Casey rested her head on the window of the train. She loved the cool feeling compared to the warm air blasting through the vents. She watched the dusty red rocks and soil pass by her in craters and hills, pockmarked with patches of green and blue in intersecting circles. Far in the distance she could see Tharsis, the massive lump taking up most of the horizon, gouged by Marineris. Even further she saw a faint glimmer in the sky.

“Asimov.”

The outer anchor for the space elevator, Asimov Station, carved through a captured carbon asteroid. Absolutely massive, but it looked like just a pinprick from where she sat.

Casey turned away from the window and took her phone from her pocket. The same message, unanswered, sat there, waiting for her. 

“Hey kiddo! Know you’ve been a bit worried about what’s next but…”

(more…)