The new civilization was getting on well. Technologically advanced, we packed some of the major developments on earth. A special computer was engineered and works like a gigantic plant. It “breathes” in gas on mars, and now carbon dioxide, which it transforms into oxygen. It also serves as a heater to replace some of the heat of the sun that is not getting here.
But like on earth, the small surface area on mars causes people to fight over the land. However, the demand for nuclear energy has made it so soldiers have to fight with old weapons. For instance, gunpowder.
May 19, 2364
“Get moving!” barked the commander.
The food supply was running short again. We were ordered to scavenge some meat, berries, roots, anything. The fact that there are no wild animals here, led to a huge demand for meat. Many people raise plants and animals brought from earth. Everyone was cranky.
My friend and I had thought it would be fun to join the army. It was at first. We got to load pistols, fire bullets. It was a boy’s dream come true.
At first we were fed a large ration of food as we marched north towards Skimidova. The land was near the center of mars and was currently receiving the most heat. The land also contains one of the biggest masses of ice; our water supply in the south is running out.
I saw a small farm. I headed over and knocked on the door. An old man opened it.
“Can we have some food please? Our army camp is running low on food again. We are marching out to attack Skimidova, and we are getting very hungry.”
“Attack Skimidova?!” he shouted angrily. “I’m from Skimidova!”
With that he took out a small broom and began hitting me with it. I quickly dashed away, not wanting to fight. My stomach grumbled with each step I took away from the nice, delicious chickens sitting there in the barn, until temptation got the better of me.
I ran into the old man’s barn and grabbed several chickens. I didn’t bother counting. Picking up as many as I could hold by the necks, I made a dash for my camp.
I handed the chickens to the commander and he eyed them greedily.
“Where’d you get these?” he asked, although the look on his face seemed as if he just wanted to eat, not hear my answer.
Quickly, I told him my story and he nodded after each sentence, not paying attention. When I said the word Skimidova he looked up at me.
“The old man came from Skimidova? You shot him didn’t you?”
I shook my head. “No sir.”
“You idiot!” he shouted. Everyone in the camp turned around to look at me. “He’s going to alert all of Skimidova. Our army is tiny and we have no hope of defeating even the walls of Skimidova if they know we’re attacking.”
“But he was an old man.”
“Good point,” he said, “In that case he might not be fast enough to alert them. However, we’ll have to quicken our pace and increase our travel time.
Everyone in the camp groaned. We were already traveling 16 hours a day. We were making a distance of about 45 miles a day. We marched while we ate.
“And you,” said the commander pointing his finger angrily at me, “You get off with a warning, but only because you were the only one to bring food. Next time, show no mercy.” He put an extra emphasis on the last three words.
It turned out I had brought enough so that everyone in our army of 36 soldiers had a little bit to eat.
There were 13 chickens to eat, all of which weighed under a pound. Animals didn’t grow very big here because of the lack of sun.
We put the chickens onto stakes and roasted them over a nice warm fire. We ate everything, even the liver.
Finally, the commander let us rest. It was a short sleep, about 5 hours long. 10 unlucky soldiers would have to take an hour-long shift, watching in pairs. I was one of the fortunate ones to sleep the full 5 hours.
May 20, 2364
Most of the soldiers woke up with empty stomachs. The only ones who were content were the ones who were unafraid of eating the intestines. There was still a bit of intestine left and the small ration was passed to those who were hungriest.
