“What do you mean I can’t go out?” Zed said, trying to keep his voice under control.

  He was standing in the doorway of his bedroom as his parents busied themselves in the tiny living area, preparing to head out the door and start their workdays.

  “Between the cave thing and the incident at the race, it’s just not reasonable,” his mother said, not looking up from what she was doing. “Even before all that, I wasn’t comfortable with you taking surface walks. Until further notice, you’re not to leave Naug. Is that understood?”

  “Until further notice?” Zed said, nearly shouting.

  “Hey! Watch that tone,” his mother said, turning toward Zed abruptly, causing him to take an involuntary step back.

  “It is what it is, Zed. It’s not like you have anyone to go out with anyway, so don’t make this a big deal.”

  Zed opened his mouth, but no words came out. He glanced at his father, who was deliberately staying out of the conversation as he gathered his work things.

  “You should be focusing on your schoolwork anyway. It’s probably for the best that you don’t have any needless distractions right now. Terrible circumstances with the race and all, but you don’t know how easy you have it without any distractions to deal with, trust me.”

  “I know it’s hard having friends move away and all that,” Ed Marsh said in the voice he used on Zed when trying to pacify Ana. “I’m sure your mother and I will have people we like move away too, but in a few years, you’ll be done with school and can do what you want then. You know, a lot of kids would kill to be you.”

  Zed’s father said this with a winning smile, as if sharing a secret. It was a line he used every time Zed complained about anything, big or small.

  Both Ana and Ed continued to give Zed reasons to feel good about his circumstances—reasons to be thankful instead of complaining.

  Zed was too tired to respond. He’d just woken up from nine hours of sleep and felt like he hadn’t gotten a second of rest.

  Eventually, his parents each said their goodbyes, followed by stern warnings to focus on his schoolwork, and headed out the door for work. While Zed felt worse, they seemed to feel pretty good about that morning session of parenting, as he could hear them chatting and laughing as they made their way down the corridor outside.

  Zed looked back at his bed. It was tempting, but as much as every second felt like wasted time, sleeping it away felt even worse. He thought about talking to Baat, but while he valued the chaplain’s wisdom, he wasn’t sure good advice would be any more palatable at this moment than whatever it was his parents had just given him. He didn’t want a solution. There was no solving this.

  Oddly enough, getting the day’s schoolwork done felt like the one thing he could bring himself to do. Maybe it was because it was the only thing he could make progress on. Or maybe it was because the sooner he graduated, the sooner he could start choosing things for himself.

  “Well, if schoolwork is all my near future holds, I certainly don’t want to do it cooped up in here,” Zed said to the empty living room.

  ***

  As Zed entered the hydroponics bay, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The more open space and the damp, earthy atmosphere transported him back to his grandparents’ garden a world away. With all the moving his family had done, his grandparents’ home had been the only place that had some permanence to it. They only visited a few times a year, but considering they often moved more than that, it still felt like the closest thing to home that Zed could think of.

  Zed shook his head. Letting his mind wander to his grandparents wasn’t going to help anything right now, especially considering that they had both passed a few months before the launch to Mars.

  Maybe it really didn’t matter where he was. Even if he could hop on a ship back to Earth this minute, what would be waiting for him there? No family, no friends. He doubted even Miranda and George would really want to see him again. Not that he thought they hated him; he just wasn’t a good memory anymore. Too much pain. He understood, but there just wasn’t anything he could do about it.

  No, as tempting as it was to think going back to Earth was the answer, he knew that wouldn’t really change anything. He’d been alone there, and now he felt alone here. The best time of his life had been those brief months after arriving here. Having friends near his age had allowed him to enjoy this place for the wonder that it was.

  Zed took a deep breath of the freshly plant-filtered air and pulled up his list of assignments with his CIG. He started that day's math lecture and sat down at the edge of one of the vertical grow silos that bisected the hydroponics bay, his feet dangling over a green abyss.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  As Zed watched the virtual teacher pace while trying to communicate the basics of calculus, one of the harvesting robots decided to pluck a ripe patch of spinach that happened to be directly behind the teacher’s head. Zed’s involuntary laugh echoed in the large space as the robot reached through the unconcerned teacher's face and plucked out a handful of greens.

  “What’s got you laughing on a day such as this?” the booming voice of Ethan Johns asked as he stepped into the artificial sunlight.

  Zed swore as his head whipped around toward the towering robotanist. “Jeez, Johns! For how big you are, you move like a cat. I was one slip away from you having to save my life again.”

  “This is literally the only spot in all of Naug where you could fall to your death, and you thought it’d be a good idea to daydream here?” Johns prodded.

  “I just wanted to get some homework done and try to clear my head a bit. I like the smell of the plants,” Zed said.

