In January 1999, the town experiences a typical cold Ohio winter. The residents are bundled up in furs, and the streets are icy. However, amidst the chilly weather, something unexpected occurs. Waves of warmth suddenly sweep through the town, melting the icicles and creating a temporary respite from the cold. The source of this warmth is a rocket on a nearby launching pad, preparing for the First Expedition to Mars. The town becomes abuzz with excitement and fascination as the rocket becomes the topic of conversation. The townspeople even coin the term "Rocket summer" to describe this unseasonably warm day caused by the rocket's activities.
The story is set on Mars during a time when Martian culture is thriving. The focus is on a Martian woman named Ylla, who is married to a man named Yll. They reside in a luxurious house near a dried seabed that is capable of moving and following the sun like a blooming flower. This house has been in their family for ten centuries, passed down through generations. However, despite their advanced technology and seemingly effortless lives, their marriage has become dull and unfulfilling. Ylla acknowledges that marriage ages people and makes them familiar with each other, even when they are still young.
Ylla experiences prophetic dreams in which a rocket from Earth lands on Mars, and a man named Captain Nathaniel York appears and communicates with her. Yll, her husband, dismisses her dreams and becomes angry when Ylla sings a song she heard in her dream, "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes."
In the following days, Yll tries to resume their usual routine, but Ylla's thoughts keep returning to her recurring dream involving Captain York.
While Ylla speaks aloud in her sleep, Yll overhears her flirting with York in her dream and learns that she knows the exact time and location of the ship's landing. Enraged, Yll orders Ylla to stay at home on the day of the landing while he goes out to hunt. Ylla, who possesses telepathic abilities like many Martians, particularly women, senses the arrival of York's ship but obeys her husband's command to stay home.
After the ship lands out of sight, Ylla hears two gunshots. She eagerly awaits York's arrival at her door but is disappointed when only Yll returns. Overwhelmed with emotion, Ylla begins to cry and laments that she has forgotten the song from herdream.
On the eve of the arrival of the Second Expedition of humans from Earth, the consciousness of Martians becomes unsettled due to an influx of human songs, poems, and nursery rhymes. During a singer's performance, her rendition is abruptly interrupted when she sings lines from Lord Byron's poem "She Walks in Beauty." This sudden disruption alarms the other Martians, causing them to hurriedly retreat to their homes. Similar incidents occur throughout the nervous towns of Mars. Children can be seen running in the streets, singing the melancholic final lines of "Old Mother Hubbard," although they do not comprehend the meaning of the words. As the night progresses, women awaken from their sleep, screaming, as their dreams forewarn them of an impending terrible event in the morning. With the break of dawn, a night watchman begins to sing, further contributing to the unsettling atmosphere.
After the Second Expedition lands on Mars, Captain Williams and his crew are met with indifference from the Martians. Determined to make contact, they begin knocking on doors in a nearby town. Their first encounter is with Mrs. Ttt, who appears to speak English but claims to be practicing telepathy instead. She shows little interest in the humans' presence and focuses on her baking, eventually forgetting about them entirely. She directs them to other Martians who might be more helpful, but each encounter proves to be similarly unimpressive. Mr. Aaa is preoccupied with a feud, a young Martian girl plays with her golden
spider toy, and Mr. Iii is engrossed in preparing for an upcoming lecture.
Mr. Iii provides Captain Williams with some papers to sign and gives him a key to a room down the hall, advising them to lock themselves inside until morning. The crew members feel relieved, believing they will finally receive the recognition they deserve. However, upon entering the room, they realize they have been tricked and are actually in a psychiatric facility. All the patients claim to be from other planets.
The following morning, Mr. Xxx, the head psychologist, informs Captain Williams that he is not human but a Martian suffering from a mental health condition. According to Mr. Xxx, the rest of the crew are merely hallucinations brought forth by Williams' psychosis. Williams manages to persuade Mr. Xxx to accompany them to their ship, but upon seeing the spacecraft, Mr. Xxx assumes it is also afigment of his imagination.
Believing that killing the crew will make them disappear, Mr. Xxx executes them one by one. When their bodies and the rocket remain, Mr. Xxx concludes that his perception of reality has shattered. Overwhelmed by this realization, he takes his own life in an act of suicide.
