Trouble on the Red Planet; Aumrill
A Convergence

It was seven-thirty Saturday morning when Donna made the public address announcement to the facility.

“In about an hour and a half the ‘Jonathon Swift’ will be in orbit. At ten a.m. we will proceed to the ‘Biocontainment Field’. We will in no way disturb the overgrowth of foliage that is the habitat of the Martian Creatures. Those of us who will be in the lake area will not disturb the water or anything in it. The bio debris has been cleared but if any more is spotted it must be brought to my attention. We are to show our visitors that we can conduct ourselves orderly in the aftermath of the recent tragedy. That is all. I will see you all in the ‘Biocontainment Field’.”

It was several hours later and everything was calm save for the usual clamor and stammer associated with a large crowd in an enclosed area.

The announcement had been made that a Colonel Randal Johnson from the Jonathon Swift with an assortment of military men would meet with Donna at the lake. Donna, along with Richard Serling, David Lambert, and Julia Ganswind Davis were waiting on the lake shore. They were standing in a large open area near the water amidst scattered groups of people around the rim of the lake.

Colonel Johnson and his loose formation of armed men emerged from the crowd and were walking on the beach toward Donna and her friends.

“I didn’t realize that they regarded us as this important,” Richard remarked.

“I did expect a more political formality than a military greeting,” Donna admitted.” I was uninformed that there would be an armed parade”

“They’re not all armed,” Julia pointed out. “Who are the group of women walking on their left?”

“I have no idea,” Donna responded, “a group of dignitaries from someplace perhaps? We will soon replace out, I’m sure.”

Colonel Johnson was the first to speak. “I was informed that I would replace Donna Silver on the beach next to the lake.”

“And you found me, Colonel. Now explain to me why you have an armed escort?”

“These men aren’t an escort Ms. Silver, they’re an extermination team.”

“Extermination team, but you must have gotten the reports that the creatures here are not dangerous?”

“Four people were killed by those things Ms. Silver and word was sent forward to have the field cleared. Your friend Wanjiku Kimani seemed to understand and she complied.”

“Sir,” Richard addressed the Colonel, “a comprehensive study was made and it was determined that the creatures were only protecting their young and they are no more dangerous than raccoons.”

“Nonetheless, Mr. Serling, my orders are to destroy the creatures as opposed to closing the facility.”

“There will be no creatures destroyed,” a strange accented female voice announced.

The Colonel turned to the woman to his left. He was momentarily stunned by her beauty and shapely essence, revealed through the loosely fitting gown (worn by all six women in the group). He was startled by her golden skin color and the reddish gold color of her hair, a like he had never seen before.

“I beg your pardon,” the Colonel said, “I am discussing a very important matter with Ms. Silver.” He turned to Donna, “Now, Ms Silver, will you have your people leave us to our conversation?”

“But, Colonel, these women came in with you and I’ve never seen them before.”

“I don’t know what you people are trying to pull but the Jonathon Swift is not that large of a vessel and she was not on the voyage.

“Donna Silver is telling you correctly, Mr. Colonel, we are not, ‘her people’. And I am saying there will not be extermination, not today or any other day.”

“By whose authority do you speak? Donna Silver is the highest authority in the facility and I was sent by the President of the United States and his orders are to exterminate the creatures and resume the project.”

“I am Aumrill and I am the highest authority of Aurthurra, the Planet you know as Mars. I am telling you there will be no exterminations here.”

The Colonel snapped his head toward Richard. “Mr. Serling, is this one of your pranks? Maurine Matthews told me about your clever ruses.”

Richard merely flared his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

“I assure you that Richard Serling has no authority over me,” Aumrill said.

“Well, you will have to have to prove your authority or I will execute my directives immediately.

“You do want proof, I can see this clearly. Firstly there are no needs for weapons here.”

She gestured to one of the women standing near her. The woman gave an affirmative nod and turned toward the military men.

The twelve soldiers were astonished and they waved their arms around and looked at their Colonel as their weapons disappeared. “Colonel how is this possible?” one of them asked.

“What kind of trick is this?” the Colonel shouted.

“I assure you it is no trick, Mr. Colonel,” Aumrill said calmly. “There will be no extermination. Mr. Colonel your authority is not recognized here, nor do we recognize the one who sent you. All that has happened on Mars since the first arrivals from your Earth has been allowed freely. From this day forward that is no longer true.”

