i knew about that.”
“your boat is waiting for you outside the building at air lock forty-seven,” the clerk went on. “one of our men will show you how it operates and take you home. your baggage and certain equipment for your home will be sent out later.”
the kentons walked down a long corridor to the air lock. on their way they had time to see just how many kinds of service were carried on in this most important center on mars. if anything should happen to the functions of this building, none of the homes could survive for very long.
outside the air lock, the kentons found their boat awaiting them beyond a narrow strip of ground. the space-suited man inside the boat introduced himself as martin cooper. the kentons climbed in and took their seats in the bottom of the boat, which was long and deep.
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ted was anxious to see how the boat was operated. he saw mr. cooper take a marble-sized tablet out of a box and drop it into a small tube at the rear of the boat. then the man turned some switches. in a moment a steady popping was heard underwater, and the boat glided off.
“is that all there is to it?” ted asked in amazement.
“that’s all,” mr. cooper answered.
“but how does it work?” ted wanted to know.
“the pill dissolves in the tank of water, generating a lot of pressure,” mr. cooper replied. “it’s the jet pressure that moves us along.”
there was a steering wheel to guide the boat and a “gas pedal” to control the release of pressure and their speed. mr. cooper turned the boat into main canal, which was filled with other craft like their own coming and going. presently the pilot turned out of main canal into a narrow waterway scarcely wider than the boat.
“this is like the ‘old mill’ run at the carnival!” jill said, as the craft wound in and out along the irregular course.
“this boat is great fun!” ted said. “may jill and i run it some time, dad?”
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“i guess you’ll have to when i’ve gone off on my expedition,” dr. kenton answered.
“why doesn’t this water freeze?” ted asked.
“it contains a kind of antifreeze mineral supplied by nature herself,” his father said. “it never freezes, no matter how cold it gets. it’s another one of the marvels of this planet.”
(uncaptioned)
as they rode along, ted was intrigued by the strange glow of the martian sky. the thin, purplish atmosphere permitted the more brilliant stars to burn through even in the bright daylight. but then, ted decided, it wasn’t such bright daylight after all, because the faraway sun looked incredibly tiny to him, and there was a sort of twilight glow to the whole scene.
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mr. cooper guided the boat the last few feet of its journey into a little dock beside the sprawling bungalow which was to be their new home.
“end of the line!” mr. cooper sang out gaily. “everyone out!”
as mrs. kenton was helped out by her husband, she exclaimed in a shocked tone, “goodness! the house is made of glass! we won’t have any privacy!”
“it’s not glass—it’s strong plastic like that in the main buildings,” dr. kenton explained.
“and as for privacy, mrs. kenton, you’ll have that,” mr. cooper said. “there’s a diffusing light inside the walls that makes them solid-looking when you turn on certain lights.”
“i’m glad to hear that!” mrs. kenton said with relief.
as mr. cooper led them over a few feet of ground from the waterway to the house, ted, who had been noticing the queer fixtures atop the building, asked, “what are those things up there, mr. cooper?”
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“the network of rods and wires are the television antenna,” was the reply. “that shiny disk on a pole that looks like an oversized dinner plate is your solar mirror.”
jill wanted to know what the solar mirror was.
“it collects the energy from the sun,” mr. cooper answered patiently. “that energy in turn is what runs the generator in your home and gives you electric power.”
while these explanations were going on, randy stood fidgeting. all this was old stuff to him, and the explanations seemed to bore him.
mr. cooper led the party over the few feet of ground that separated the watercourse from the house. they entered a small alcove at the front of the house; this was an air lock. mr. cooper closed the outer door and threw a switch on the wall. ted heard air hissing into the cramped quarters.
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when this was done, the inner door was opened and the kentons looked around the front room of their new home. the house was already oxygen-pressurized for immediate occupancy. all the furniture was of beautiful colored plastic, and waterproof, much like the styles that were popular back on earth. the floor likewise was of poured plastic, so that the whole interior could be cleaned with a hose.
mr. cooper prepared to take his leave. “the things you brought from earth and your months’ food supply will be sent out in a little while. new oxygen drums are brought around once a week. if you ever need to call the headquarters building, just use the radiophone over there on the wall. every home has its own broadcast band.”
the kentons said good-by to their guide and turned with interest to the wonders of their home. mr. cooper had offered to show them over the entire house, but dr. kenton said he had seen the plans and knew what the rest of the house was like.
there were three bedrooms in the one-floor building. since randy had come to live with them, jill gave up her bedroom to the boys and agreed to take the smaller guest room.
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when all had gotten acquainted with their bedrooms, dr. kenton took them into the basement, which was just as large as the main floor.
“down here are all the things that have to do with the running of our home,” the scientist said. “over there is the water tank that draws from the canal outside. the tank has a purifier in it so that the water is good to drink.”
in the next room ted found a mass of whirring dynamos and turbines. his father told them that this provided their electricity by drawing on the energy from the solar mirror. they passed down a narrow corridor. inside one of the walls was a niche containing a large gray tank with dials on it.
“what’s this?” jill asked.
“the most precious article in the house,” her father answered. “it’s our oxygen drum. the air from it enters a blower that carries it evenly through the building.”
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the last room was the most surprising of all. dr. kenton opened a heavy door, and ted, standing in front of it, gasped as a blast of frigid air hit him. he saw his father grinning. “that gives you an idea of how cold the ground is,” dr. kenton said. “this is a natural deepfreeze. it never varies more than a few degrees all year ’round.”
his shivering companions took a moment to look inside. ted saw a room as large as the upstairs living room. it was empty.
“when they bring our food, this place will be a third full,” dr. kenton said.
“do you mean to say i have to come downstairs and go into that cold place every time i want a stick of butter?” mrs. kenton asked unhappily.
dr. kenton merely grinned at her. he led them back upstairs and into the kitchen. he opened one of several doors built right into the wall. frigid air seeped out of the compartment just as it had downstairs.
“this is our regular refrigerator,” dr. kenton said. “it connects by pipe to the basement freezer.”
“i’m glad to know that,” mrs. kenton returned, with a smile of relief. “i thought i’d have to trot myself to death going up and down those basement steps.”
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ted thought what fun it was going to be living in their very own home on this distant planet. wouldn’t he have exciting things to tell the kids back on earth when he returned?
