Maybe Stella was right. Maybe he was malfunctioning. Either that or her joy was infecting him. Regardless, he wouldn’t change a thing.
But . . .He looked over the rest of the humans.It is not only Anna.Her friends’ joy overall was infectious. All three of them. Four, if you counted Simon, who was acting more humanlike than any of the androids Atlas knew.
Atlas ran his hand through his hair.Simon is confusing.He was privy to all the schematics and data about Mars, and was as capable of understanding all the data as Atlas. And yet Simon didn’t seem concerned about not being connected while on the ship with his outdated hardware.
And Simon didn’t know how much was being excluded from him about the research plans.
“Atlas?” The sunshine bounced off Anna's smile. “How long can we stay out here?”
His voice came out clipped. “No set time.”
“Oh good.” She stretched her arms high above her head. “It feels so nice to be outside. Don’t want to go back yet.”
Atlas hung back at a distance for some time then while she picked flowers, mostly weeds, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. He crossed his arms, but couldn’t look away.What is wrong with me?The humans’ reactions were fascinating. No. Her reactions were fascinating.
He spun the rose in his fingers, then put the it down to his side, frowning.
Suddenly Anna reached for him, touching his elbow. “Thank you, Atlas. You’ve been so sweet and kind.”
He flinched, unable to meet her eyes.Kind.The earlier thoughts, and distance, dried up. Yet again. “Of course, Anna.”
“Trees are still trees.” Anna knocked on the wood of a pine tree, leaning up against the bark. “Are there any cacti here?”
“No. No desert areas here like where you lived in Arizona.”
“That’s alright. I’ve had enough cactus. I don’t mind if I never see one ever again. We only had a few trees in the town. Twisty ones. I like all of these more.”
“What else is similar?”
Anna spun around, humming. Her hand-stitched maternity shirt flowed out, giving the illusion of someone not weighed down, even with her eight-month pregnant belly. “Hm. Not much!” Then she pointed into the distance. “What is that? It looks like the forest changes?”
Over where she indicated was where their main agriculture operations were. The bulk of the produce was sent to Earth. “Over there is farmland. And cows and other domestic animals.”
To see farther, she stood on her toes before catching her balance. “Oh, can we visit?”
“Soon, but it’s a far walk.”
Anna turned away from the road. “Wait—there’s more of those roses. But a different color.” The roses here were more woody, and deeper and darker shades of red. Her hand quickly recoiled after she reached for one. “Oh. Ow. Thorns?”
“Let me see? And you really should watch that palm . . .” Atlas reached for her, but she had already moved on to dipping her nose to a flower on the vine.
“No, it’s alright. Just a scratch. Look at this one!” The morning dew was still on some of the vines in places, though it fell under her touch.
Instead of the flower, his eyes snagged on her cheeks.She is getting a sunburn. The humans’ skin didn’t have much protective melanin coating on it, having been in the spaceship for over a month. The red nagged at him, reminding him of the blood he had pulled for testing.
Testing that had more than his eyes on it now, with Stella and the researchers also having access. A hollow sensation filled his chest. Back at the ship, and overhead, he knew it was likely thatnot all of those watching were as amused by Anna’s antics as he was.
Especially those that felt threatened by having more humans here in their paradise.
Atlas tore his eyes away from Anna.
The sunburn must have bothered Simon too, because he pulled Nora and Tilly into the shade by the lake. They sat there, observing the water, while Anna stayed out in the sun, waddling slowly along the flowers.
“Anna?” He reached his hand out. “You need to go find some shade. The sun is less intense here, but there’s slightly more radiation. You’re not used to it yet.”
Anna turned at the touch on her sleeve. “Too much sun? Alright. I’m tired from walking too.”
In the shade, Nora pulled Tilly to sit next to her, adjusting them both on the thick layer of grass underneath. The little girl still had energy, and was poking at the soil.
