The New Planet, The New Life

    Marcia woke up with a heaviness of having come out of a deep dream state. She had actually been asleep for many days. Someone had sedated her after she had become hysterical by the trauma of leaving earth with the remnant of human beings who escaped. The rest of her family had perished by the fire caused by the enormous asteroid upsetting the very molten core of the earth. The earth had actually moved off of its axis. She had escaped because she had had an interview with NASA minutes before the disaster happened. The whole center was in a panic because they saw it coming from their giant telescope. One thing she knew, there were no other survivors. Only 60 people were able to fly away to Mars from the wreckage that was her home planet. She had a blurry memory of the flight out, and watching the earth burn like an ever smaller glowing ember as they rocketed away.

         As the pain of her family’s loss threatened to overwhelm her again, Marcia stretched out her limbs and forced herself to think of self-care. Water, she was so dried out, she could not cry if she chose. There was a water fountain right outside her sterile little room, and she stumbled over there. She pulled her long blonde hair out of the way as she gulped down several mouthfuls of the cold clean water. Drinking was a nice distraction. She wiped her dry, crusty eyes with a wet hand and went back to what had been her room for a while, though she had no memory of it. 

    Food, thought Marcia, as she stretched each limb out in turn, a habit she began in dance school years ago. As if by telepathy, a woman who Marcia knew by sight at NASA appeared with a tray of hot, mouth-watering food. 

“Oh hello, you read my mind. Please stay, I have so many questions.”

“I’ll do the best I can.”

“How can you make this meal? How will we live here?” Marcia ogled the soft warm bread, steamy soup, and fruit.

“There has been a team preparing for this eventuality for decades. Mars’ atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, so trees will thrive here and in turn produce oxygen to make this planet habitable. Until the balance of the atmosphere is drastically altered, we have oxygen equipment to wear if we leave this unit. As soon as we landed, we fabricated a quick compound with a renewable oxygen system that will keep us safe as we plant our new green gardens. This compound we are in has a gas stove and oven, refrigerators, and generators for power. We do need to get busy making the atmosphere outside breathable. Do you want to see the garden team at work?”

“Yes, if I can bring my soup bowl”, said Marcia, torn between dejection and curiosity.

“By the way, my name is Heather. We all go by first names here, because as it happens, our small band of survivors each has a unique first name.”

As Marcia and Heather went down a corridor to the sunny end of the compound, they reached a thick glass panel the size of a door. Looking out, they spotted about six astronauts with oxygen tanks strapped on planting tiny trees in the soil. Each one had droppers with which they were applying a silvery liquid around the roots of the trees. 

“Oh”, said Heather.” I know what they’re doing. That is quickensilver, a new laboratory triumph. It accelerates tree growth by 5000 percent!”

Even as she finished this explanation, the trees began to shoot slowly up into the air, leaves unfurling like the graceful arms of a dancer. In another minute, they had reached a higher height than the astronauts, as these workers moved off to plant more saplings. The nourished young trees began to bud silvery blossoms.           

          This new world might really become very beautiful, Marcia thought. Here I just expected red dust and desolation.

“Oh Marcia, one more thing. It’s quite cold out there. If it weren’t for the quickensilver, those trees would probably lie dormant indefinitely as if in winter and later die. There is a warming property to the quickensilver that ignites the trees to an eternal springtime. When the oxygen levels rise high enough, there will be fire pits to warm the temperature outside, not so close to the trees, of course. The earth was the perfect temperature (in most places) for human beings, and we’ll have to artificially warm this planet. The good news: we didn’t bring any insect pests with us!”

    “This is fascinating Heather, and I appreciate the information, but.. but.. how are you so happy that we’ve left the earth behind and have to start this gigantic endeavor?”

  “Marcia, I’m fortunate that the people I care about the most have made it here with me. My best friend Carla is here, and my boyfriend Noel. My parents passed years ago.

I know you’ve suffered a terrible loss, as have others. I want you to start counseling this afternoon with Dr. Sam. It will be a group session from 2-4. It’s just 12 noon now. The hours on Mars are so close to 24 hrs a day, we’ve just decided to keep our days the same length as before."

“Ok, I need to get cleaned up. I do need help. I prefer a group session, so the focus will not be always on me, and my loss.” A tear threatened to drop out of Marcia’s left eye.