Colonel Johnson was irate. “Where are our weapons? You cannot disarm us without our consent and I demand that you return them at once.”

“Your weapons no longer exist as weapons and their atoms have been scattered with no chance of recovery, there is no need of them here.”

Colonel Johnson gestured to the soldiers. “Arrest them,” he demanded. The men moved toward the women and vanished.

Aumrill and the other women showed no emotion. Donna and her friends were shocked and speechless.

“What have you done with my men? This cannot be tolerated.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved his portable communication device. “This is Colonel Randal Johnson calling the Jonathon Swift.” He waited a moment in silence then he repeated the same words with no response. “This is Colonel Randal Johnson calling the Robert A. Heinlein I am having difficulty reaching the Jonathon Swift on my radio is there a transmission problem?”

“My husband is on duty, he should have answered,” Julia said with concern. “This is Julia Davis calling the Robert A. Heinlein. Do you read me, over?” There was no response.

Donna stepped forward. “Aumrill, what are you doing? There are many human beings on those vessels. What has happened to them?

“I assure you Donna Silver no one has been harmed. What you are experiencing is a demonstration of my authority. There will be no exterminations here today.”

Colonel Johnson dashed then reached for Aumrill and vanished.

“You say there will be no exterminations and yet people have vanished and we can’t communicate with the Jonathon Swift or the Robert A. Heinlein. Will you please explain?

“I will explain in due time until then I am telling you that no one was harmed.” She walked over to Donna and lightly touched her forehead. “You were injured while concerning yourself with your workers.”

Donna lightly grasped her wrist and gently moved Aumrill’s hand from her forehead. “Ah, I think my bandage needs to stay in place.”

“I can help you if you allow me.” She waved her palm over the bandage. “You may remove the injury covering, if you will.”

Donna felt the bandage then she pealed it off. The skin was healed and without a scar. Donna looked at the bandage in her hand and the stitches that were once in her forehead were lying loose. “But, how did you . . .?”

“Our technology allows us to do many things it would take much time to explain but now I am telling you that you are healed and your embryo is developing well.”

“You can tell all of that by only touching me?”

“We have devices that allow us to perform medicine to a degree, but it is limited.” She turned to Richard. “You are Richard Serling and you want to know of us?”

“I’ve been studying the ruins of your ancient cities for many years, but we know nothing of you as a people. Until thirty minutes ago you were just a theory.”

“I will show you,” she said. She touched his forehead and the entire area went dark. He felt dizzy but he didn’t fall nor did he have a sensation of doing so.

The air was light again and they were in the open air. They were suspended high above the ground side by side. He looked down and there was nothing below his feet yet they were firm. There were trees and grass on the ground below and they were blown by the wind but he didn’t feel a breeze.

“You are seeing Mars as it was five million years past.”

“It looks like Earth in many ways,” he remarked.

“In many ways it is different at the same time. Look over to the lake.”

He looked out at the lake that stretched as far as his eyes could see. The water seemed to be moving in all directions from the center. The water spilled over the edges of a mountainous crater forming hundreds of waterfalls down the sides that formed into rivers and streams on the ground. They moved to the center of the lake and the water seemed to stretch out to the horizon. The surface of the water bulged in the center of the lake forcing the water in all directions.

“The thing that you are witnessing is the water of a river far below the surface being forced up by extreme pressures through the throat of an ancient volcano.”

“But, this couldn’t be a natural occurrence the pressure would have to be produced by an outside force.”

“You are very intuitive Mr. Serling. The river was released by the residual shock of an enormous impact by an asteroid. This gushing of water lasted twenty-eight Martian years.”

“So what happened after the gushing stopped?”

“The climate of our planet changed drastically. We were forced to rely on our best of technology to ensure our survival. Eventually we retreated to the underground where we remain still.”

“You must have achieved space travel with your technology. It would seem to me that you would be traveling the cosmos in search of a new home. Or perhaps what we call terraforming . . .”

“We have traveled throughout the galaxy that you call the Milky Way. We have colonies and bases throughout. We have no need for terraformation, as you call it, we have adapted quite well to our subterranean environment and we are quite capable of traversing the surface when we want.” She then looked to the sky and the two were soon traveling through space at tremendous speed.

