The Ruins of Mars (The Ruins of Mars Trilogy Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

had been chosen. Tucked away in the shadows of a small impact crater, Bessel Base was a grand geodesic dome built from a transparent aluminum, called Alon, and titanium tubing. Completed for less than six months, the base was already a major hit with the public, and applications within NASA for tours of duty were quickly piling up.
          “No trouble at all, James,” assured Copernicus. “I am presently running a systems-diagnostic for Dr. Conig, so assisting you is, as I said, no trouble at all.”
          Chuckling, James scrunched his toes in the long fibers of the sky blue carpet.
          “In that case, will you please pull up the progress report on Remus and Romulus?”
          “Yes, I have it here.”
          “Project it for me, will you?”
          The lights in the room dimmed, and James scooted his chair back as the surface of his desk faded to a bright white with a low humming noise. First, the holographic images of Remus’s and Romulus’s bodies, the satellites, appeared.
          Clearing his throat, James commanded, “Okay, I’ll take control of the visuals.”
          “It’s all yours, James,” Copernicus conceded softly. Then, “Do you still need my assistance?”
          Yawning, James wove his fingers together, then stretched his hands out, popping several knuckles audibly.
          “Stick around for a bit in case I do, alright.”
          As if batting at a small insect, James flicked his right hand to the side and the images of the satellites slid away. The next set of projections was a series of numbers and charts indicating the power and fuel levels of the satellites as well as other internal diagnostic reports. In the upper left- and right-hand corners were the two ever-shifting fractal patterns that represented the visual depictions of the twin AIs. Sliding the projection away, James brought up an image that looked like a wrinkly orange cut in half. Spreading his hands as if parting invisible curtains, he enlarged the unfinished model.
          “What percentage am I looking at here?” he asked, tipping his head towards the projection.
          “You are viewing a forty-three percent completed model of the planet Mars,” Copernicus answered quickly.
          With the motion of holding an imaginary ball, James flipped the projection on its top, then spun it. Even in the model’s uncompleted form, he could already see vast swathes of permafrost highlighted in blue mere meters below the planet’s dusty surface. As the model turned, James could make out the northwestern-most tip of the Valles Marineris canyon network. The rest was yet to be scanned, but he had high hopes for the deep canals. James, like many, believed that the immense amount of water it would have taken to carve the Valles was sure to be nearby. Probably just under the sand. Also visible on the incomplete model were the mountains Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons and the mighty Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain in the solar system, nearly five kilometers high.
          Rubbing the back of his neck, James said, “At this rate, when can I expect the full model?”
         The image of the spinning half-planet was replaced by a simple projection of a red sphere with two tiny green dots rotating around it. The green dots started to spin on their orbits faster and faster, moving from the top of the red disk to the bottom. A time code in the upper right-hand corner sped up to match the little green dots, then stopped when they had reached the South Pole.
          “At their current rate of progress, Remus and Romulus will complete their scan in seventy-one hours, twenty-one minutes and eighteen seconds. That is slightly ahead of the estimates outlined in their mission plan.”
          Sitting back down in his chair, James clapped his hands together and massaged his fingers. Smiling, he nodded towards the projection.
          “Alright, I’m done. Would you