“Yes”, said Heather.” Take care of yourself and please be on time for Dr. Sam’s session. He’s great. He helped my friend Carla years ago as NASA’s longtime resident psychiatrist. “

   Marcia nodded at Heather, and turned to her room again. She now noticed that another room was connected to her bedroom. It was a simple shower, toilet, and sink. Some basic soaps and toiletries had been placed there already. She knew she must reek after sleeping for days. How had Heather not recoiled from the stench? Marcia tried to sing songs to distract herself as she showered. She did not want to think. Save that for later. Let me just enjoy the cleanliness. Her shower over,  Marcia found some clothes in the small closet in her bedroom. They thought of everything.

      Soon it was time to find Dr. Sam’s session. Heather hadn’t told her where it was. Well, this place can’t be that large, of course. 

Marcia began to go right since there hadn’t been much to the left of her door. She looked into every open room, and so focused was she that she collided with a young man coming from the other direction. He apologized, very flustered.

“Oh, sorry, I was just looking to my right, and didn’t know there was anyone..”

“That’s alright, I wasn’t looking either.”

The man looked at Marcia and didn’t realize his mouth was open. He was a big fan of old movies, and this girl looked like the beautiful Lara from the movie Doctor Zhivago. 

“Where are you headed?,”he said.

“Um, Dr. Sam’s session?”

“Me too! It must be around here somewhere.”

The two searchers found the office really soon on Marcia’s right.

“Ah, you must be Marcia and Colin! Welcome, and have a seat,” said a cheerful charming man of about forty-five. Dr. Sam wore glasses,had a bald head, infectious smile, and sparkling grey eyes that were kind and approachable. He wore a black turtleneck and jeans that he had to roll up a little. 

   Marcia looked around her. There were two other people joining them, both middle-aged, a florid man who looked uncomfortable, and a woman with a brown bob hairstyle and red-rimmed eyes. Then she peered at Colin. Colin was really good-looking when his mouth was closed, Marcia observed.

    “Let’s all introduce ourselves. I’m Dr. Sam and I worked for NASA for twelve years in my role as psychiatrist.” 

Dr. Sam invited the florid man to speak with a gesture.

“I’m Nate, and I used to supply NASA with food from my store. I’m struggling with the fact that I had to leave my family behind. The asteroid hadn’t hit, and my family was only three miles away. Why couldn’t we all have been saved?”

Dr. Sam just nodded understandingly, and turned to the red-eyed lady.

“I’m Nancy, and I happened to be taking a tour of NASA with a friend. My family was far away in my home state of Pennsylvania. My friend was left to die in the bathroom, as I was shuttled on board in what seemed like an instant!” Nancy broke down, and Dr. Sam patted her hand.

Dr. Sam looked at Marcia. 

“Hi, I’m Marcia. I had an interview at NASA that day. My family lived..an hour away.” As Marcia said lived to denote her family no longer did live, the words caught in her throat. Therapy was going to hurt.

Marcia was so engrossed in her thoughts she didn’t even hear what Colin said. She tried to listen again as she heard Dr. Sam begin.

“What you’re all feeling is valid, natural. An injustice has been done. Your loved ones have died, hopefully quickly and painlessly, and you are left behind in a new and bewildering existence to wonder why. If you believe that God has spared you for a reason, it will help you heal. You will have to take baby steps along the path of grief, it’s important to grieve, and with time, you will come to accept what has happened. You will eventually be whole again, ready to begin a new life with new people that you will grow to appreciate. Time really does heal, and a new setting like this can help you move on to a healthier outlook.”

Dr. Sam then went on to tell a story about his own loss of his mother, and explained how different people who came into his life, and his faith helped to fill the void her death had made. 

      When Marcia left the session, she felt a little lighter, but emotionally drained. She thought she would skip dinner and sleep. 

Sleep, however would not come. Her mind turned to Dr. Sam. He reminded her a bit of her father. The tears began to silently flow. He had mentioned appreciating new people. What if she wasn’t remotely ready to let go of her affection and dependence of the people left behind? After thinking herself into a slight headache, she went out to search for food and maybe pain killers. She figured the kitchen must be near the generator, so she would follow the noise. A humming grew louder as she passed the room that was Dr. Sam’s office. At last, she found it. A

woman was cleaning plates over a large double-sink. 