“Where are we going?”

“I am to show you something significant.”

Shortly they were orbiting a planet noticeably larger than Earth. They stood without spacesuits in open space, breathing normally.

“This planet was once inhabited by beings much like us (you and I). They were quite advanced in their technologies. But like those of Earth they were warlike and destructive. One day in their history they were warring with energies of vast destructive power. A series of intense explosions caused the planet to explode.”

The planet exploded below them and large chunks of debris flew past them into outer space. They moved quickly again through space until they orbited Mars where they saw a moon rising from the opposite side of the planet. It was a beautiful sight looking through layers of atmosphere and clouds over an ocean dotted with land masses.

“This is Mars from space five-million Earth years ago. We were already venturing into space and we were enjoying a highly advanced state of existence but we were unable to avert the coming disaster.”

Just then something had impacted the Martian moon and its molten core spilled out into space. The glowing masses began orbiting the planet in all directions with some of the broken pieces falling through the atmosphere and striking the planet. The two halves of the moon seemed to be dancing in space, twirling around each other. Soon they drifted apart and one looked as though it might strike the planet but then continued orbiting in close proximity in the opposite direction. The other half tumbled in a higher orbit in its original direction.

The ground below them became desolate and took on a reddish appearance as they moved towards it. The altitude they were in made it easy for them to distinguish features on the terrain below. They began moving in a westerly direction. The terrain ahead looked oddly familiar. He recognized the Cydonian archaeological encampment where he worked fourteen years earlier. They passed a sign that read ’R. C. Hoagland Archaeological Site.’

“Why are you taking me here? Something happened here fourteen Earth years ago and it’s something I’m unable to forget.”

“Yes, we were observing you as you were studying the ruins of our ancient city of Trumerara. You discovered the remains of one of ancient Aurthurra’s noted architects. Her name was Rahmdas and she was noted in our history. It was not our concern that you found her remains. We became concerned over the behavior of your colleagues after the discovery. There seems to be a consistency in human history in violent reactions to the emergence of unknowns into your collective psyches. There also seems to be an inherent trait of to enforce false beliefs in the endeavor to control large populations.”

“I will not deny that human’s have had trouble with their differences throughout history.”

“You do not understand, Mr. Serling . . . “

“Please, call me Richard, I’m not accustomed formalities.”

Aumrill smiled in amusement. “Very well, you do not understand, Richard, that we are human as well. We are humans who have had an entirely different natural selection. Surprisingly we are very much the same, but not so surprisingly we are also very different. We were very disturbed by the behavior of your director Colin Young. He was moved to murder your colleagues and in his attempt to murder you, you killed him.”

“That was self defense. My intention wasn’t to kill him it was to stop him.”

“We do understand that much, Richard, but it would not have happened on Mars and it will not happen on Mars. We do not destroy what we do not understand. We endeavor to understand. We were horrified and intrigued by you. We followed you back to Earth and we were confused by the way the authorities of Earth accused you and wanted to punish you for something outside your control. Then we discovered that the people of Earth could not travel outside of their physical forms and are limited in the ways of time. That is why we caused the so-called accident at the spaceport and made sure no one was injured. We also cleared the way for you to board the space cruiser to make your way back to Mars to prove your innocence.”

“Well I’m flattered and grateful but why did you take an interest to me?”

“We knew that Earthlings would continue to explore Mars and we will not stop you but we will control who and what is brought from Earth. You do not pose a threat to us but we will not tolerate violence even between yourselves. We have seen that you and your friends will not instigate violence. Those that will are to be transported back to Earth and there will be no exceptions. We understand your need to traverse the cosmos and learn how to survive outside of Earth. We are willing to allow you to practice your talents and skills to learn what you can from Mars.”

Aumrill then turned her head to the east and the two were aloft once more. They travelled to a flat plain area where they stopped and hovered. She pointed down toward the ground.” Do you see the rectangular structure below us?”

“Yes, but we are in an area of Mars that I’m unfamiliar with. Where are we?”

“That Richard is something you will need to learn for yourself. This is the structure that you will need to replace to learn to enter our cities.”

