"On July 20th. 1976." "the first unmanned spacecraft landed on the planet Mars." "Mankind waited with intense expectation for the answer to the question that had puzzled him for centuries..." "Is there life on Mars?" "Those who had never believed the Red Planet was inhabited shook their heads knowingly." "as if to say." ""We told you so."" "But believers pointed out that the instruments could only scan as far as the horizon." "If the Martians had sent a space probe to Earth." "They argued." "they could have landed in even less promising terrain... the middle of the Sahara desert." "for example." "On the whole." "the nonbelievers won the day." "However." "If the spacecraft had only landed a few miles further on." "things might have been different." "It is January. 1999." "23 years later." "and preparations are almost complete for the first manned expedition to Mars." " Missile and internal D.C.?" " Affirmative." " Pressurization complete?" " Affirmative." "Status check..." "brain safety arm light on?" "Affirmative." " Range ready?" " Ready." "Minus-7 hours to liftoff of Expedition One." "This mission is for unmanned main pad vehicle launch in departing orbit." "To await crew mission linkup tomorrow." "All rocket stage systems checks completed." "Switching command to internal." "Umbilical tubes separated and clear." "Liftoff." "Global motion." "We have good movement." "All systems go." "Vehicle clearing tower." "Trajectory within limits and okay." "Main stage burn satisfactory." "Completion level two reached now." " Here they come." " Any comments, Colonel?" "Look this way, please, gentlemen." "Easy does it, Burt." "Where's Spender?" "I feel less worried about the launch than about confronting them." "You won't have to say too much." "Just give them a nice enigmatic smile." "They'll be happy." "Good afternoon." "Any questions, please?" "Yes?" "Colonel, you've been working on this project for 10 years now." "How does it feel on the eve of the first mission?" "I think you'd better ask that after they've made a successful landing." "Yes." "All our evidence points to the fact there is no life on Mars." "Do you expect to find it any different?" "No, but then we won't be sure until we get there." "Where's York?" "Captain York will be along any moment." "As you all know, this is just the beginning of a major effort on the part of NATO alliance to explore the outer planets." "Yes." "Any last-minute changes, Colonel?" "Yes, we have decided that Major Spender's efforts would be of greater service here during the first trip to Mars." "In the meantime, let me introduce Captain Conover, who is in charge of the scientific end of this expedition." "Captain?" " Thank you, Colonel Wilder." " Keep smiling." "When did you get news on the change, Spender?" "This morning from Wilder." "Well, don't sweat it." "It's just internal politics." " You'll make the next trip." " I'd better, I'll tell you that." "The atmosphere on Mars, although thin by our standards, is certainly capable of supporting life." "Oh, Captain York." "I would like to conclude that the British have always endeavored to broaden the frontiers of human civilization by joining in these efforts." "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce Captain York." "How are you doing?" "Don't worry, John." "I won't spoil the moment for you." "How many flights does this make, Captain?" "This one will make my 24th liftoff." "Tracking shows parking orbit established satisfactorily." "John, I'd like you to have a look at these when you've got a minute." "Oh, yeah." "Right." "Don't forget brunch Sunday." "Ruth and I are expecting you." "That a military command, sir?" "No, just an order from your elder brother." "Be there." "Yes, sir." "Status check..." "command on internal?" "Affirmative." " Telemetry and launch conditions?" " Affirmative." "Well, I wish I were going with you." "If I know you, Colonel, you'll be up there in a year's time." "Maybe we'll all be up there someday." " Good luck." " Thank you, sir." "And our prayers go with you." "Test telephone switch to arm." "Arm light on." " Pressurization complete?" " Affirmative." "Switching command to internal." "Launch tank is secured?" "Launch tank is secured." "All recorders and oscillographs to fast." "Bernier start." "Fore tank pressurized." "Spent fuel contact pressurized." "Ten... nine... eight..." "Ignition!" "Main stage." "... four... three... two..." "one... zero." "Clearing tower." "Have global liftoff." "Yo." "Honey!" "Keep going." "Baby!" "Burn looking good." "We're on our way." " Turnover initiated." " We have it." "One thousand feet." "Looking good." "You confirm you have telemetry." "Online light indicating?" "Affirmative." "We have green telemetry." "Roger." "We have it back now." "We have