The "Lunar Library" had changed the face of the Earth. In the year 1046, only four years after Alaric Vance had first begun building the "Glow-Jars," the world was a different place. Great fusion reactors, small, safe suns held in magnetic bottles, provided endless power to every village. The "Coughing Sickness" was a memory. The High Lords were no longer masters of land, but "Stewards of Peace."
But Alaric Vance could not sit still. Every night, when the silver Moon rose, he looked just a little bit to the left, toward a tiny, angry red dot in the sky.
"Mars," Alaric whispered, standing on the observation deck of the Aether-Dock. "The ancients called it the God of War. Sarah Chen called it the 'Second Chance.' And the Lunar Library says it holds a secret that predates humans by a million years."
Elena joined him, her hair floating slightly in the station's low-gravity sections. "The Ares-1 is almost finished, Arthur. But it's not like the Moon. It's a six-month trip. We can't just 'pop back' if we run out of oxygen. We have to be a Self-Sustaining Ecosystem."
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In the 21st century, going to Mars was a dream of giant rockets. In the 11th century, Alaric had to build a Space-Ship that was also a Farm.
He didn't use just steel. He used Composite Graphene Layers, sheets of carbon as thin as an atom but stronger than a diamond.
Half the ship was a giant glass cylinder filled with "Super-Algae" and fast-growing vegetables. These plants didn't just provide food, they turned the crew's breath (CO2) back into fresh Oxygen.
The ship was designed like a giant "Barbell." Two modules connected by a long cable, spinning around each other to create artificial gravity so the crew's bones wouldn't turn to mush during the long trip.
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The Emperor of Solis and the Duke of Iron-Hold were no longer fighting Alaric. They wanted to be part of the "Greatest Story." They provided the Titanium and the Xenon Gas needed for the new engines.
"We are no longer Kings of Earth," the Emperor told his people in a global broadcast. "We are the 'Support Crew' for the Stars. Every bolt tightened in our factories is a step toward the Red Planet."
Alaric smiled. The "Dilemma" of greed had finally been replaced by the Ambition of Discovery.
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You couldn't get to Mars using just chemical fire. You would need a rocket the size of a mountain. Instead, Alaric used the Ion Thruster.
It used electricity from the fusion reactors to strip electrons off Xenon gas atoms.
These "Ions" were shot out the back of the engine at incredible speeds. It didn't have the big "Boom" of a rocket, but it could push the ship faster and faster, day after day, until it was moving at 50,000 miles per hour.
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The space between Earth and Mars was full of "Solar Storms." To protect the crew, Alaric built a Magnetosphere Generator.
"It's a giant invisible shield," Alaric explained to the new crew. "It creates a magnetic field around the Ares-1, just like the one the Earth has. It deflects the sun's radiation away from the hull."
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On a bright morning in 1047, the Ares-1 detached from the Aether-Dock. It wasn't just Mina this time. There were six crew members, two engineers, two doctors, a botanist, and Kaelen, who had traded his rifle for a high-tech mapping kit.
"Earth to Ares-1," Alaric's voice echoed through the ship. "The path is clear. The Red Planet is waiting. Good luck, travelers."
"Copy, Architect," Kaelen replied. "We're burning for the Red."
The Ion Drive ignited, a soft blue glow appearing at the back of the ship. Slowly, the Earth began to shrink. The Moon became a small silver ball. They were in the Deep Dark.
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Three months into the trip, the attack wasn't from enemies or lords. It was from the Human Mind.
"Arthur, the crew is getting restless," the ship's doctor reported via the long-range laser-radio. "Six people in a tin can for ninety days. They are starting to argue over the food, the music, even the way someone breathes. It's the 'Cabin Fever'."
Alaric counter by introducing Virtual Reality.
He had the Steel Mountain's computers create "Digital Worlds", forests of the North, beaches of the South, and the bustling streets of Oakhaven. The crew could put on headsets and "walk" through their homes, feeling the grass and hearing the birds.
"It's not real, but it tricks the brain into staying calm," Alaric said. "It's a Mental Shield."
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As the Ares-1 drew closer to Mars, the high-resolution cameras began to take pictures. In the 21st century, Mars was a dry, dead desert. But as the Ares-1 scanned the surface, they saw something impossible.
"Architect! Look at the 'Valles Marineris' canyon!" Kaelen shouted.
On the floor of the massive canyon were perfectly straight lines. They weren't natural. They were Irrigation Canals, made of a white, stone-like material. And at the end of the canals were the ruins of a city, not a city of wood or steel, but a city of Ceramics.
"Sarah Chen's library didn't mention this," Elena whispered. "She said Mars was dead."
"Maybe it was dead when she got here," Alaric said, his mind racing. "Or maybe she was protecting us from knowing the truth until we were ready to see it for ourselves."
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Landing on Mars was the "Seven Minutes of Terror." The atmosphere was too thin for parachutes to work alone, but too thick to ignore.
It burned at 2,000°C as they hit the air.
A massive supersonic chute slowed them down.
In the final seconds, a rocket-powered platform lowered the Ares-1 lander to the ground on nylon ropes, then flew away to crash safely.
"Touchdown confirmed," Kaelen's voice crackled through the static. "We are in the 'City of White Stone.' And Architect... the air here? It's thin, but it's 20% Oxygen. Someone... or something... is Terraforming this planet."
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The crew stepped out onto the red dust. They didn't find Martians. They found Machines.
Thousands of tiny, solar-powered robots were crawling over the rocks, grinding them up and releasing oxygen. They were "Terraforming Robots," and they had been working for ten thousand years.
"They aren't from Sarah Chen," Argus the robot said, scanning the machines. "They are much older. They are the Precursors. And they have been waiting for someone to come and turn them off... or tell them what to do next."
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Alaric looked at the data coming back from Mars. He had found a second home for humanity. But if they moved there, would they just bring their wars and their greed with them?
"We have two planets now, Elena," Alaric said.
"No, Arthur," she replied, looking at the screen showing the white stone city. "We have a Test. If we can live on Mars without destroying it, then we truly have grown up."
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The Ares-1 crew began to set up the first "Mars Base." They used the Ceramic City's ruins as a foundation. They planted the first Earth-trees in the red soil.
The story of the 11th century was now the story of the Solar System. Alaric Vance sat at his desk and pulled out a fresh sheet of vellum. He didn't draw a rocket or a city. He drew a Constitution.
"The Laws of Two Worlds," he titled it.