They stood outside the simple iron plate structure. It seemed to be painted grey with rust spots over its otherwise smooth surface. Richard could see faint traces of what looked liked where electrical wiring had once aligned the walls. He had not as yet seen anything like the structure on Mars but it reminded him of some buildings made of iron on Earth. This one had the appearance of abandonment. He could see no windows or doors, nor any opening for which to enter. He did see however, an inscription similar to the one in the chamber next to the wall in Inca City. The icon was on the opposite end as suggested by Julia the night before.

“Well, Aumrill, all I need to do is get my friends to help me search for this place and come back here.”

“That will be difficult, Richard.”

“But, why, with a good search party we should be able to replace this place.”

“But, first you will need to convince them that here exists and you were never here.”

Aumrill became silent and it looked as though she was not reflecting light. Richard was perplexed to speechlessness as he watched her fade away. He stood there listening to the wind and looking at the empty air. Then the scene faded and his dizziness returned. The Biocontainment field reappeared round him and he was standing in the same place he was before he had left. He saw Donna and some familiar faces including the group that supposedly were killed by the creatures. He simply walked over to them.

“Isn’t this Mary Akins, John Avery, and the others whom we thought were killed by the creatures,” he asked.

Donna was startled, “Richard you’re alright,” she gasped.

“Why wouldn’t I be alright I wasn’t even gone that long.”

She hugged him tightly. “Richard I didn’t know if I could speak to you again.”

“Donna, I never turn down a good hug, but shouldn’t you be more concerned about these guys. I mean, jeez, we thought they were killed.”

“And you were stiff as a board when I arrived,” came the voice of Maurine Matthews.

“Ms. Matthews!” Richard exclaimed as he broke his embrace. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I heard about Donna’s recent success so I thought I’d surprise her. When I drove down here she had her hands full with a few other surprises. And you were just standing there with a blank expression on your face like a well crafted mannequin.”

“That’s just not right; Aumrill just took me around to show me a few things.”

“You don’t know what she did to you, Richard. She touched your face and you were frozen in time and space. We couldn’t even lift you onto a gurney to take you to the infirmary. And it was just as Maurine described you were stiff as a board and immobile. Aumrill no sooner touched you when she and the other Martians vanished and then these guys appeared intact. We called the doctor down to examine them but she no sooner got here when she was called to examine the crew who had been injured by the creatures and it seems they were completely healed.”

Just then a cart had stopped to pick up Mary, John, and the others to take them up to the facility.

“Dave was here when I left, so where did he go?”

“I sent Dave up in the shuttle to check on the Jonathon Swift and the Robert A. Heinlein and of course Julia went with him to take care of things. That was twenty minutes ago so we should hear from them shortly.”

“So that much happened while I was gone?”

“Richard, you were indisposed for just over an hour. We didn’t know if you were alive or dead and it was frightening.”

“It was unnerving to say the least,” was the voice of Thomas Bradley Perry.

Richard reached to shake his hand, “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Oh, this is Brad,” Maurine said. “He kept me company on the way over. He told me that he’d met Donna on a previous visit. And he’s very curious about you,” she added.

“There will be plenty of time for socializing later,” Donna broke in. “Right now we need to go up for a conference to get these matters cleared up.”

Richard hurried along to keep up with the group, which was unusually quiet for its size. He apparently hadn’t traveled physically, but some sort of ‘Astral Travel’. At this point there was no way of knowing or determining what actually transpired. The images were indelibly stuck in his mind. It was as though he went on an actual journey though the time involved and the physical displacement would have been impossible.

The group made their way to one of the labs which was to serve as a conference room. After the group had settled into a comfortable arrangement with some seated and some standing Donna made her address to Mary Atkins who was standing close by.

“Now Mary I know that this is quite soon after your ordeal and reappearance but we have to get these matters cleared as soon as we possibly can.”

Mary cleared her throat. “Although it was unexpected and it was horrific at first it wasn’t an ordeal at all.”

“Okay, Mary, let’s start with your abduction. What is the first thing you recall?” Donna persuaded.

“The first thing I remember just before the ‘abduction’ (if you choose to call it that) is John calling for assistance and then I blacked out. What I recall after that is fuzzy at the beginning. There were people moving very quickly around me. They were rocking me back and forth in a seated position. I think there were three of them; one was holding me up while the other two worked feverishly and interacting with each other talking in a strange language. With each close encounter I became more and more conscious. They were apparently performing some kind of emergency surgery. After a few minutes I saw the other injured were being cared for in the same manner. Most of the injuries were more serious than mine but when the procedure was completed we were astonished most of all. We just looked around at each other in amazement. There was not a drop of blood, not even on our clothes. I spoke to John first; I just asked if he was okay. He didn’t say anything, he just hugged me. The Martians or the women of Mars speak English very well with a strong accent.” Mary stopped when Donna interrupted her.