On the day of the launch of the Third Expedition's rocket, an Ohioan named Pritchard approaches the rocket field. He asserts his right as a taxpayer to go to Mars and expresses his belief that in two years, the world will be consumed by atomic war. Pritchard claims that he and thousands like him want to be on Mars to escape wars, censorship, statism, conscription, and government control. He envisions Mars as a refuge from the constraints imposed on Earth, particularly in the realms of art and science.
However, the guards at the rocket field laugh at Pritchard's aspirations and mention the perceived failures of the first two expeditions. Nevertheless, Pritchard remains undeterred, choosing to believe that the previous expedition members found paradise on Mars and simply chose not to return to Earth.
As the members of the Third Expedition cross the field, Pritchard calls out to them, demanding to be taken along. The guards quickly subdue him, considering him a nuisance. Pritchard is then placed in a police
wagon and driven away. From the back window of the car, he watches the rocket launch, realizing that he has been left behind on an ordinary Monday morning on planet Earth, while the expedition heads towards the unknown possibilities of Mars.
Captain John Black and the crew of the Third Expedition successfully land on Mars in a grassy field near a small town that bears a striking resemblance to their hometowns in Ohio. However, Captain Black is immediately suspicious of the town, and even the archaeologist Hinkston cannot explain the uncanny familiarity they feel. Despite their reservations, Captain Black orders the crew to remain with the rocket while he, Hinkston, and Lustig, the navigator, venture into the town to investigate.
Their first encounter is with a woman who claims they are in Green Bluff, Illinois, in the year 1926. This revelation leads them to believe that they have somehow traveled through time, although Captain Black remains skeptical. Lustig spots his deceased grandmother and grandfather and rushes to them joyfully. They explain that they have been living on Mars sincetheir deaths thirty years ago, and Lustig's grandmother scolds Captain Black for asking too many questions. Captain Black then witnesses his crew members abandoning their posts on the rocket and eagerly reuniting with their lost loved ones. A jubilant celebration ensues in the town.
Captain Black finds himself taken aback when his deceased brother, Ed, approaches him, but he too is swept up in the promise of being reunited with his parents. He spends a joyous night at home with his family, but he struggles to sleep as he ponders the various theories proposed throughout the day. He is aware that he is participating in a fantasy, but he cannot determine if it is a divine intervention, questioning whether God could be so considerate of his children.
However, Captain Black eventually entertains a different theory: that the Martians, using telepathy, have accessed their memories to lull them into a state of blissful acceptance before ultimately planning to murder them. Realizing the danger, Captain Black attempts to sneak out of the house, but the Martian masquerading as his brother, Ed, rises from bed and kills him. The next day, with the accompaniment of a brass band,
the Martians, still disguised as humans, bury all sixteen members of the crew, further sealing the tragic fate of the Third Expedition.
The Fourth Expedition arrives on Mars in the middle of a cold night. Jeff Spender, the archaeologist, takes it upon himself to gather scattered wood and starts a small fire while Captain Wilder, Hathaway, and Sam Parkhill explore the landing zone on the "dead, dreaming world." Some crew members question why Spender isn't using the chemical fire from the ship, but Spender refuses to answer, considering it a form of blasphemy. The rest of the crew is lively and celebratory after surviving the long space voyage.
A secondary rocket lands after conducting a fly-over and reports that most Martian cities appear to have been abandoned for centuries, with some bearing fresh Martian corpses killed by chickenpox brought by previous expeditions. The disease has left the bodies burnt and dried, like brittle flakes.
Spender becomes increasingly annoyed with the rowdy celebration of the crew. The evening culminates with him punching a man named Biggs, who is littering a Martian canal with empty bottles. Captain Wilder reprimands Spender and imposes a fine, but he also expresses sympathy for Spender's appreciation ofthe vanished Martian culture. Wilder believes there are not enough Martians left to pose a threat to the expedition.
Later that evening, Wilder leads several men, including Spender and Biggs, into a Martian city. The group is in awe of the grandeur of the deserted city. Spender recites a Lord Byron poem, "So We'll Go No More a Roving," which resonates with the men. However, the moment is interrupted when Biggs vomits alcohol onto a Martian mosaic. Following this incident, Spender disappears for a week.
