The 8.40pm to Mars

Number of humans on Mars: 5,084,295,107

Number of humans on Earth: 3,998,672,803

SpacePort 04 in deepest Kazakhstan is not looking its best. After 16 years with no money for maintenance, the old London underground looks rather luxurious in comparison. Years of dust and dirt blown over from the MCL’s have left their mark, hardly the sparkling white images displayed on digiboards around the world. But the cleanliness of the Spaceport was not Lily’s biggest concern.

On June 7th 2033 an emergency meeting was held by the UN. The climate emergency had not been handled well, so the UN prepared a plan, knowing that climate change was passed the point of return. They set up a vote with two choices on the ballot: stay on Earth for a peaceful, but shorter, existence; or use SpaceX’s plan to take humanity safely to Mars, ensuring a longer future for humanity. It was an enormous task and not without controversies. The final result was an 87% vote to head for Mars. However a UN document leak in 2034 confirmed suspicious of foul play; a 54% remain on Earth result. Apologies where made but nothing changed. They quickly developed and built 6 ‘SpacePorts’ around the world, and 60 MCL’s (Mars Capsule Launchers), though there are 59 at present. One exploded 5 days after takeoff, with three thousand onboard. Still, nothing changed. It’s now 2049, Elon Musk is in happy retirement on Mars, and the world follows suit, like it or not.

Lily checked herself and her designated suitcase in and headed straight for the imaginatively named ‘SpaceBar’. She took a seat at the bar and waited for the bartender to notice her. He didn’t. Just as she was about to wave him down, the stool next to her moved. A man sat himself down and half smiled at Lily politely. Lily noticed he looked sort of familiar. It clicked; he looked like a rugged and unshaved Henry Cavil in his 2020’s heyday. The man slammed his hand down on the bar and the barman jumped, as did she. Worried for his hand. She looked at him and smiled; if he smiled back she assumed he wasn’t in pain. He smiled, and told the barman Lily was first. She couldn’t quite believe her luck. Good-looking people are hard to come by these days; fashion and maintenance are barely existent, humanity focused solely on its future survival. After an awkward second of staring intently at this man, she turned to the barman and ordered her drink in a panic.

“Vodka and Tonic, please!” Lily doesn’t like Vodka and Tonic. She was so distracted by this beautiful man next to her she couldn’t recall her favourite drink, dark rum on the rocks. She overthought about changing her order, concluding she would look like an idiot if she did. The barman gave her the unwanted drink and charged her band $25 for the privilege. The stranger next to her ordered his drink, double bourbon on ice. ‘Fuck sake’ she huffed at herself. It was almost her favourite drink. She wondered if looking at his drink while drinking her own would somehow make it taste better. She tried it while the barman charged his band $30.

“Are you ok?” he asked her.

“Err, yes?”

“Only you look in pain…” While paying he had noticed her grimaced face when she took a sip of her drink.

“Oh” she answered rather embarrassed. “I may have ordered a drink I don’t like. But I’ve paid $25 for it so…”

“You like Whiskey?” he asked, trying to hide a gentle laugh under his stubble.

“Depends, if it’s scotch no, but if it’s a bourbon then yes.” Lily knew his drink was bourbon and desperately wanted it, but didn’t have the audacity to ask.

“Have mine, lets swap. What is this?” Did he just read her mind?

“Its Vodka and Tonic.”

“Awful choice.” He pulled the drink over to himself across the dirty bar and slid his whiskey over to her.

“Thank you, you didn’t have too.” Lily’s voice was breaking a little with the nerves.

“Its fine” he said, pushing the words out with a deep sigh, “Any alcohol will do for this situation.”

“What situation?” Lily blurted out awkwardly.

“This whole… thing. This building. This situation. I didn’t vote for this and now I legally have to fly to Mars.”

“Oh.” replied Lily, now feeling bad for asking. An awkward silence fell between them for a moment. Who was this man? Had he too been forced to leave by law?

“I’m sorry,” he said, breaking her train of thought. “You didn’t need to hear that from a stranger in a bloody ‘Spaceport’ bar.” His used his fingers to quote ‘SpacePort’, signalling his disapproval.

“Its ok, I get it. Like, REALLY get it.” ‘Rein it in.’ she said to herself. “If it makes you feel better, I’m Lily and I disapprove of all this too.” She kicked herself for going against her own advice.

“Thank you, Lily.” He swirled his full glass around in his hands, staring at it the whole time. Lily noticed he didn’t really make eye contact with her, despite his ease and willingness to talk.

“I’m Sebastian, by the way.” He said swinging slightly on his bar stool to face her, hand open and poised to shake hers. Now he was facing towards her something happened. A spark.

“Which flight are you on?” Lily asked, hoping he would say the 8.40pm.

“The 8.40. How about you?” Holy shit. The day she had been dreading since she received her call up letter had arrived and she had lustful butterflies, the last thing she ever expected to feel. Brimming with sudden confidence, she asked him his seat and capsule numbers.

“Just wondering if we are in the same compartments, be good to have a familiar face at launch.” Was that a quick save? While she debated this, he searched for his ticket on his Pad.

“I’m in… compartment number…” Lily was picturing their life together on Mars, jumping to imaginary scenarios. It was the only place with happiness, her imagination.

“Four. Compartment four. And you?”

“Ohh, hold on.”