“Okay, you say the women; did you see any men at all?” asked Donna.

“For the first few hours all we saw were women,” Mary answered.

Martin, who was standing in the corner of the room interjected. “It seems that the Martian women are the doers of the race. The men didn’t seem to do much of anything,” he said.

Mary turned back to Donna and said, “Yes, the men seemed to have their chores and other tasks but were not very interested in anything.”

Donna responded slowly. “That’s interesting, give us an example.”

“Well, they spoke to each other in their language but never to us and they would walk all around us with total lack of concern as though we were some inconsequential object. I tried speaking to them once or twice and they would just have a blank expression on their faces with no understanding then went about their routine.”

A murmur of sounds went through the room from the others as they had the same experience.

“You say they had tasks. What were they doing exactly?” Donna questioned further.

“We were in some kind of nursery where they kept their young children and infants. The men would take care of their basic needs of cleaning and dressing. The older children were more independent and needed less attention. There were both boys and girls. The girls seemed to learn very quickly and were curious about us where the boys showed no interest at all.”

“The men would interact with them but only to offer them assistance. It seems that all instructions and teachings come from the women. The men provided food for the children but the infants were, of course, fed by the women.”

“You were there for four days. What did they feed you?” asked Donna.

“That’s another interesting thing,” Mary said. “When we were hungry the men would bring us meals on covered trays. Strangely enough when we uncovered the tray each of us got the food we were thinking about.”

“The Martians must be telepathic?” Donna surmised. “But, that doesn’t explain how they prepared the food or where they got it.”

“One of the women explained that the food was teleported from our kitchen. Since the women make all the decisions and preparations they would monitor us for things we needed. They gathered the things together and had the men bring them to us.”

“That’s not surprising from what you told us earlier,” Donna said. “You said that the men were docile in their behavior. What were their physical attributes? Were they muscular, or slender?”

“I’m glad that you brought that up because I thought they were quite peculiar. They aren’t like Earthmen at all. I mean their women are very much like us in appearance and they have a variance in their personalities but the men were all the same and it was very hard to distinguish one from the other. They had arms and legs like Earthmen but were featureless. They didn’t have any hair at all and had no pigment in their skin. Strangely enough though, they were free to go about on their own.”

“What do you mean?” Donna asked curiously. “Why would you think that they shouldn’t walk and go about freely?”

Martin walked from the back to the front of the room. “I think I can explain that,” he said as he approached. “In most cultures on Earth the men are usually stronger than women, with some exceptions of course. But, the Martian men seem to be totally dependent on the women. On Earth men and women can live totally independent of each other. Everyone has uniqueness about them. The Martian women have characteristics and individual personalities. The men have little or no personality. The women are the artisans’ and gatherers. They are the scientists, philosophers, artist, and musicians. The men simply exist without purpose except to the women. But they don’t appear to be slaves and the women treat them with utmost respect. Something that would take some getting used to,” he added.

Donna cleared her throat. “Excuse me,” she began. “Well, the Martians took very good care of you guys. If there were any broken bones they mended then quite quickly and there don’t appear to be any scars.”

“They explained that to us,” Martin said. “They told us that they have devices that can repair any part of the body at the sub molecular level. Some of these devices are microscopic and some are controlled by thoughts and others are controlled by hand movements. They also told us that we would be returned here when the time was right.”

“Well, they did make good that promise,” Donna said. “And now that we’ve met them our next task is to learn more about them.”

Richard interrupted her. “Have we met them?”

Donna looked puzzled. “Of course we’ve met them. We’ve spoken to them. You’re confusing me Richard. What on Earth are you talking about?”

“Not on Earth, on Mars, and you were already confused I just helped bring that to the surface.”

Donna looked disabused and felt a little insulted. “Now, Richard, we don’t have time for your little head games, this is serious.”

