Mission Mars Read Free Page B

room with a woman before.”

    Strangers occupied the seats assigned to my family: a couple in their mid-thirties and a preteen girl. Of course, I’d known long before the meeting that my mother and father and Barry wouldn’t be here. We’d said our goodbyes earlier in the day.
    The physical misery brought on by a hangover paled in comparison to the heartache I felt at their absence. Recent job offers, combined with the guilt my mom felt at subjecting Barry to the considerable danger we would face as first landers, along with the captain’s ultimatum, tipped the scales in their decision to remain on Earth. I don’t know whether having more time to get used to the idea of going alone would have been better or worse, but I’d always been more of a rip-the-bandage-off kind of person.
    Devon sank slowly into his seat, watching me out of the corner of his eye. “Marta told me about your family.”
    I’d spent most of the afternoon crying on her shoulder. Marta was trained as a med-tech and was studyingorganizational psychology and process management. Like my mom, she was a natural caregiver. It wasn’t the first time she’d nursed me through a crisis. Times like this made me wonder what she got out of our friendship.
    â€œI never dreamed they’d back out.”
    â€œHow about you? No second thoughts?” Devon asked. After he’d fled my bedroom the night before, I’d worried that we’d feel awkward with one another, but he didn’t seem aware that his departure had been anything out of the ordinary.
    â€œIt hurts like hell knowing I’ll never see them again, and I feel guilty for leaving them. But now I wonder whether Mars hasn’t always been more my dream than theirs.”

    Over the next few weeks, our threesome became a foursome with only minor changes in group dynamics. It was as if Devon became the missing piece we’d been waiting for. Most nights we ate dinner together, rotating the role of host.
    Although Marta and Alex had long been a couple, they’d scrupulously avoided any overt sexual contact in my presence, other than hand-holding and the occasional peck on the check. With Devon’s addition, they felt freer to stretch the boundaries. In spite of attempts to hide his feelings, we all noticed Devon’s discomfort. It was Alex who finally brought the matter out into the open.
    â€œMan, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were raised in a monastery.”
    â€œAlex!” Marta jabbed an elbow into his ribs.
    â€œIt’s OK. That’s not too far off the truth.” Devon loweredhis cup to the table, but didn’t release his grip. “I was born in the Montana Enclave. My parents named me Devotion. I didn’t even know there were Unbelievers until I was twelve.”
    Alex was the only one who wasn’t staring at Devon like he’d suddenly sprouted an extra limb. “What’s an enclave?” he asked.
    The look on Devon’s face made me come to his rescue. “The Enclaves are self-sufficient communities established by fundamentalist Christian groups in the ’20s. Members aren’t allowed any contact with the outside world.”
    â€œI didn’t think anyone ever left those places. How did you escape?” Marta’s expression mirrored the horror I felt.
    Devon’s laugh was genuine and popped the bubble of tension that enveloped the table. “Believe me, no one is held against their will.”
    â€œSo, members of the Enclave can choose to leave at any time?” From our previous discussions, I knew he’d spent a year studying extra-terrestrial geology at Harvard before joining the Mars colony.
    His amusement vanished. “It’s more a matter of being allowed to stay. Unbelievers threaten the integrity of the group. Inquiry is discouraged, and the Enclaves don’t tolerate dissent. Young people who express doubt are sequestered for more