Across from the restaurant is a building made of glass and chrome with a cascading waterfall that flows down from the highest floor and pours over the side between the twin towers. The effect is so beautiful, it makes my heart ache, and my mind struggles to grasp the physics of such a feat.
I shake my head and blink, trying to understand how any of this is possible. Cars fly by on the airways, and the blue sky is as clear as the air atop the highest mountain back on Earth.
“I don’t understand how any of it is possible,” I mutter. “It seems almost like magic.”
“I assure you that it is not,” he says, his tone matter-of-fact.
I glance back up at him, his stony expression revealing nothing. I feel like such an idiot. He must think that I am superstitious or believe in childish things. But only a few weeks ago, an alien invasion or time travel would have seemed impossible.
13
I stare at Doris’s sparkling green eyes in the sunlight that shines through the wide windows of Cassini’s finest restaurant, the Palaza. Her face falls with an expression I don’t quite understand. I want to believe this is going well. But after she made a comment about our technology, her demeanor has changed, and her responses have become clipped. I fear I have said something wrong. And I don’t know how to rectify the situation.
“I don’t know what any of these dishes are,” she says, frowning down at the menu.
“I will order us the specials,” I say as the waiter pours us two glasses of chilled white wine.
I order the mollusks and rack of lamb with stuffed artichokes and various cheeses as our appetizers.
Doris agrees weakly with my choices and gazes back out the window as the waiter takes our menus and walks away.
I want desperately to reconnect with her, to bring her attention back to me. The women in Doris’s wing at the bridal house have been accepting the transition from Earth with much greater resilience than many others.
Our scientists were prepared for the inevitable psychological fallout of being abducted and then taken to the future by biologically engineered advanced humans for Mars. The truth is that it is a ludicrous story for any of them to accept, and many believe they are hallucinating or dreaming. My Doris, however, is taking the transition with a kind of inner resiliency that I greatly admire. I only wish that I had not made a blunder in my communication.
“I can imagine that our technology is quite fantastical. From what I understand of the history of Earth, most of what you see here on Mars is beyond your imagination. I understand that you were a librarian back on Earth. I’m sure you are curious about our culture, customs, and technologies. And I would be pleased to engage in a discussion with you about them.”
She looks back at me and smiles as if I have potentially saved the moment.
“I would like that,” she says as the waiter sets our stuffed artichokes and cheese tray down on the table in front of us.
“First you can tell me about how you have artichokes and cheese a thousand years in the future on Mars. If this is ‘real food,’ where did the animals come from that made this cheese?”
“That is a very good question.” I go on to explain to her how when the original pioneers were escaping the dying Earth, they created something of a Noah’s ark. They brought with them many animals that humans had kept as livestock, along with plants, insects, and wildlife. Of course, not every species of animal from Earth could possibly have made the trip. But they had collected DNA samples from a vast variety of other creatures. Those that they were not able to breed, they bioengineered.
“Didn’t that cause mutations, like with humans?”
“In some instances, it did. But we were able to create a new biosphere that was original to Mars. Fortunately, our ecosystem is functioning sustainably, and none of our key species have suffered any of the reproductive abnormalities that humans suffered.”
“That’s very interesting,” she says, taking a bite of lamb.
We spend the rest of the meal discussing the history of Mars and how our culture varies from the cultures of Earth.
“We have different regions of the planet, obviously, but because we come from one original source, our culture is unified, and we have a planetary government.
“Each region has its own laws and governance. The planet of Mars and its various states operate as a republic. Each region retains its character and sovereignty. But the entire globe has a unified council. We have a sovereign king. Our ancestors decided to instate a monarchy that was passed down through descendants so there would never be a question of leadership.
“But we also have a council made up of the leaders of each region. Our government is a bit like a monarchy with a parliament. The king has great executive power. But each individual Martian has personal liberty.”
“It’s hard to imagine how that actually works.”
“It works because Martians understand collectively the problems of the past. And although we each maintain our own individual leadership, we also trust the leadership of our king and council. Believe me, it took time to establish the system. But it did allow us to attempt to resolve our diminishing birth rate and to produce the timegate, which allowed us to travel to your time in the first place.”
Doris sips her wine as I order us dessert. When the vanilla ice cream arrives, she dips her spoon into the creamy treat.
“If you have real food, why do you use replicators?”
“Replicators can produce nutritionally complete food from biomass. It is simply more economical to ingest predominantly replicator food. But we Martians do enjoy the real thing from time to time.”
“Are there many class distinctions on your planet?”
“In some ways. But not in the way it was on Earth during your time. Mars is a meritocracy. But we also understand that different people have different capacities, talents, and motivations. I, for example, have worked diligently at my career and have moved up in the ranks of the Martian Marines.
“I also sit on the Council of Mars. This is due to my merit. However, there are those who are less apt or interested in leadership.
“Some are less interested in achievement at all. Very few, if any, Martians are lazy. But some do prefer to work at more simplistic jobs where they don’t have to make as many decisions as someone like myself, the council, or the king would have to. Everyone plays a role. And everyone is supported. But merit and work are rewarded.
“However, those who do strive for excellence do not hoard wealth as was the case on Earth so long ago. If it had not been like this, perhaps the world could have worked together to protect itself from the Mantises. But that is a separate discussion.”
“What of the mantis beings? Do they exist in your time?”
“As far as we know, their kind have disappeared from the galaxy. It may be because they could not sustain themselves and their appetites for other sentient beings. Or perhaps they were wiped out by another intelligent race. Many argue it was due to a virus contracted from humans. When we began to travel the galaxy in search of our own vengeance, we soon discovered they were nowhere to be found.”
When we finish our dessert, I flick my wrist device to transfer payment to the waiter, offer Doris my arm, and escort her out of the restaurant.
The touch of her hand on my skin is intensely exciting, and I use every ounce of my self-control to maintain my composure. Back up on the roof, I ask her if she would like to see my home. And she quickly agrees.