“I’m not playing any games I’m just trying to get you to see the reality of this situation. The Martians are an enigma and meeting them only stirred up the already murky water. I distinctly remember going on a trip with Aumrill and you told me quite specifically that we didn’t go anywhere. The Martians appear to be able to be anywhere they want when they want. It seems like they can move objects and things without actually moving them. They are able to bring people back from the brink of death and make them healthier than they were before they were injured and even remove scar tissue. How do we know this isn’t some kind of mass hallucination?”

“I object to that,” said Martin. “My friends and I were mortally wounded by a savage lizard and held captive for four days. That was not a hallucination.”

Mary interrupted him. “I think I know what Mr. Serling is trying to say. I’m sure he doesn’t doubt that we were in the company of Martians for four days but how much of it was just what they wanted us to see?”

Terry, the quiet one of the group recently returned, finally was moved to talk. “Yes, it was like being in a dream that you were never sure what might appear before you,” he said timidly. “Nothing in my life has ever been more mysterious.”

John stepped up from behind him. “Terry is the quiet one. He never says anything unless he’s thought about it for a while. Mr. Serling is right we don’t know what we are dealing with when it comes to the Martians. We should not forget though that they could have allowed us to die but instead we are whole. I think that our presence on Mars even from the beginning when the rovers traversed the surface was contingent upon the purview of the Martians. We are trespassers that have been allowed to remain here.”

“Thanks John,” Richard said, “and you all may call me Richard. The key word in what John is saying is, ‘allowed’. The Martians could have and may still send us away at any time and without warning.”

“I’m sorry, Richard, I’m just frustrated,” Donna apologized. “We still don’t know what happened to Colonel Johnson and his men, the Jonathon Swift or the Heinlein. We haven’t heard from Dave and Julia since they left and we have more to worry about than the authorities scrubbing the mission we have to deal with the Martians.”

“We don’t have to worry about the Earth authorities at all,” Richard told her. “The Martians have established jurisdiction over Mars and the surrounding space, and my guess is that it will extend just outside the orbit of Deimos.”

At that moment the Doctor entered the room and approached Richard. She held a heart monitor over his chest and said: “Well, that’s certainly an improvement from zero readings to a healthy heartbeat.”

“Thanks Doctor,” Richard said, “but I could have told you I am all right.”

“I have to make sure. Things have been topsy-turvy since the Martians showed up. It looks like I can retire because I just released everyone from the infirmary.”

“Oh really,” Donna said. “I thought they were in critical condition?”

“They were, but while I was attempting to examine Richard in the Biocontainment Field one of the Martians was in the infirmary and treating the patients. When I got back they were up and on their own removing their bandages. I examined them and there weren’t even any scars even those documented from previous injuries.”

Just as the doctor collected her instruments the communications device beeped. The monitor flickered Julia’s face to view.

“Hello Donna, this is Julia.”

“Julia, so the communications are up again. Does your crew report anything unusual?”

“Just the communications blackout and the station to ground shuttles weren’t functioning.”

“That’s interesting. No sign of Colonel Johnson and his men?”

“The Heinlein and the Swift have been in constant communication and they’d heard nothing of the disappearance until Dave and I arrived.”

The monitor switched to Dave. “There seems to be nothing that requires my services here. I’ll take the shuttle back to Chryse and keep in touch with you there. Back to Julia, I need to get the shuttle ready.”

“Thank you Dave,” Donna said, “you’ve been most helpful.”

“I need to take care of a few things here as well, Donna. We’ll let you know if anything transpires,” Julia said as she signed off.

Later as they were walking back to Donna’s quarters Richard reassured her.

“I don’t believe that we have anything to worry about, Donna. The Martians have been reasonable and even by Earth standards they would be within their rights to send us away and they haven’t done that.”

“No, but people have disappeared without explanation and that is something I could be held responsible.”

“Now Donna, people disappeared once before and they were returned. We have no reason to believe that the colonel and his men will not show up; you know like a bad dollar.”

“Yes, but Richard, don’t you think it’s odd that the Martians didn’t stick around for explanations?”

“Well, we are on Mars and it stands to solid reason that the Martians will conduct themselves as Martians and not in a way we might expect.”

“Well, damn it, Richard now you can tell me something I can argue with and not your impenetrable logic.”

At that moment Donna’s chamber door opened and they went inside. The door slid shut and Richard slipped his arms around Donna’s waist, he drew her close and kissed her. She pulled back and smiled.

