Read The Orthogonal Galaxy for Free Online Page A

being hit by
lightning on Earth.
    As he left the Hellas
basin, Iowa started issuing a series of lights and buzzers that
reminded Garrison it was time to get down to the business of
touching down on the runway of Camp Mars, just moments
away.
    Compared to all of the
massive features that he’d been experiencing, it was a good thing
that the computer navigational system knew where to pinpoint the
relatively tiny three-mile wide crater that was home to Camp Mars.
The landscape was littered with craters. As he strained to find his
crater, he couldn’t help wondering whether he would be able to spot
such an inauspicious feature. Fortunately for Garrison, the crater
glowed with artificial lighting. The greens and oranges of the
lighting towers focused his sight to the camp, and eventually to
the red ground lights lining the two-mile long runway. His approach
and landing was incredibly smooth, a point which he would first
mention proudly to the pair of astronauts eager to make
introductions with their replacement.
    “ Did you see that
landing?” Garrison asked as he made his decent from the shuttle
onto Martian soil. “I should’ve become a commercial airline
pilot.”
    “ Well, Stud,” interrupted
one of the astronaut companions. “Before you pat yourself too hard
on the back, just remember that you’re in a much thinner atmosphere
here… there’s not as much turbulence and wind, at least not here
near the equator.”
    “ Oh, yeah. Good point”
Garrison’s bubble had burst. “Gentlemen, I’m Garrison O’Ryan
reporting for duty. It’s a pleasure to make your
acquaintance.”
    “ No,” answered the other
astronaut with a Russian accent. “The pleasure is ours. We are glad
to see the first replacement. It has been much privilege come to
Mars, but I am eager to see family again. Come, we show you the
barrack now. You must be exhausted.”
    “ Am I ever!” Garrison
yawned and stretched, and as he took his first step, he faltered.
While the cockpit of every Mars Shuttle was equipped with exercise
mechanisms needed to keep limbs from freezing up. It had been over
a month since he had actually used his limbs in any meaningful
fashion.
    “ Oh,” said one of the
Martian veterans. “I’m so sorry. I forgot that it’s nearly
impossible to walk upon touchdown here. Let us help
you.”
    With that, each astronaut
flanked O’Ryan and assisted him into the barracks, where he was
able to strip out of his spacesuit and collapse in a heap on a bed
wearing only his long underwear.
    …
    After a few hours of
rest—it seemed more like a couple of minutes to him—Garrison’s two
colleagues woke him up from a deep slumber.
    “ Rise and shine, Sleepy
Head,” called out one astronaut.
    With an achy head and
blurry eyes, Garrison responded, “What time is it?”
    Looking at his watch, the
other astronaut offered, “Well, it’s 2:30 PM, Tharsis Standard
Time.”
    “ Ok,” nodded Garrison.
“Thanks, but why did I even ask that question? Let me try again.
How long have I been sleeping?”
    “ Well, you arrived this
morning at precisely 9:17 AM, so it’s been a little over five
hours.”
    “ Really?” Garrison sat up
in his bed and looked around now that his eyes were beginning to
focus.
    “ How are you feeling,
Garrison?” The first astronaut held out a hand for
Garrison.
    “ Ayman!” Grasping his hand
firmly and joyously, Garrison recognized his astronaut fellow from
some training sessions they had performed together a few years ago
at Kennedy. “I’m fine… a little tired, but that’s nothing that a
few days of sleep won’t solve.”
    “ Well, I’d love to grant
it to you, but I need to depart for Camp Moon before the sun sets.
We have just a couple of hours to give you the grand tour here
before I head back home.” Then, turning to the third astronaut, he
said, “Garrison O’Ryan, I’d like you to meet a great friend of mine
who has served marvelously at my side these last couple of years.
This is