When Spender returns to camp after studying Martian literature, he claims to be a Martian and shoots six members of the crew, including Biggs. He retreats to the hills, and Wilder leads a vengeful group of men in pursuit. Once they have Spender cornered, Wilder tries to persuade him to surrender. Spender suggests that the Martians were superior to
humans because they knew how to integrate art into their lives. He reveals that he killed the others because they represented crass Americans, reminding him of his father during a visit to Mexico City. Spender declares his intention to kill the entire Fourth Expedition and any others who arrive to preserve Martian culture.
After another exchange of gunfire, Wilder kills Spender. He orders the others to bury Spender and create a tomb for him. Later, when Sam Parkhill uses one of the Martian cities for target practice, Wilder responds by punching him as an act of retribution.
The first wave of settlers embarks on a journey from Earth, inspired by the positive reports of the successful Fourth Expedition. Each person has their own reasons for leaving, but they share a common desire to escape Earth and their past lives. As they depart from Earth, they witness the planet shrinking in the distance, resembling a discarded muddy baseball. However, once they are in space, a profound sense of loneliness and uncertainty overwhelms them. They become known as The Lonely Ones, individuals who must now learn to stand on their own, relying solely on themselves for companionship and support.
When Benjamin Driscoll, a young settler, arrives on Mars, he initially faints due to the thin atmosphere. Upon regaining consciousness, the doctors inform him that he cannot survive on Mars and must return to Earth. However, Driscoll is determined to stay and finds a solution to the problem. He realizes that the lack of trees on Marsis the root cause of the thin atmosphere. With permission, he embarks on a mission to plant seeds and create a forest, considering it his life's purpose. For a month, he travels across the barren Martian landscape, planting seeds and yearning for rain to help them grow.
On the thirtieth evening, Driscoll is awakened by a tap on his brow. He senses moisture in the air and as he looks up, he witnesses the sky cracking open in six powdery blue chips. A torrential downpour follows, lasting for two hours. Satisfied, Driscoll goes back to sleep. When he
wakes up the next morning, he turns around to survey the land he has traversed for the past month, and to his amazement, he sees a fully grown forest stretching as far as his eyes can see. The trees stand tall against the sky, a testament to his efforts. Driscoll envisions the town doors swinging open and settlers rushing in to experience the abundance of oxygen. Overwhelmed with joy and a sense of accomplishment, Driscoll takes a deep breath of the fresh air and faints once more.
Swarms of settlers, compared to locusts, make their arrival on Mars and waste no time in their mission to reshape the foreign planet into something familiar. Their aim is to eliminate the strangeness and create an environment that resembles Earth. The male settlers take the lead, constructing homes and towns akin to those found on their home planet. Their purpose is to combat the alien nature of Mars and establish a sense of familiarity. Following them, the female settlers join in, bringing their creative touch to decorate and craft an appearance that mimics Earth's aesthetics.
Within a span of six months, the population of Mars quickly grows as 90,000 people arrive on the planet. These settlers come with the intention of building a new life and leaving behind the confines and struggles of Earth. As they establish themselves, a dozen small towns are formed, each reflecting the familiar structures and characteristics of towns found on Earth. The settlers work tirelessly to transform the Martian landscape, turning it into a place that feels like home and provides a sense of comfort and belonging.
On his way to a party in the blue hills of Mars, Tomás Gomez makes a stop at a desolate service station to refuel. There, he engages in a conversation withthe man behind the counter, whom he affectionately calls Pop. Pop explains that he came to Mars because he appreciates the stark differences between Mars and Earth. He believes that Mars should be appreciated for what it is, rather than trying to recreate Earth on its surface. Gomez agrees with Pop's sentiment and feels content after their
discussion. With a renewed sense of happiness, Gomez continues his journey along the night road.
During his travels, Gomez comes across an abandoned Martian town and notices a distinct "smell of Time in the air." He finds the Martian ruins to be perfect in their own way and takes a moment to appreciate the landscape with a sense of joy. To his surprise, a Martian operating an insect-like vehicle appears before him, and they warmly greet each other. The Martian introduces himself as Muhe Ca.
As Gomez and Muhe attempt to exchange items, they discover that they exist on different physical planes, leading them to believe that each of them is a ghost. Despite this confusion, they realize that they share similar aspirations. Both hope to attend parties and engage in flirtations with women. Muhe has no recollection of the arrival of humans and insists that the Martian towns are still inhabited by Martians, while he is unable to see any evidence of human settlements on the planet's surface. Gomez, on the other hand, claims that human settlements are thriving while Martian cities remain desolate. They both agree that one of them is living in the past while the other is living in the future, but they cannot determine who is who. In a friendly manner, they express a desire to attend each other's parties, and with that, Gomez and Muhe bid farewell as friends.