“Now I suppose you think you got the better of me.”

“Not in the least. I’ll never presume that I could ever get the better of you.”

“And what do you mean?”

“I mean that you are stubborn and smart and would stop at nothing to get your way.”

“Oh shut up and come to bed.”

Hours later Donna was sound asleep but Richard was still awake and restless. He carefully got up out of bed in an attempt not to wake her. He stood next to the bed for a few moments to assure that she was still sleeping. He slipped on some casual cloths and walked into the corridor. His first thought was to go to the kitchen for a snack. He slipped his communication device from his pocket and dialed a number. A groggy, scratchy voice answered.

“Hello, may I help you,” the voice said in a whisper.

“Dave, I hope I didn’t wake you,” Richard said.

“Damn! You’ve got to be kidding me. You son of a bitch, its two thirty in the morning,” Dave said, annoyed.”

“Sorry Dave,” Richard said. “I’ve got something on my mind and it won’t let me sleep.”

“Oh no, we’re all in trouble now. Okay, I’m wide awake now so you may as well lay it on me. So, what is it?”

Richard made his to the dining area and read a sign that said: All snacks and leftovers are stored in the cooler next to the main kitchen door. He walked over and slid the door open.

“What I’ve was wondering is; do you still use those expedition style jets?”

“Yes, we use them all the time. Some of the mining camps are a good distance away from Chryse and don’t have conventional landing strips. With their vertical take-off and landing capabilities it makes then essential for delivering supplies.”

Richard had sat down to eat his sandwich and drink his coffee. “That’s what I was thinking. I’m going to need something like that to do some exploring.”

“Exploring?” Dave questioned. “Where are you going?”

“Do you know the region about one hundred fifty miles east of Cydonia?”

“I know of it but that area has not been largely explored. No one really knows much about that region, in fact we sometimes refer to it as ‘the grey area’.

“Yes, I’m familiar with that term. I’d like to borrow one of those jets and survey a fifty mile radius of that region.”

“Well, Richard that’s doable but you know the reason that area hasn’t been thoroughly explored is because there is very little in the way of natural resources or even fossils or artifacts.”

“That is among the reasons that I want to go there. Most of the other places have been researched and reviewed and what I’m looking for hasn’t been found. Logically, if what I’m looking for exists then it’s someplace we haven’t already looked. And where Aumrill had taken me was east of Cydonia.”

“Richard, Aumrill didn’t take you anyplace, I was there. You were frozen in place and had a dumb look on your face.”

“Well, the truth is I didn’t travel by any conventional method but I traveled nonetheless we don’t understand everything that the Martians are doing and I don’t claim to have all the answers. But it is certain that whatever it is it has a purpose.”

“And what purpose is that? Their actions don’t really make much sense to me.”

“Oh, it makes a lot of sense if you’ll allow yourself to look at all this from their perspective.”

“How do you know that they have a perspective?”

“Well because they have eyes and ears furthermore they are intelligent to degree that makes us look like Chimpanzees. Or better still Chimpanzees are closer in intelligence to us than we are to the Martians, and Hell, they show us more respect than we do the Chimpanzees. That tells me they have a perspective.”

“Okay, so they have a perspective. So what do you think their motives are?”

“I’m not sure but I have a theory.”

“Okay, you got me going. What is it?”

“The Martians replace us fascinating and they’re studying us. The leading gender is female and since we have the same physical appearance they have a maternal attraction to us.”

“Hey, hold it, Richard. You’re forgetting that these guys have the ability to transform matter, teleport things, and make things invisible. What makes you think they’re not just making themselves appear human?”

“Good point, but Aumrill told me the Martians are human and with their capabilities why would they lie?”

“Okay, you win. So when do you want to use the jet? It takes time for me to get them lined up for use.”

“Well, why don’t we just get one ’lined up’ and I’ll help Donna get things in order.”

“Well, these things take about two or three weeks to get authorization so I’ll contact you when the arrangements are clear.”

“Okay, perfect, now let’s get some sleep, it’s getting late.”

“Yeah, well thanks for interrupting my sleep it’s not like I have a busy day ahead of me or anything.”

“Sure, I owe you one.”

“You still owe me for last time so make it good.”

“Okay, I hope you sleep well. I’ll be thinking about it.”

The disconected.