9 INTERLUDE; the Boy and the Storm

The boy looked around confused, colored wind effects passed through the mirrors of the Pleidians and were circling around within the domed area of the playground which was empty; he was the last one there, it was few moments ago that he was flying within the gravity controller tube, and before he realized the little boy was all alone. But maybe he was alone from the start; he felt no joy, what joy was there to be? Everyone was within their own homes fearing the catastrophe, but he was still there, outside, his parents asked him not to leave the house tonight but he cared not for what they wanted of him, it was always like that, no matter how much they would have liked a normal kid, and he was by definition no such thing. The little boy was diagnosed with severe dysfunction of some jumpity-habity nerves or whatever they were called, he couldn't feel mental pain or joy; he was depressed since birth, in a world where people saw colors he saw only the red and the deserted that this planet represented, Mars was the home of the depressed and sickness was spreading on this planet of desolation.

The boy decided he had enough, he turned to return home, leaving the fun behind, dust rose from his footstep on the sandy road, domed buildings and public places stood on each side of the street, signs leading to various locations, all translated in many different languages, helping the galaxy tourists get around. Two individuals with decontamination suits were talking to each other intently, neither of them noticed the little boy passing by with his head down and his knees scraped from the sands of the playground. He kicked a flat rock around; it swerved slightly and hit one of the signs. The boy looked up and beyond the sign onto the horizon, it was covered with a massive thick cloud of dust from one end to the other and it was speedily coming his way.

The electromagnetic sand-storms were a common weather phenomenon on this planet, but this one was massive, he heard adults mention it as the biggest storm of the century and it was getting closer and closer to the transparent dome circling the city. The boy stood still, the clouds were spinning around the massive columns of dust and red sand, covering the sky.

He observed closely and slowly he was moving towards it feeling the power and energy behind it. Suddenly he woke up to a force that was stopping his movement; a hand was spread before him holding him back but it was a deformed hand, with a few more knuckles than the average human. He looked up to see the face of a Martian partially covered by a gray metallic breathing mask. His long slender arm and fingers were stretched before him. He stepped back unconsciously still looking at the Martian who in turned looked back at the kid with his gaping eye sockets behind his oxygen mask. His eyes were a bright gold. He looked old and weathered.

''You were getting drawn into the power of the storm, child'' he stopped and dropped his hand now that he had the boy's attention. '' Did your parents not teach you the ways of Mars?'' he asked seemingly disinterested to the answer he was looking distracted for something in the air around them.

''They have, but I wanted to know what all the fuss was about''

The Martian turned to face him, amused by that answer ''that's a dangerous line of thought little one, what is your name?''

''Empler'' The Martian perked up hearing the name, his eyes widened.

''Have you… awakened yet, Empler?''

''awakened?'' Empler asked curiously. But the Martian simply looked at him for a moment unflinching. Empler backed off a little more, unsure of the situation.

''you have some sense inside you yet, child, go back to your home. This storm would be most disastrous''. The Martian said and moved forward, towards the storm that was brewing a few kilometers away, eventually disappearing from Empler's sight behind the unsettled dust above the streets. This weird encounter for a moment stunned him, till the alarms starting sounding pulling him away from his dazzle.

The two adults in the decontamination suits eventually took notice of him, and started making all kinds of noise to be heard behind the alarm and the massive sandstorm that was brewing. They started hustling him away from the edges of the dome, asking him various questions, till he managed to finally convince them to let him go on his own, it wasn't that hard to do, seemed like they were quite busy trying to make sure everything was working at the last minute before they sought shelter as well. He started walking towards his home, passing through the streets of the city of Karoun, the second biggest city on Mars and the first settlement that was established 150 years ago by the first human citizens of Mars.

He wondered about this encounter, it was rare to converse with a Martian, they were hard to find but more importantly they rarely interacted with their human cohabitants.

But this had to be attributed to the fact that they almost never ventured inside the human establishments as they had to wear special masks and depressurize before entering the city domes, besides they were quite used to their own settlements inside the pyramids, what was once a simple shelter it had now become their home. But there was another reason for the lack of interaction, even in school everything they learned aimed to discourage them from interacting with them. Their terrifying history would make even the most curious child to think twice of going near one of the Martians.

To Empler's eyes they weren't much different from humans. Their own technological advancements led to their own downfall. They were war friendly since their first days, even space ventures did not unite their various factions, eventually a Great civil War lead nearly to their extinction, but unlike humans they never recovered and then the great storms begun as if god himself sought to punish these creatures. They were pitiful. For thousands of years they have kept themselves sheltered, striving to remain on a planet that was rejecting them, they have been reduced to few numbers and yet, their resolution never seemed to weaver.

Now they were sharing their dangerous planet with another bunch, one that dissimilarly to them, had greater aspirations than survival. Humans were there to stay, yet they asked not for permission. In the end they were obnoxious invaders. Empler turned at the final corner leading to the center of the city, the commercial area, which was empty like any other time a Martian storm was coming. A drone came into view, beeping doing circles around Empler, ''piss of, Labe''

''That's no way to talk to an elder'' the drone answered with its mechanical voice. ''your parents have been waiting for you, they almost came out to bring you in''.

Empler sighed, he was about to get scolded severely.

An unexpected sight awaited him as he was let in through the automated door. Their parents were talking intensely with someone on the popped up screen within their lightly decorated living room.

His parents turned to the unexpected arrival of Empler, with expressions of sadness turning into anger, but despite that they rushed to hug him; his mother put her arms on his shoulders. ''Empler, you promised that you will never do that again''

''you know what today is'' his father said with a severe tone to his voice, staring him down.

''I am sorry, I got forgetful. It won't happen again'' his parents look at his apologetic look for a moment and simply nodded towards him in an acknowledging manner. Empler was caught off guard. Was that it? He was expecting more scolding, but his parents concerned faces, made him realize there was something else going on.

''who were you talking to?'' He said, as he was passing by the main hall decorated with projections of some of the family's best moments on this dusty planet.

''It's not important'' his father answered coldly.

''Come, let's eat'' his mother said, grabbing him by the hand and leading him to the kitchen.

His family gathered around the metal table, with their food set out. Usually it was hard for people to gulp down food, during the storms, so the plates were filled with soft mushy food.

The table shook for a moment; the storm had reached their establishment. Empler and his parents winced; the pressure of the storm could get to them, even from inside their home. They each laid their hands out in their typical support circle, waiting for the feeling to pass. And it soon did, as did the pressure.

''Empler'' his father said, ''tomorrow is the celebration of our 150 years since our first settler here. Your mother and I were thinking maybe you can join us, as soon as you are done with you school projects, and they would even bring out the old machinery they used for display''

''I am not sure dad, I think my school projects will take most of my time, I don't think I can make it''. Empler said distractedly while gulping down his food. A sigh and the disappointed face of his mother caught his attention.

He nearly felt bad, his parents were trying hard for his sake hoping to make the best out of every situation and to connect with him, but he was always indifferent towards them, he didn't understand why. On the other hand his parents could have forced him to come along in their desperation, but they weren't such people. They were soft with him and patient. He sometimes wished he could care for them as much as they cared for him.

As their family was finishing their dinner, a sound begun to wail through their ears, his parents stood up within a second and hurried along to their living room where their alert station was placed in. Their parents stood still, frozen before the machine which was blinking maniacally. Empler run past his parents to see what hooked them, after all it was hardly unusual for the alert to pop off turning green, signaling a major damage to their occupation like a dome dysfunction during the storm. But instead the color was yellow. He looked at his parents and they looked back at him stunned, unable to speak; they were under invasion by a foreign force.