green." "All systems." "Burn normal." "Some vibration during Mach-1 transition." "We copy." "Roger." "Downrange tracking good." "You are go for standard injection engine and good rendezvous input status." "Roger." "We have lock-on for automatic docking sequence." "Roger." "Forty feet." "Green." "Twenty feet." "Green." "Closing." "One foot per second." "Increasing." "Final sequence." "Probe contact engaging..." "Locked." "Preparing transfer to main craft." "They live in a house of crystal pillars on the planet Mars." "by the edge of an empty sea." "In the evenings." "When the fossil sea is warm and motionless." "Mr. Kay sits in his room listening to his book." "York." "York?" "I'm so sorry." "I heard you cry out." "Tell me what did you encounter?" "I had a..." "I had a dream about a man." "He is not from our world." "I have never encountered a thought like it before." "He came down from the sky and spoke to me." "He said, "We are from the third planet." ""My name is Nathaniel York." "There are two of us in this ship."" "Go on." "He said, "We come from Earth." "That is the name of our planet."" "He used another language, but my mind was able to translate it." "Is it possible that there are people on the third planet?" "Our scientists have made it abundantly clear that there is too much oxygen in the atmosphere to sustain life." "Wouldn't it be fascinating if there were people?" "Injection looking good." "Do you have vibration?" "Negative." "Smooth burn." "We are nominal on all systems here." "Confirmed." "Transfer to descent stage." "Affirmative." "Counting down for separation." "We read you." " Undocked." " Roger." "Separation normal." "moving away." "Five feet." "We have clear view of the main craft." "Looks in pretty good shape after that trip." "We copy." "We're right on track." "Sir." "If everything is go." "We'll be on the surface at 0400." "Everything is a go from our end, Captain." "This will be our last transmission until we pass around the back side and regain direct control." "Over." "We read you." "Have a safe landing." "Thank you." "Sir." "Yes." "York." "York." "You've been dreaming again." "The same dream?" "Yes." "The ship coming down from the sky again." "The tall man York stepping out to speak to me." "He said..." "He said I was beautiful." "It was only a dream." "Was it?" "Is that all there was to it?" "No." "What else?" "He told me he would lure me away in his ship back to his planet." "Even kill for me if he had to." " It's a sign." " A sign?" "There really is a ship from the third planet." "But you said..." "It will land in Green Valley, won't it?" "You don't have to tell me." "I heard every word you spoke in your sleep." "Even the time." "Forgive me." "I'm sorry." "It was only a dream." "Of course." "We're about to set down." "Carefully." "Don't worry." "If we meet any hostile Martians." "I'm ready for them." "Don't start any wars up there." "Actually, sir, I think there's less chance of that up here than down on Earth." "Touche." "You're very interested in the sky tonight." "It's very beautiful." "Are you going to town?" "It's the night you usually go." "No." "I have other, more pressing matters to attend to." "I'll be back soon." "Where are you going?" "To Paya's." "She invited me." "She lives in Green Valley, doesn't she?" "You know where she lives." "I'm sorry, Eila, but you can't go." "I'm sorry but you must stay here tonight." "I have an important mission to perform." "You must stay here and inform Tria in case I don't return." "Will you stay?" "If you want me to." "Please, don't use that." "Is there not some other way?" "One is justified in killing when it is essential." "When one is protecting." "Protecting?" "One's home, one's..." "land." "One's world, perhaps." "From what?" "From whatever endangers it." "Furthermore, this weapon is clean." "By releasing these bees I merely speed them on their way." "But someone... things can get destroyed in the process." "Naturally." "And it could be you." "That also?" "The mask of conflict?" "Stay here." "She cannot look at him." "She thinks only of the tall stranger from another world." "but outside is only the empty desert." "and the bright stars coming out on the black sky." "and far away." "The sound of water stirring cold in long canals." "Expedition One." "This is Mission Control." "Do you read me?" "Come in." "Please." "Expedition One." "Expedition One, come in, please." "Expedition One, do you read me?" "Expedition One, this is Mission Control." "Come in, please." "Expedition One, come in, please." "This is Mission Control." "Expedition One, come in, please." "Do you read me, Expedition One?" "This is Mission Control." "Come in, please." "I'm considering a recommendation of discontinuance, John." "Discontinuance?" "General, we're