“Hello. My name is Marcia. I missed dinner and have a headache. Can you help me?”

“Oh, hello. My name is Nora, and yes sit down.”

Marcia obeyed, finding a nearby metal chair next to a table of leftovers. Nora ladled sauce over what looked like eggplant parmigiana and brought over a piece of bread. Then she went to a cupboard and found acetaminophen and gave Marcia a glass of water and two pills. Marcia thanked Nora and drank and ate at the table. Nora went back to cleaning with her back turned to Marcia, so Marcia finished up quickly. She thanked Nora and went to retrace her steps. Regaining her room five minutes later, she decided to go back to the glass panel where Heather had led her. The trees had really thickened up to full-grown where 8 hours before they had been delicate little saplings. Some had fruit on them. She wondered if the fruit would be safe to eat with such an oxygen-poor environment. Well, hopefully someone around here knew what they were doing. 

The sight was a hopeful one, and Marcia felt able to sleep at last. 

        The next day, Heather knocked on her door at 9 am. She handed Marcia a paper with a schedule for her next several days. Marcia was happy to see that she would be more involved in the activities of the group, and hoped she could contribute something. Heather told her that she still had time to catch breakfast if she went in the next half hour. Marcia ran to get ready. She couldn’t believe why she wasn’t still in a fetal position in her bed. The new unfamiliar setting did help somehow. 

         Near the kitchen was an open dining room Marcia hadn’t noticed before. There at a table sat Colin and Nate from therapy. Marcia served herself from the buffet, and went to join them. 

“Hello, how are you?,” said Marcia a little shyly.

“A little better, thanks,” said Colin. Nate just nodded. 

“I feel better too. Having structure in my day will be good. I’m assigned to go sort clothes for people with Hayden at 10:30. What about you, Colin?, “ said Marcia.

“I’m assigned to furniture repair with Rodney,” said Colin a little disappointed. 

“I have to go train on generator maintenance with Deepak,” said Nate. “I think that will go quickly.”

Nate rose from the table. “See you two at therapy at 2.”

       Marcia ate her eggs, and then paused as she noticed Colin staring at her again. 

“Sorry,” Colin laughed. “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Julie Christie? You know, the girl in Dr. Zhivago?”

“No,” replied Marcia. “I never saw that classic. I suppose there’s no way I can see it now.”

“Well, she’s beautiful, like you.” Colin seemed embarrassed by his own statement.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” said Marcia slowly.

Colin brightened visibly. 

     Colin and Marcia struck up a friendship really quickly, and a romance a little slowly. Marcia also made other friends like Hayden, Heather, and her neighbor Lottie. She really liked everyone at some level.

She felt like she was kept very busy, and it was good. The sessions with Dr. Sam became fewer and farther between. Hayden taught Marcia basic robotics, and assigned her to make a short weeding robot. After two attempts, her third little robot was a success! Marcia also helped streamline clothing inventory and many had noticed and thanked her. Dr. Sam didn’t need to roll up his jeans anymore, having been given the right sizes.

    About six months after the landing on Mars, Marcia had a breakthrough. Dr. Sam had asked the group how their loved ones would feel if they were to see them now, building this new wonderful garden. Marcia didn’t answer out loud, but it struck her: They would be proud of me. I’ve opened my heart to new friends,I’m working hard and contributing, thriving in this new environment.

        Marcia felt a sense of peace again. There would be moments of sadness in looking back, but those moments of joy were growing in frequency. I’m on the new planet, living a new life. The best-laid plans., what was that quote again?

      A year later, there was a massive celebration. The oxygen levels had made hundreds of miles habitable. The fruit crops would no longer have to be disposed of, but could be harvested. The fires had been lit. The bees had been let out to flourish. Only Heather was disappointed! She had been hoping for a bug-free world. Colin had been fashioning a ring, and was going to pick the celebration evening to ask Marcia the question. 

        Marcia had ended the sessions with Dr. Sam. She felt whole again. Life was hers and she wasn’t going to waste another moment. She hoped Colin would be ready to commit to her at last. Marcia hoped to live life to the fullest. 

Lottie had leant her an emerald green dress for the party. Tonight would be great!

       Dear reader, it was.