In panic she had forgotten her own compartment. She reached down into her bag to grab her Pad. As she did, Sebastian watched her. He was starting to get curious about her. She was a first bit of chemistry he had experienced in years. As a protester and campaigner for the Earthers (an anti-Mars group who campaigned for their legal right to make a choice to stay on Earth), his life was fighting for the cause, not fighting feelings of love. But Lily had a glint in her eye, something he had not expected to ever feel again. As he watched her he noticed a necklace fall out of her shirt. It caught the light, a dim shine but a shine neither the less. He realised he couldn’t even remember the last time he saw nice jewellery. It was rare these days for people to wear it, nobody dressed up anymore, most social businesses had shut down and many people had already left the planet. Much of Earth was empty of human life. Plant life already starting to take over, crushing buildings with their roots. In all this darkness life had forgotten love. A companion is no longer needed for children thanks to BioTech. Humans rarely court anymore, there’s no need. But through the thick dust shone this small glimmer of light, and it caused a sensation he had not felt in years; butterflies.

“Where the fuck is it?” Lily muttered under her breath.

She couldn’t find her Pad with her ticket. Sebastian smiled; he found her flustered and awkward demeanour rather cute.

“I like your necklace” blurted Sebastian, mimicking Lily’s awkwardness.

“Oh, thank you” she said lifting her hand out of her bag to clutch it. “It was my grandmothers, my granddad gave it to her on their first date in 1997.”

“Is there a picture inside?”

“No” she signed. Lily dipped her eyes, a wave of sadness flowed over her. “My grandmother used to tell me as a child that it was a special love locket. The heart represents true love, and you are only allowed to put a picture of your beloved in there, otherwise its bad luck. Its kind of dumb I know, but I still leave it empty because life’s bad enough without tempting fate too.”

“That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard in years.” Sebastian blushed, now unable to look at her for fear of another wave of butterflies. Just as he plucked up the courage to look up, the overhead speakers bellowed.

“All passengers in compartment four for the 8.40pm to Mars please head to gate thirteen immediately.”

Sebastian looked up at the speaker. That was his call, but he didn’t want to leave, he was fully engulfed in Lily’s aura.

“Found it!” she shouted, “Err… compartment four! Looks like we could be roomies!”

“Well, we’ll find out soon, that’s our call.”

Lily hadn’t heard the speaker, she was so engrossed in both Sebastian and finding her Pad she almost went deaf.

“Oh, was that us?” He watched Lily gather all the things she had previously taken out of her bag sweep messily back in.

“Did you want to walk up together?” he asked.

“Sure why not.” Lily tried to calm her giddiness under her panic of refilling her bag, but it didn’t work.

“Let me help” he offered. He grabbed her coat off the stool next to her and swung his own bag over his shoulder.

They left the bar, thankful to leave the sticky carpet behind and headed to gate thirteen. The walk to the gate was awkward. They hardly spoke, like teenagers on a first date. There was a sense of fear in the air. Gate thirteen had a few hundred passengers when they arrived, but it was deafly silent. Most that board the MCL’s are strangers, you’re called up in age order so most families have been dispersed over the years, split between two planets.

“Can all passengers in section eight of compartment four please head to the desk..” the SpacePort worker shouted.

The speaker had broken, his gruff voice told everyone he’d been shouting for years. Anything that breaks in a SpacePort is left broken.

“This is us.” he said.

He knew her section number too; he peaked at her Pad ticket when she wasn’t looking. He couldn’t believe his luck just as much as she couldn’t. They headed through the gate and took the long walk through the corridor to the MCL. A deafening silence fell. Everyone was a nervous stranger about to embark on a journey they never imagined they would have to take as children. Lily and Sebastian walked through the door and onto the MCL. The stench of rocket fuel didn’t relax anyone; a chorus of coughing broke the silence. There were no allocated seat numbers, just compartments. They both secretly searched for two seats together, hoping they could be next to each other for lift off.

“Think I’ll take this one, by the window” Sebastian signalled to Lily “A window seat makes me feel less claustrophobic. There’s another seat here too, if you like…”

He tailed off at the end, not really knowing how to end his sentence. He just wanted her to say yes.

“Err, yeah ok, sure.” Lily replied, trying to remain cool about both the situation of Sebastian and leaving Earth forever.

They popped their bags in the lockers and went to their seats. Seats are only for take off and landing, the rest of the flight you are free to use your cubicle. Each seat also has its own corresponding cubicle with a single bed, an armchair, locker and a TV. They are not huge, but it makes the long flight to Mars a bit more comfortable. As they had chairs together, they also had cubicles next to each other. This got both their minds racing as they read through the health and safety pamphlet. Could be a good way to kill the time, visiting each other’s rooms. There are stories of people finding love this way, but many speculated that was just government lies trying to encourage people to go.

The engines eventually fired up, breaking the nervous silence and causing the MCL to shake violently – everyone had to be strapped in. This was it. No turning back. The jolt of the engines caused Sebastian a moment of panic and he instinctively grabbed Lily’s hand.

“Are you ok?” she asked, the orange glow of the flames flattering her face to create a piece of art for him to look at in his moment of need.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that,” he whispered pulling his hand away, “I’ve always been a nervous flyer and this is a whole new level.”

“I understand,” she calmly said while carefully bringing their hands together again “I’m scared too.”

The rocket launchers kicked in and flames flew passed the window next to him, suddenly the window seat seamed like a stupid idea. The grip of their hands tightened as the launch process became more and more intense. There was a loud bang, the gates where down and yet another huge jolt carried through the MCL. They gripped their hands so tightly together neither was confident blood was flowing through, and in a moment of fear she grabbed her necklace with her other hand, in the hope that in doing so fate and luck would keep them safe. They propelled into the air, the G-force forcing their muscles to tighten.

Liftoff.