committed to this project." "We may just have lost York and Conover." "And maybe not." "It could be their equipment." "It could be interference from the Martian atmosphere." "Do you think such a recommendation would be accepted?" "I don't know." "My guess is, we'll be expected to send up an expedition within the year." "And you feel comfortable about that?" "It doesn't matter whether I feel comfortable with it or not." "We can't stop now." "We're talking about an entire planet that might be colonized." "Maybe." "The way things are going here on Earth, maybe it ought to be given consideration." "That's why I want to lead the second expedition." "Out of the question." "You know what I mean, John?" "Your importance as project director rules out any question of your going to Mars." "Oh, Colonel, may I talk to you about the next expedition?" "Sure." "I know there was a reason why I wasn't on the first." "Don't look for a special reason." "There wasn't any." "I'll do everything I can to get you on it, provided there is one." "You think there might not be?" "I fear there might not be." "Why fear?" "Is it so important?" "You know it is." "Personally, I think we should hold off." "However, if the project does go," "I want to be a part of it, yes." "You know there's always a risk of losing lives." "Sure I know that, but that's not what bothers me." "What is it, then?" "Hey." "John, what if, despite all that we believe there really is life on Mars?" "Have we the right to invade their world?" "Invade?" "Should I say colonize?" "What's wrong with colonization?" "Of course if there were life on Mars, that would change everything." "I doubt very much if there is, though." "Not life as we know it." "Anyway, let's hope we get a chance to find out." "The ship comes down from space without Wilder." "without Spender." "It has traversed the black velocities." "encountering ancient moons like a pale Leviathan slipping through an otherwise empty sea." "It has come down from the stars." "in the shining movements." "in the silent gulfs of space." "It is a new ship." "It has fire in its body and three young men in its metal cells." "The second expedition to Mars has arrived." "God in heaven." "I'll be damned." "I'll be damned!" "Hold it." "Let's examine this before we move any closer." "Now, is it feasible that two planets could evolve the same way?" "Clapboard houses..." "a church steeple...?" "Elm trees?" "Maples?" "York and Conover..." "maybe that explains it." "Explains what?" "This?" "The last radio transmission from York and Conover came in on the day they reached Mars." "If they were still alive, they would have made some effort to contact Earth, and even if they were alive and had decided for some unknown reason to build a town like this, how could they do it so soon?" "Look at those trees." "Some of them are a century old." "No." "No, this is something different." "This is something completely different." "Let me tell you something." "I was born in a town called Green Bluff, Illinois." "And that town looks so much like Green Bluff it frightens me." "Sir, maybe Mars has evolved in the same way as Earth." "Maybe there are identical civilization graphs on every planet in the solar system." "This could be the greatest discovery of the age." "No, that just couldn't be so." "Whatever it is, we can't just stand here and speculate." "We've got to analyze it on the spot." "Listen." "Let's go." "Let's try that house." "It looks as though an entire town from Earth has been transported to Mars." "There's only one way this could have happened." "Sir, it has to be that space travel began before the first World War." "No, that's just not possible." "What if there were people in 1905, say, who hated war and got together with some scientists in secret?" "Such a thing could never stay secret." "What other explanation is there?" "They've just cut the grass." "Sir?" "Nothing, Hinkston." "I don't believe this." "Can I help you?" "You're speaking English." "Are you selling something?" "What town is this?" "Green Bluff, Illinois, of course." "And the year?" "1979." "That's over 20 years ago." "Are you census takers?" "That why you're in uniform?" "We are from Earth, and this is Mars." "Young man, this is Green Bluff, Illinois." " If you'll excuse me now." " Wait." "I'm sorry." "I have things to do." "But I don't understand." "How...?" "Sir is it possible we went through a space warp or something and landed on Earth as it was 21 years ago?" "We're not on Earth." "The air's too thin." "You're right." "It's got to be that space travel started long before we think it did." "The people built this town to look like the one they'd left." "She called it Green Bluff, Illinois, where I was born." "What if Sam is right, sir?" "What if there was space