In subsequent waves, more settlers depart from Earth to make their way to Mars. However, these settlers are distinct from the previous groups known as the Lonely Ones and the Locusts. This time, the settlers exclusively consist of Americans, as the rest of the world is consumed by war or preoccupied with thoughts of war. These new settlers mainly come from poorer economic backgrounds, hailing from places like the "cabbage tenements and subways." They have experienced years of confinement and struggle in New York, trapped within the constraints of small living spaces like tubs, tins, and boxes. For them, the opportunity to venture to Mars provides a chanceto escape and find solace amidst the tranquility and stillness of the first wave of settlers who have already established their lives on the red planet.
As more rockets make their way to Mars, they bring with them a multitude of building materials from Earth. Among these supplies are a substantial amount of Oregon pine, totaling fifteen thousand lumber feet, as well as a significant quantity of California redwood, amounting to seventy-nine thousand feet. These materials serve as the foundation for the construction projects taking place on Mars.
With these resources at their disposal, the settlers on Mars erect various structures, including churches where familiar hymns from Earth are sung on Sunday nights. The sounds of these hymns reverberate through the Martian air, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of religious gatherings back on Earth. Additionally, domiciles are built to provide living spaces for novelists and poets, offering them tranquil environments to pursue their creative endeavors.
The towns that emerge on Mars bear a striking resemblance to those found on Earth. The architecture, constructed with the imported building materials, mirrors the familiar designs and styles of earthly towns. The similarity is so uncanny that it gives the impression that an extraordinary whirlwind, akin to the one in the Land of Oz, has whisked entire towns from Iowa and deposited them intact on the Martian landscape. The towns on Mars appear to be transplants from Earth, maintaining the essence and familiarity of their terrestrial origins.
A group of young boys embarks on a hike to the ruins of a Martian city, each daring the others to venture deeper into the abandoned town. They carry with them packed lunches consisting of ham and mayo sandwiches with pickles, evoking memories of similar outings they had experienced on Earth, particularly during the autumn season. The boys imagine the sensation of "scuttering through autumn leaves" as they explore the Martian ruins.
However, as they reach the town, their initial excitement wanes as they recall the warnings given by their parents about the dangers of venturing into the deserted Martian settlements. Inside the empty homes, they hear crackling sounds reminiscent of autumn leaves. Armed
with sticks held like weapons, they cautiously move forward, daring each other to venture deeper into the fallen city.
When one of the boys suddenly runs towards the Martian homes, the others quickly follow suit, competing to be the first to reach the destinationand claim the role of the "Musician." The chosen Musician picks up the bones of the deceased Martians and uses them as percussive instruments, while the rest of the boys kick and stomp their feet, sending into the air the remnants of the Martians' remains. These remains, referred to as "black leaves," are described as thin as tissue cut from the midnight sky. Despite the morbid origin of these flakes, the boys show no concern for the macabre nature of their game.
During their escapade, the boys are cautious to stay ahead of the Firemen, who are described as antiseptic warriors armed with shovels and bins. The Firemen are tasked with sanitizing the Martian towns by burning the remains of the deceased Martians and eliminating any traces of death. They serve as a sort of purification force, segregating the horrific aspects from what is considered normal.
Upon their return home, the boys' mothers inspect their shoes and discover remnants of the "black flakelets" from the Martian carcasses. Consequently, the boys are punished and beaten by their mothers for their gruesome adventure.
As the year progresses, the Firemen successfully purge all the surrounding Martian ruins, eliminating any opportunities for the boys to continue their adventurous and macabre games. Their once thrilling escapades are now denied, as the Martian towns are thoroughly sanitized and stripped of their dark remnants.
The story is set in a Jim Crow-era town in the American South, and the protagonist, Samuel Teece, embodies the prevailing white values of that era. Teece and a group of other white men gather on the porch of his hardware store to observe the departure of Black families who are leaving the town. Teece is angered by the fact that the Black community decided to leave without informing any white authority figures, and he contemplates calling the governor and mobilizing the militia in response.
