THE ONE WAY TICKET TO MARS.
For many years robot ships from Earth circled the planet Mars and dumped into the atmosphere all the chemicals and minerals needed to support human life.
Once the atmosphere was transform it was decided to send people to Mars to build roads, start farms and to build cities for the future travelers to the red planet.
It was decided that it would be cheaper to send spaceships to Mars if they were only going one way. There would be no need for larger ships to hold fuel and supplies for the journey back.
The people who would build the great cities of Mars would most likely never see the Earth again. It could be years before they would be able to build their own rockets and process their own fuel for a journey to Earth.
The first ship was lead by a pair of scientist and a crew of about half a dozen convicts that were given pardons to make this trip and start to work of making Mars a new home for the people of the Earth.
Within a year a farm was started and a path was cleared to be a road for the next farm.
It was time to send more people to Mars to do the work.
Just over a million people entered the Mars Lottery. There was room for 12 people on this voyage. Four were scientist that had already been picked.
Many of the people who entered the lottery were poor people who were willing to work hard and in return get a large plot of land of their own.
Some were people who thought life on Earth had become impossible and that it was best to start over somewhere else.
And then there was Miles Johnson. He wanted to leave the Earth to forget.
Johnson's wife of ten years had run away with a friend of his to Mexico. Last he heard they were working together on the Atomic Power Plant that was being built to supply free power to all of South America.
Johnson was all alone in the world after his wife left. His family had stop talking to him years ago after he married Marge. They were all against it because she was his first cousin and twenty years younger than him.
When Marge ran off Johnson fell into a deep depression. He could not stand living in the home they once shared. He sold it and moved into a small room near his job.
His life became a rut of working and returning to the small room to sit and watch old movies on his computer monitor.
When Johnson heard about the Mars Lottery he signed up. He wanted to leave the Earth. He wanted to start his life over with a new way of life. He thought working hard to build a new world would keep him too busy to be depressed over his missing wife.
In his state of mind he planned to leave the world one way or the other.
Johnson was surprised to learn his name was drawn in the Mars Lottery. His mood improved a great deal after hearing the news.
The drawing was a month before the flight was to leave for Mars. Johnson gave away everything he had that could not fit into a small suitcase.
He reported to The Department of Space Travel and he checked out by various doctors and took many test. Even though Johnson was 51 he was in good shape and passed all the test.
On the day of the flight to Mars everyone was asked if they still wanted to take the journey. They were reminded that they would most likely never return to Earth. No one had changed their minds about leaving the Earth. They all had reasons personal to them for wanting to leave the Earth forever.
Johnson was given a shot to make him fall into a deep sleep. He was told that he would be froze and placed into a sub zero freezing compartment to sleep for the next two years as the robot spacecraft flew them to New World of Mars.
Five years later Johnson was working on the new road with the other settlers of Mars.
Two farms were now operating and this new road would lead to a new third farm. Would be built by the next group of settlers coming on the next robot craft. There would be
16 people on this latest craft and they would include people trained to form buildings from the local rocks and mud. They will start building the towns of Mars to house the large groups of settlers coming in another 15 years of all goes according to plans.
When the new settlers came everyone on Mars went to greet them. All twenty of them.
Also on the robot craft was mail for the settlers.
Johnson was surprised to find he had three letters. One was from his brother who had had not talked to since his mother died. Another one was from a cousin and the last was from his long lost wife.
He stared at the letter for awhile. He was not sure that he was going to open it. He had not thought about her for a long time.
He opened the letter and found an one page note. It was hand written in her nice style of writing.
She told him that she was sorry for running off. Things did not work out well with the man she ran off with and she had wanted to return to him but felt too a shame running off to seek an life of excitement with someone else.
She said she long to see Johnson again but knew it was impossible now. She asked that he would forgive her.
The letter gave Johnson a bitter sweet feeling. He knew he would never be able to see her again.
He came to Mars to forget her but now he would never to able to forget the woman he long to see once again.
END.
Copyright 2012 By Teel. Please do not reprint or re post without permission.