travel a long time ago, and the people that came here became so homesick for Earth it resulted in some sort of mass psychosis?" "And what if the woman in this house just thinks she's on Earth?" "That could be it." "Hypnosis, passed through generations." " No, no." " What else could it be?" "This is Green Bluff." "I know this town." "And I think..." "I think I know..." "What is it, sir?" " I think..." " What is it, Captain?" "I know that man." "Arthur!" "Edward!" "It's you, Arthur!" "You!" "Edward?" "Yes, Edward." "But you died when I was only 19." "Mom's at home." " Mom?" " Dad, too." "They're alive?" "No, that's not possible." "Why fight it?" "Here we are." "That's all that's important." "We're alive again no questions asked." "Mars is heaven?" "Who knows?" "As mom always says, who are we to question?" "We have a second chance." "Right back in that house on old Oak Knoll Avenue." "Bet I can beat you to the front porch!" "Oh, yeah?" "Wait a minute, Captain!" "You can't go off like that!" " David!" " Grandma!" "Lustig!" "Sam!" "Sam Hinkston!" "Aunt Thelma!" "I beat you!" "It's this thin air." "Mom?" "Mom!" "It's all right, dear." "It's all right." "You're home now." "You're home." "Arthur!" "In the darkness of Mission Control." "the fate of the second expedition is in doubt." "There's been no transmission from Mars for over 12 hours." " Do you want some?" " Yes, please." "Dad." "I know." "It's my favorite." "Mom, would you...?" "I know you'll want some." "I knew you'd like it." "How is it, son?" "Fantastic." "I still don't believe it's true." "I'm gonna wake up in the morning and be on my ship in space, and all this will be gone." "Don't think like that, son." "Let's just be happy." "Okay, Mom." "I'm sorry." "But I do have to go back to the ship, just for a little while." "Oh, not tonight, Arthur." "Not if you want the surprise that's coming by later." " Surprise?" " Mm-hmm." "Gets in from Chicago in..." "in less than an hour!" "Marilyn!" "Do you mean Marilyn Becker?" "Well, if I answered that, it wouldn't be a surprise." "But how can that be?" "They sent her away just to forget about me." "I know." "If you go back to your ship tonight, you'll never know what the surprise was." "Well, I really think I ought to check up on it." "I don't think anybody else is there." "No one will touch it, my son." "Do it in the morning, pal." "Why not!" "Good!" "Oh, Mom, you look so tired." "Guess I am." "It's been quite a day." "It sure has." "And your bed's still there whenever you're tired." "After your surprise." "Good night." "I just can't believe it, Marilyn." "But you have to believe it, Arthur, because it's true." "But how could you arrange it with your folks?" "By telling them I didn't care about getting my allowance cut off." "It's incredible." "Or not being able to go to Europe with them next summer." "How could you do that?" "It was easy, because the one thing I got out of college was finding out what I don't want." "Like rooting at a football game with some freshman when I could be here with you." "You're not sorry, are you?" "That I'm here?" "Sorry?" "My God, no." "It's just that..." "I'm surprised your father hasn't had me locked up." "I'm just plain old Arthur Black from the wrong side of town." "You're my Arthur Black." "And I'm going to see to it we both stand up to him." "All I ever needed was a little encouragement." "You're getting it now, Arthur." "It is." "It's just the way I remember it." "It feels so good." "Get your pajamas on." "It feels fantastic." "Boy, am I tired." "Marilyn Becker." "Good night, Arthur." "Good night, Edward." "Edward, I was just thinking." "Thinking is bad for you." "What if..." "What if we actually have landed on Mars, okay?" "So this small Illinois town is not really an Illinois town." "And?" "And these people are not my friends not my family." "They're Martians disguised to look like Earth people." "And my mother is not..." "Is not our mother?" "Then what about me?" "Then you're not my brother Edward." "No, Arthur, I'm not." "Suppose there were Martians." "And they saw a rocket ship landing and had no defense against its weapons." "Suppose they used the only real defense they had." "Telepathy." "Suppose they picked up the childhood memory of a town from the captain of the ship." "What?" "Suppose the town was deliberately populated with the most loved people from the memories of all the ship's crew." "People like Marilyn Becker." "All the men seeing mothers, aunts, uncles, fathers, sweethearts, dead ten, twenty, thirty years ago abandoning their ship." "Would there be any other way to divide and overcome invaders?" "You couldn't disguise the air." "No, we couldn't disguise the air." "I can't move." "The chocolate pudding was drugged." "Except, of course, you only thought