  “Ah, well, that I can understand. And how’s that going for ya?”

  “Shot of adrenaline aside, OK, I guess.”

  "Uh huh. Well, if you're done risking your life for the smell of plants, you're welcome to set up in my office while I work."

  They made their way back to Johns's workshop. Zed found a crate to perch on, and Johns got back to work on some kind of harvesting hand that looked like it could do some real damage if it attempted to harvest anything that wasn’t a plant.

  “Young Zed, it’s been a hell of a time for ya. A hell of a time. What’s really going on, eh?” Johns didn’t look up from his work.

  Zed wasn’t sure why, but he realized that it was easier to talk about heavy things with someone if neither was paying direct attention to the other. Maybe Johns was the same.

  “Well, I’m stuck on Mars. Alone. For reasons I get and a lot I don’t, I can’t leave, and as I discovered today, I can’t even go outside. So I’m gonna waste the next few years just staring down the clock until I can make decisions for myself. No friends to hang out with. No chance of dating. No way to get the time back. All I can do is hope some other family with kids my age is crazy enough to make the trip, even after all that’s happened.”

  Zed hadn’t meant to put things quite so bluntly, but it just kind of spilled out.

  Zed stole a glance at Johns’s back as he hunched over the workbench. He could see Johns’s shoulder slump a little as he nodded his head. He half-turned toward Zed and stole a glance before resuming his work.

  “I’m not going to try to make this any sweeter for you, Zed. You’re a capable lad, and you should have the truth.” Johns turned around now, giving Zed his full attention. “The politics on Earth are looking bad, at least for us. The people who want a hold of the money being put into this place are running with this Earth Rise Day tragedy for all it’s worth. I’m not sure they’ll be able to shut things down, but they’re certainly going to stunt them. You’re right. I wouldn’t expect to see anyone your age climbing off the next lander, assuming they don’t put a freeze on new colonists completely.”

  Johns leaned back against the workbench and rubbed his temples with two thick fingers.

  “There is a chance, though,” he said so quietly that Zed had to lean in to hear. “If ever we were allowed to take the risk of exploring that side chamber and whatever secrets it holds—well, that might just be a big enough deal to override the naysayers back on Earth. Something big could bring the colonists back in droves. Something that solidified Mars’ place with something unique, well, that’d be everything.”

  Zed realized he’d been holding his breath.

  “I said I wouldn’t try to sweeten things for you, though,” Johns continued. “I’m afraid I just don’t see permission for such an expedition being handed out when avoiding risk is at the top of everyone’s mind right now. In truth, it’ll likely be years.”

  Silence hung between them for a moment.

  “Ah, but don’t you worry, young Zed. You’re always welcome here. If you need an ear, this old robotanist is more than willing to lend one.”

  Zed registered what Johns was saying and managed to flash him a half-hearted smile, but his mind was still processing what he’d heard. There had to be a way to change things. He couldn’t just sit and wait out the next few years alone.

  It hadn’t bothered him so much when Miranda and George were here. He didn’t mind not having a normal high school experience. He’d never had a normal anything when he’d been on Earth with how much moving around he’d done. It was clear now that having peers to share the experience with made a bigger difference than the particular situation you found yourself in. He didn’t need normal; he just needed to not be alone. To not feel like he was wasting what should have been an amazing time in his life.

  Zed glanced up and saw that Johns was watching him carefully. Johns’s piercing eyes softened.

  “Well, the odds may be long, but I’ve been putting together a survey sample kit, just in case they ever do let someone go down there, and just in case there really is something that could pass for life.” Johns stepped aside and gestured grandly at what looked like a ridged metal briefcase inset with several readout screens.

  “Here, I’ll show you how it works. I’m pretty proud of this bit of engineering. We have sample kits, of course, but nothing that could handle with ease the variety and volume that this little beast can. Even you could use it without much trouble, I’d wager!”

  Johns waved Zed over. Zed didn’t have a clue about half the things he pointed out, or why they were significant, but when it came to taking and storing samples with the case, it was as simple as advertised.

  There were rows of canisters inside that could take soil samples or even scoop up a Martian plant with its root system, if they existed. All you had to do was lower a canister over the sample area, and sensors inside would suck up and seal in the proper amount.

  Johns heaved a great sigh, placed the sample case under his workbench, and sat down with a weary thud.

  “Thanks for letting me talk a bit about this little toy, Zed. It’ll probably sit under my bench, unused, but it represents a dream. As long as it’s there, ready to grab, maybe that dream can stay alive in some corner of this old fool’s heart.”

  Zed nodded. A vague plan began to take root in his mind.

  “Sure, anytime. Hey, I gotta go. I’ll see you around, okay?”

  Johns gave a small wave.

  “You stay safe, young Zed. You know where to find me.”