Several wives, including Teece's own wife, join the men on the porch.
Teece's wife pleads with him to come home and prevent their domestic worker, Lucinda, from joining the other migrants. She fails to understand why Lucinda would leave, especially after being offered an extra night off each week. Teece resists the urge to physically harm his wife and orders her to return home. He then enters his hardware store and emerges with a pistol, threatening to shoot any passing migrants who laugh at him.
Among the migrants,Teece recognizes a man named Belter who owes him fifty dollars. Teece forces Belter off his horse and threatens to horsewhip him if he doesn't work off his debt. However, Belter is determined to leave since all the rockets are departing that day. Teece tries to frighten him with tales of the rockets exploding in space or Martian monsters devouring him, but Belter asserts that life on Earth is no better, and he is willing to take his chances. Enraged, Teece mockingly refers to Belter as "Mister Way Up in the Middle of the Air," referencing lyrics from an African American spiritual about a vision seen by the prophet Ezekiel. Witnessing Belter's situation, the other migrants collect fifty dollars to pay off his debt. Teece initially refuses the money, but Belter leaves it behind anyway, and Teece does not prevent him from rejoining the exodus. Young white boys inform Teece that similar events are occurring throughout the county, with groups of people paying off others' debts so they can all leave.
Teece's anger intensifies, and he unleashes a torrent of threats towards the migrants, but his words go unheeded, and eventually, all the migrants pass by. A profound sense of loneliness descends upon the county, and the white men express confusion about the exodus, particularly since "every day they got more rights." Silly, a young African American boy who works in Teece's store, returns from an errand and is eager to join his departing family. Teece cites a contract that Silly signed, promising to work for him for two years, as a reason for him to stay. When Silly becomes despondent, the other white men persuade Teece to let the boy go, with Grandpa Quartermain offering to take Silly's position in the store. Initially resistant, Teece threatens to imprison Silly as his property and reaches for his pistol, but he eventually relents, allowing Silly to gather his belongings and leave.
As Silly departs, he asks Teece what he will do at night now that the Black community is gone, but Teece is perplexed by the question. It is only after Silly has left that Teece realizes Silly was referring to the acts
of lynching and terrorism that Teece and other white men regularly engaged in. Filled with rage, Teece gets into his car and sets off in pursuit of Silly. However, he arrives too late and can only find the belongings leftbehind by the departing migrants. In his fury, Teece runs over these possessions until he bursts a tire and crashes the car into a ditch. When he returns to his store, the other white men watch the rockets taking off, but Teece refuses to look. Instead, he remarks with a twisted sense of pride that Silly addressed him as "Mister" right up until the moment he left.
As settlers continue their progress across Mars, they bestow American names upon places of significance, aiming to commemorate the previous expeditions and those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of human colonization. In contrast to the Martian names, which evoke elements of nature such as water, air, hills, and snows, the American names are described as "mechanical names and metal names from Earth." The settlers prioritize naming natural spaces and towns, but eventually, even the graveyards receive names.
Once the landscape is deemed "safe and certain," a new wave of emigrants arrives on Mars. Among them are tourists who engage in shopping for trinkets and participate in staged photographs, seeking to capture their experiences on the red planet. There are also individuals referred to as "sophisticates" who import the rules and regulations of their Earth societies to Mars. In doing so, they encroach upon the lives of those who had initially sought refuge on Mars to escape the social structures and sociological regimes of Earth. This clash of cultures leads to further resistance and tension, setting the stage for a potential conflict between the established Martian settlers and the newcomers from Earth.
A wealthy man named William Stendhal meets with an architect named Mr. Bigelow, who has constructed a peculiar house according to Stendhal's specific instructions, primarily drawing inspiration from Edgar
Allan Poe's short story "The Fall of the House of Usher." However, Bigelow is unaware of Poe's story due to a past event called the Great Fire, during which all imaginative works, including Stendhal's extensive library, were destroyed. While Stendhal is pleased with the house, which he refers to as the House of Usher, he is disappointed by Bigelow's ignorance and angrily dismisses him.