that it was chocolate pudding." "Your death will be painless, Captain." "Why?" "A proper question, Captain." "We are not a violent people." "The members of your first expedition were destroyed by a husband who convinced himself the jealousy of his wife was actually concern for his planet's welfare." "This is different." "We are joining forces to destroy three lives." "Why?" "Because we fear for our existence." "We have seen your weapons." "More, we have looked into your minds and seen the violence there." "We have witnessed in your minds what your kind have done to Earth how your society trembles on the verge of self-destruction, seeking to find a solution to its own troubles on other worlds, rather than solve them on its own." "We cannot permit that on our world." "Forgive us, Captain Black." "Once we were an honorable people." "Now see the depth to which we have inexorably fallen." "To murder out of fear." "Forgive us." "The Martians." "still under the influence of the thoughts and memories they have taken from the minds of the Earthmen." "dig three neat holes." "and perform an alien ceremony from a strange and distant world." ""He restoreth my soul." ""He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness" ""for His name's sake." ""Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," ""I will fear no evil," ""for Thou art with me." ""Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." ""Thou preparest a table before me" ""in the presence of mine enemies." ""Thou anointest my head with oil." ""My cup runneth over." ""Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me" ""all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."" "But slowly." "Very slowly." "the thoughts and memories fade away like a long." "Dying echo." "The Martians go back to their own city of crystal windows and fragile towers." "shedding their human forms as nightmares fade into a new dawn." " Here's your margarita, Bill." " Thanks, John." "Cheers." "Listen, I don't suppose you'd reconsider heading up this mission." "I reconsider every time you ask." "There's no alternative..." "unless you want to take my place." "Not this time." "It's too damned dangerous." "That's enough, you two." "Let's not discuss business tonight, okay?" "Here's your drink." " Hey, look who's here." " It's Sam and Jeff." "I can't seem to shake you two." "You'd better get used to it, Colonel." "Well, how are you, lovely lady?" "I'm not the only one who knows about this place, I see." " Join us for dinner?" " No, wouldn't think of it." " Elma's cooking tonight." " How about you, Jeff?" "I'd love to... if you ladies don't mind, that is." " No." " Not a bit." "We won't be seeing you for quite a while, I guess." " Colonel." " Then it's settled." " Can I get you a drink, Sam?" " That's what I came here for." "I want you to know I went over the final checklist today." "Everything's in order and all set to go." "You tested the gyroscope?" "Sure did." "Double-checked it." "Good." "How about a drink?" "Yeah, I'll have a..." "tomato juice." "Tomato juice?" "Come on, it's your last night." " Tomato juice is fine." " All right." "Okay." "It really doesn't bother you, the thought of flying all the way to Mars?" "No, not at all." "No." "Excuse me." "One of these days, you'll all be making the trip." "Sam." "Not Bill." "He'd never leave without me." " Would you?" " I might." "No, she's right, Sam." "I'm strictly a Mission Control pilot." "I never had my brother's instinct for defying gravity." "Well, he won't have to leave without you." "Once we find our way there, it'll be a family scene." "You don't think I'd be any good for more than a few weeks without my Elma, do you?" "No." "Do you really feel that way, Jeff?" "Yes, I do." "Do you think it's right that we should move in on any planet, whether or not it's populated?" "We wouldn't be moving in as conquerors." "Wouldn't we?" "Haven't we always?" "I'm not qualified to answer that, but I do know that John doesn't think of himself as anyone's conqueror." "Only yours, honey." " And no one else's." " I should hope not." "I think I'll join that argument over there." "Thanks for the drink." " How you doing?" " Okay... considering." "These hors d'oeuvres are delicious." "I'm going to have to hire that chef for my restaurant." " You have a restaurant?" " No, not yet but I plan to open one as soon as I finish my tour of duty." "Nothing spectacular, you understand." "Just ordinary food..." "French fries, hamburgers, hot dogs." "I didn't know you were into gourmet food, Sam." "Gourmet food, Jeff!" "I think our table's ready." "Now, look, hold it." "Before we start, I'd like to make a little speech." "I want to wish you three guys the safest of journeys." "May God watch over you and protect you on your mission." " I'll drink to that." " Thank you." " Amen." " Thank you, Bill." "Aren't you coming to bed?" "In a while." "Hey." "It's all right." "It's going to be all right." "I wish it were." "I'm not going to ask you not to go." "I know you have to." "I know you do." "But two expeditions have failed, John." "Why another?" "Why?" "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I shouldn't have asked that." "I know it doesn't help." "We're not going to fail this time." "I promise you." "This time..." "This time we're going to make it." "There was an eerie stillness when they first set up camp in the dry cold of a Martian night." "Now they stand around the fire waiting and wondering." "I wonder how long this city's been deserted?" "We don't know it is deserted." "Well, just look at it." "Check it out?" "Not yet." "Wonder what happened to the other two expeditions?" "Looks peaceful enough down here." "We don't know that, either." "Wait a minute." "What's with all the gloomy talk here?" "We made it." "We're safe." "We should be celebrating." "How about if I break out the liquor rations now, sir?" "Let's wait till Spender gets back and we know it's safe." "It looks safe enough to me." "Wonder if it's possible there's still living Martians there?" "Looks to me as though this civilization died a long time ago." "But who knows?" "Yeah, who knows?" "Who the hell knows?" "What happened to the other expeditions?" "Hey, Cookie, come on, where's that coffee, huh?" "Right, okay." "Coffee, let's go." "Here we go." "Okay." "Cookie, Cookie, Cookie." "You know, if Mars is ever colonized a man could make himself a fortune here." "A fortune!" "What, build himself a restaurant?" "Why the hell not?" "People got to eat." "Well, I'm not building anything." "If that don't work, and I get home in one piece, maybe they'll throw a big parade for me." "Maybe I'll star in their TV commercials." "Hell, I can be sincere as the next fella." "I cashed in on this here trip." " Sam, you're all heart." " You betcha." "Hey, that's Spender." "Well?" "That city there's been dead for about a thousand years." "Same applies to three other cities in the hills." "But a fifth one about 70 miles from here..." "Yes?" "There were Martians living in it last week." "What do you mean last week?" "Where are they now?" "Well, they're dead." "Dead?" "I went into a house there thinking the city had been empty for a thousand years or more." "Inside, there were bodies like piles of autumn leaves, like dry sticks or stacks of burnt newspaper." "I would say dead ten days at the outside." "Then I went into towns and cities within a hundred-mile radius, and four out of five had been empty for a thousand years or more, but the fifth one always contained the same things... bodies." "Can you tell what they died of?" "You won't believe this, but as near as I could figure, they probably died of chicken pox." "Chicken pox?" "Only it did things to the Martians it never did to people on Earth." "We may not know what happened to those first two expeditions, but we know now what they unintentionally did to the Martians." " And you saw no sign of life?" " No, sir, I didn't." "I suppose it's possible that some escaped to the hills, but I doubt it, though." "And if that were true, there wouldn't be enough of them left to make any difference." "I would say as far as the Martians are concerned this planet is finished." "You know, a race creates itself for a million years, refines itself, does everything it can to give itself respect and beauty, and then it dies... part in its own time, with dignity, as it should be," "but the other part..." "Does it perish of some majestic affliction?" "No, it doesn't." "It dies of a disease that does not kill the youngest child on Earth." "It's like saying the Greeks died of mumps." "Or the Roman Empire was decimated by athlete's foot." "All right." "Why don't you get yourself some food, Jeff?" "Some food?" "Yeah, that's right, Spend." "Food." "Drink." "Come on, relax a little, huh?" "Get out of here, Briggs!" "This guy." "How about those drinks now, sir?" "Maybe you'd better." "Hey, Cookie, come on, gimme." "Let me tell you about New York City." "Last I was in New York City, I had this terrific blonde... no, a redhead." "The blonde was New Jersey." "That's exactly what I've always said about you, Briggs." "You don't know your armpit from that hole in your face." "Oh, yeah?" "Jenny, Jenny, Jenny." " Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey." " Oh, yeah?" "Hold it, fellas." "You ready for this?" "Come on, boys, get to it." "Come on, kick 'em up there." "That's it." "That's it, a little more of that." "Up higher." "That's it." "Get 'em up higher." "Come on, girls." "Let's have a little dance here." "You look terrific." "What a pair!" "Come on, girls, a little more." "Come on, higher, higher." "Come on, let's go here." "Whoo, boy." "A little more to drink I think, huh?" "Come on, girls, higher, higher." "Come on, I get you a drink, you kick higher." "I love it." "It works." "Hey, come on, we need a little more of that." "Got a garbage detail going out here." "Hey, where you going, Briggs?" "Come on, boys." "A garbage detail going out here." "Come on, get 'em together." "Are you coming or what?" "Let's go." "I christen thee Briggs Canal." "Briggs Canal." "Hey, boys, Briggs Canal." "Briggs, you're polluting the river!" "Jeff!" "Hey, Spender, come here!" "Spender, you son of a..." " You son of a..." " All right, all right." "I'll take care of it." "Get him some dry clothes on." "I'll take you back to the ship." "Suppose you explain yourself." "I don't know." "I don't know." "I was... ashamed." "Ashamed?" "Of Briggs." "Of all of them." "It's been a long trip." "A long trip, and it might well have been fatal." "Do you begrudge them some release from that?" "After what I said about the Martians?" "A civilization dying?" "They didn't see what you saw." "You can't expect them to feel the same way you feel." "Where is their respect, sir?" "Their sense of what is right?" "I don't follow you." "Something horrible has happened here, and we are responsible." "We are?" "We sent up those expeditions." " Oh, Jeff!" " Well, didn't we?" "Of course we did, but what happened was unforeseen." "You really think we would have sent up those expeditions if we'd known?" "Yes, I do." "Absolutely." "And they know it." "Doesn't it bother you, the idea of them watching us make fools of ourselves?" " Who?" " The Martians!" "You said they were dead." "But doesn't an old thing know when a new thing arrives?" "What are you talking about?" "Ghosts?" "I just believe in things that were done." "And there were so many things done here." "Streets and houses and books and big canals and clocks and places with names... things that were used and touched for centuries!" "I don't see how we can ever use them without feeling uncomfortable." "We can change the names but the old names will still be there." "So no matter how we touch Mars," "We won't be able to really touch it." "That'll make us angry." "We'll get mad at that and just rip it up." "We'll change it to suit ourselves." "And ruin it." "Like we've ruined Earth." "We're not going to ruin it." " No?" " No." "Us Earthmen have a talent for ruining things." "If there are any Martians alive in those hills they're going to grow to hate us." "No, you're wrong." "There's no hatred here." "Looking at that city, they were a graceful, philosophical people." "They wouldn't mind our being here any more than they would mind children playing on their lawns, knowing and understanding children for what they are." "Looking at all this we'll know we're not so marvelous." "And we are children." "We'll learn from Mars." " Will we?" " Oh, yes." "I won't report what happened just now." "Don't let it happen again." "Yes, sir." "Thank you." "Let's take a look at that city." "This is beautiful." "It's just beautiful." "Briggs is obviously moved." "Hello!" "Anybody home?" " Briggs." " Sir." "Shut up." "Yes, sir." "Who were they, I wonder." "How did they live?" "And who were their kings?" "Think I'm gonna be sick." "I'll be back." " Where are you going?" " I'll be back!" "Don't be gone long." "We're heading back to the ship!" " Any sign of him?" " No." "If he's there, he must be hiding, although why he'd want to hide, I have no idea." "I don't think he's going to be coming back, sir." "How do you mean?" "Well, I don't know exactly why." "It's just a feeling I got." "The way he acted tonight." "The way he looked in that city." "How?" "Different." "A way he never looked before." "Spender." "Where the hell have you been for the last week, huh?" "I'm the last Martian." "You're the..." "Hey, Spender!" "Where you been?" "I found a Martian." "Where?" "I've been living in a Martian city in the hills, learning to read their books, understand their art forms." "What are you talking about?" "One day a Martian appeared and said," ""Give me your boots," and I did." "And then he said," ""Give me your uniform," and I did." "I offered him my weapon, but he said he had his own." "Are you crazy?" "And then he said to follow him and see what happened." "And he walked across the desert and he's here right now." "I don't see any Martians." "Don't you?" "Sam." "What in hell could have done this?" "This wasn't done by our weapons." "Had to be a Martian weapon." "Spender?" "Or a Martian." "My God." "Three of them dead." "It had to be Spender." "It couldn't be anybody else." "Can't be." "He probably went off his rocker." "He always was in his own little world." "Right." "Let's arm ourselves, go get him." "Yeah, right now." "What the hell was that?" "!" "Must be the same weapon he used to kill Briggs and the others." "Okay, what do we do now?" "Drop 'em!" "A truce!" "Don't believe it, Colonel." "I could have killed you just now." "I didn't." "I just want to talk to you." "I'm putting my weapon down." "You carry yours." "If I go for my weapon, then kill me." "Don't you believe it, Colonel." "It's a trick." "A truce, Colonel." "Let's talk." " Let's go." " No." "No." "Just Colonel Wilder." "Don't do it." "Why, Jeff?" "Because I have found that what the Martians had was just as good as anything man could ever hope to achieve." "I'm also concerned as to what we might bring to this planet to contaminate it on every level until we blow it up." "Just the way we're bound to blow ourselves up on Earth." "How will killing us stop that?" "It will delay the next expedition." "If you return, there'll be a wholesale invasion of Mars, won't there?" "If we don't return, they'll still come." "Yes, probably." "But with luck, I'll live to be 60 or 70 years old and every expedition that comes to Mars will be met by me befriended by me destroyed by me." "And Mars will remain untouched for the next half century, at least." "And maybe they'll give up by then." "Maybe the war will start, and space travel will be finished." "You've got it all planned, haven't you?" "Yes, I have, John." "It's not going to work that way." "Within an hour, you'll be dead." "I found some underground passages and a place to live you'll never find." "I can hide there until you're off guard and just pick you off." "I can't believe it's you saying these things, Jeff." "I can't believe it's you doing these things." "Murdering innocent... men." "Let me show you how they lived." "For half an hour." "It's all I ask, John." "Then you can come after me." "Parkhill!" "Colonel!" "I'll be back in 30 minutes." "Where you going?" " With Spender." " Don't you trust him!" "Here?" "The answer's all here, Colonel." "I don't know what you're talking about." "The secret to Martian life is that they discovered the secret of cooperating with nature." "Knowing that the reason for living is simply life itself, no more than that." "The enjoyment of pure being." "And yet they killed." "With two expeditions vanishing, do you really think the Martians had nothing to do with it?" "If they did, it was only to defend their way of life." "The way you're defending it?" "Yes." "Yes." "Because it's a way of life worth defending, Colonel." "A way of life that blends religion with art and science while realizing in essence that science is only an attempt to investigate the miracle of life, and art an attempt to explain it." "I'm sure their way of life was wonderful." "But that doesn't..." "Then stay here." "Stay here, and listen to music like you've never heard in your entire life." "There's a patio near here with a tape reel of Martian music on it that is at least 50,000 years old." "There are Martian books that date back dozens of centuries." "An entire history of their planet, their life, their culture, their art, their philosophy." "Why go back to the others?" "You're not at all like them." "Stay here, and come to appreciate the perfect simplicity of Martian life." "Stay, John." "It's a shame there's no Martians left." "There are a few." "Where?" "Where are the Martians?" "You may never know, but perhaps I'll show them to you if you if you stay." "You know I can't do that." "Well." "I suppose you had better start back then, huh?" "But do me a favor." "You want a favor?" "Yes." "If you win, will you do whatever you can to keep them from tearing this planet apart?" "Well, I'll do everything I can, of course, but I'm afraid that'll be damn little." "And if it'll help you to accept this any easier, just think of me as a man who went berserk one summer day and was never right again." "Turn around." "Turn around, Colonel." "Now walk." "Stop." "Jeff, I..." "He won't come down." "Make it a clean shot." "Get it over with." " With pleasure." " Through the heart." " After what he did?" " You heard what I said." "Take a look." "Who could be dressed like that?" "Must be some kind of a trick, Colonel." "I don't think so." "Let's split." "Dear God." "Is this the way it's going to be?" "It was only then that Colonel Wilder fully realized what was going to happen." "Men would come to the new frontier." "They would come because they were afraid or unafraid." "because they were happy or unhappy." "They would come with small dreams or large dreams or no dreams at all." "But they would come." "And then what would happen to Mars?" "Monsters!" "No, wait!" "Come back!" "Who is it?" "He looks like David." "He's not what you think he is!" "A Martian!" "Hit the dirt!"