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Last night I dreamed of Mars.
I dreamed of a Mars long after colonization, terraforming, and the slow decay of civilization. I dreamed of the great red deserts stretching out their hands once again, and the sand zombies within them, that would gather around any living thing. They would not harm you unless you harmed them, but very few could stand being stared at by those dead, grainy eyes for long, and shots were fired, and then the horde would descend upon them, until all the moisture of their flesh was gone, and they crumbled into red sand. I dreamed of communicators, blessed by the nanosystems passed through reproduction, the only ones who could speak to the great computers of Earth, which they did in trances that had become religious communion. I saw one of them die, a young man, under the weight of sand zombies, his flesh crumbling into red and silver, as the nano-systems sparkled and were blown away.
I also dreamed of the prosperous places, with fungal forests and brightly colored, poisonous flowers, and the caravans who travelled there. The great corporations who genetically bound their heirs to their service, and the only way you could get out of it was by ceding two children to undergo the same process...the Martians were in a constant battle against depopulation, and the target was for everyone to sire or birth four children before they died. I also dreamed of an ancient ruin, once a spa for the wealthy, now filled with large tubs and faucets that only spouted fine red sands.
I dreamed of a Mars long after colonization, terraforming, and the slow decay of civilization. I dreamed of the great red deserts stretching out their hands once again, and the sand zombies within them, that would gather around any living thing. They would not harm you unless you harmed them, but very few could stand being stared at by those dead, grainy eyes for long, and shots were fired, and then the horde would descend upon them, until all the moisture of their flesh was gone, and they crumbled into red sand. I dreamed of communicators, blessed by the nanosystems passed through reproduction, the only ones who could speak to the great computers of Earth, which they did in trances that had become religious communion. I saw one of them die, a young man, under the weight of sand zombies, his flesh crumbling into red and silver, as the nano-systems sparkled and were blown away.
I also dreamed of the prosperous places, with fungal forests and brightly colored, poisonous flowers, and the caravans who travelled there. The great corporations who genetically bound their heirs to their service, and the only way you could get out of it was by ceding two children to undergo the same process...the Martians were in a constant battle against depopulation, and the target was for everyone to sire or birth four children before they died. I also dreamed of an ancient ruin, once a spa for the wealthy, now filled with large tubs and faucets that only spouted fine red sands.