Shortly after, Stendhal is visited by Mr. Garrett, an Investigator of Moral Climates from an administrative body on Earth. Garrett informs Stendhal that the Dismantlers and Burning Crew will soon arrive to demolish the House of Usher, citing a law that prohibits anything associatedwith imagination, including books and houses. Stendhal reveals that only works rooted in realism, like those of Ernest Hemingway, are considered acceptable. While they wait for the Dismantlers, Stendhal suggests that Garrett tour the property. Garrett is impressed by the house and its lifelike robots, particularly a large ape resembling the one in Poe's story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." At Stendhal's command, the ape kills Garrett.
Stendhal and his associate Pikes, a former specialist in cinema special effects, create a robot replica of Garrett to send back to Moral Climates, buying them time to host a party in the House. Pikes is resentful of societal restrictions on his passion for creating monstrous special effects.
As the party guests arrive, they are encouraged to explore the House, which is filled with numerous robots resembling characters from fiction and fairy tales. Pikes informs Stendhal that the Garrett they killed was actually a robot, and they anticipate the arrival of the real Garrett. When Garrett arrives, he agrees to oversee the party. Throughout the event, Garrett witnesses a series of murders, each modeled after Poe's stories. Strangely, the victims claim to be robotic versions of themselves. Garrett and Stendhal witness these murders and subsequent appearances, with each victim insisting that they were not real but robotic duplicates.
Eventually, Stendhal invites Garrett to see what he had planned for him. Stendhal chains Garrett in a small chamber and reveals that the murdered victims were real people, while the survivors were robots. As they had not read Poe's stories, the victims were unable to predict and prevent their own deaths. Stendhal and Pikes board a helicopter and watch as the House collapses and sinks into the ground, reminiscent of the conclusion of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher."
After the initial colonization of Mars by the early settlers, a new wave of visitors arrives on the planet, including tourists and what the text refers to as "aromatic sophisticates." These newcomers aim to reshape Martian society into a more refined and sanitized version. Additionally, the elderly population of Earth, described as "the dry and crackling people," also make their way to Mars.
LaFarge and his wife Anna, an elderly couple who retired on Mars, have been haunted by the loss of their 14-year-old son Tom, who died of pneumonia years ago on Earth. One night, LaFarge spots a figure intheir yard that bears a resemblance to their late son. In anticipation of the figure's entry, LaFarge leaves the door of their house unlocked.
The following morning, to LaFarge's surprise, Tom appears in their house. Strangely, Anna shows no disturbance or skepticism about their son's reappearance. LaFarge attempts to question Tom about his return, but Tom evades providing any answers. He only mentions that he sang to LaFarge and Anna the previous night, believing that they would accept him more because of it. Witnessing his wife's happiness at Tom's presence, LaFarge agrees not to press Tom further with questions.
During the afternoon, Tom disappears momentarily, causing some concern for LaFarge. During this time, LaFarge learns about one of his neighbors, who had fled from Earth due to killing a man, committing suicide after encountering the apparition of the man he killed on his property. Shortly after, Tom returns.
Despite a joyful dinner together, Anna insists that the family spend the night in town, despite Tom's reluctance. In town, Tom disappears once again. LaFarge begins searching for him and is stunned to find Tom having transformed into Lavina, the deceased daughter of the Spaulding family. LaFarge manages to convince Lavina to revert back into Tom's form and rejoin him and Anna. However, as they hurry through the town, they draw the attention of others who start to see their own deceased loved ones. Eventually, they are surrounded by a mob.
In a desperate attempt to appease the crowd, the Martian shapeshifter
tries to assume the forms desired by each member of the mob simultaneously, resulting in his own death. Heartbroken, LaFarge and Anna return home, where LaFarge secures the door with locks and bolts, symbolizing their shattered hopes and the return to their lonely existence.
On Mars, an unnamed proprietor of a luggage store prepares his inventory upon receiving news of an impending war on Earth. He anticipates that there will be a surge in demand for luggage as people prepare to return to Earth. While attending to his store, the Proprietor engages in conversation with Father Peregrine, a priest who is passing the time.
They discuss the peculiar nature of receiving news from a distant planet like Earth. Father Peregrine shares his childhood experience of hearing about wars in far-off places like China, where he had to stretch his imagination to comprehend events happening in unseen lands. The Proprietor acknowledges the difficultyin grasping the reality of events that occur so far away.
The conversation shifts to the Proprietor's belief that most people on Mars will choose to leave and return to Earth to assist their families, despite the reasons that led them to settle on Mars in the first place - issues such as politics, the atom bomb, war, pressure groups, prejudice, and restrictive laws. Father Peregrine agrees with the Proprietor's assessment and decides to purchase new luggage from the store in preparation for the expected exodus.
The interaction between the Proprietor and Father Peregrine reflects the uncertainty and anticipation that arises upon receiving news of an impending war on Earth. Despite the progress made on Mars and the reasons that initially prompted settlers to leave Earth, the looming conflict prompts a reconsideration of priorities and a potential return to their home planet to support their loved ones.
Sam Parkhill, a member of the fourth expedition to Mars, has settled
down and built a hot dog stand at a strategic crossroads, expecting a surge in traffic from the thousands of rockets carrying hundreds of thousands of people arriving from Earth. His wife, Elma, is uncertain about their prospects due to the looming threat of atomic war on Earth.
One morning, a masked Martian appears before Sam, seeking to speak with him. Sam grows fearful, mistaking the Martian's brass document tube for a weapon, and kills it in panic. Elma retrieves the document, but they are unable to decipher the Martian writing. Sam buries the remains of the Martian.
As Sam spots a fleet of Martian sand ships approaching, he and Elma flee in a sand ship that Sam had acquired through an auction. However, another Martian manifests on their ship and orders them to return to the hot dog stand, claiming to have an important message about Earth and insisting that the Martians come in peace. Sam swiftly kills her, driven by his own instincts. Elma coldly commands Sam to comply and go back to the hot dog stand.
During their journey, a frustrated Sam fires his gun at the ancient Martian buildings, causing them to crumble and dissolve in a shower of glass and quartz. The sand ships surround Sam, leaving him defenseless. However, when the leader of the Martians confronts Sam, he presents him with the deeds for half of Mars. The Martian leader instructs Sam to return to the hotdog stand and prepare all the food, proclaiming that it will be a significant night.
Believing that the Martian leader's words signify a surge in business, Sam obediently returns to the hot dog stand with Elma and prepares all the food. As they await the anticipated rush of customers, they witness the destruction of Earth in the sky - a catastrophic event. Elma, with a dry remark, acknowledges that it will be an off season for their business, underscoring the bleakness of the situation.
News of war on Earth reaches the remaining settlers on Mars, causing a wave of concern and curiosity. Many of the settlers leave their homes and gather to witness the distant Earth, referred to as"the green star," in the sky. They struggle to comprehend the war happening across such a vast distance, feeling the numbing effect of living in a remote territory
where space itself acts as an anesthetic to their emotions. However, gazing at Earth reignites their memories and longing, prompting several settlers to inquire about their relatives who are still on Earth.
Suddenly, to their horror, Earth explodes and burns before their eyes. The settlers are left in a state of shock and disbelief, struggling to process the magnitude of the catastrophe. They discuss the possibility of reaching out to their relatives, but ultimately, none of them take action to contact Earth.
After the burning subsides, the settlers receive a message from the planet. A blinking light transmits the Morse code message: "COME HOME." The settlers are faced with the realization that there is no longer a home to return to. They are filled with a mix of grief, regret, and uncertainty about their future. Meanwhile, the Proprietor of the luggage store sees a surge in demand for his products as the settlers prepare for an unknown journey or the need to carry their belongings elsewhere. The message from Earth serves as a poignant reminder of the irreparable loss and the need to confront the new reality that lies ahead.
After the exodus of humans back to Earth, Mars is left largely abandoned, with empty cities scattered across its surface. In this desolate landscape, a man named Walter Gripp wanders the streets of one of the deserted cities, his eyes filled with a profound sense of loneliness. As a prospector, Gripp had been away from the cities and was unaware ofthe Great War on Earth until a week before his arrival in the abandoned city. Initially, he finds some solace in the luxuries left behind by the departed inhabitants, but soon he is overwhelmed by a deep sense of isolation. He yearns for companionship and dreams of marrying "a quiet and intelligent woman" to share his life with.
One day, a phone rings, breaking the silence and reminding Gripp that he is not the only survivor on Mars. Though he is unable to answer the call in time, the experience sparks an obsessive need within him to connect with another person. Gripp proceeds to call every woman listed in the phone book, desperately hoping that the caller was a potential partner. After numerous attempts, he finally reaches a woman named Genevieve Selsor, whose voice captivates him with its kindness, sweetness, and grace.
Driven by his newfound hope, