The Call

The air in the station was cold. At least the part I was in. Due to the communication equipment needing to be kept cool, there was always a chill to the air. It reminded me of home so I didn't mind as much as some. The only thing that bothered me was how few times an Earth year I was able to see my family.

"Peter," Heather asked as she walked up behind me. "We were thinking about hanging out at the local bar tonight."

"If I do that I might have a hangover." I replied. "You know I'm a lightweight."

"This job is beyond boring. Nothing is going to happen. Hell, I'll cover your shift tomorrow."

Heather was right. Our job was to monitor communication between Earth, Mars, and anyone else. The most exciting thing tended to be when a sandstorm messed with the equipment so we had to wait until it was over. The other somewhat exciting thing to happen were updates about some of the colonies. Those could be things as simple as a change in rations.

"When I was growing up I wanted to move to Mars." Heather said and shook her head. "Who knew it would be so boring?"

"I only wanted to support my family." I said.

On Earth I could've supported my family well enough. My son would've had a good education and a future full of possibilities. My wife wouldn't have needed to want for much. We could have had a house that was big enough if we decided on one more child. But I had decided on a job that would pay more just in case life didn't go smoothly.

"Are jobs on Earth really that unstable nowadays?" Heather asked.

"They're not as bad as in the past." I admitted. "I just don't want to be fired and left jobless for months."

"You do know about the rumors, right?"

"Yes, Heather."

I looked out the window at the reddish Martian landscape. Strange how it had become normal these past few months. When I went back home it would be extremely odd. I could walk anywhere without worrying about breathable air. All of the landscape wouldn't be towered by energy fields to keep breathable air in.

Heather went away and I looked back at my computer screen while audio recordings played. No one tended to communicate with this station. So there was no need for me to give any input. All I had to do was make sure everything was running smoothly. My ears twitched for any signs of distress. Usually people were able to contact the appropriate authorities for disasters. However, there had been one too many accidents where it had taken much too long for an accident to be found out. This was especially true for those stationed near the very edge of the solar system. Strange things happened or people grew mad with fear.

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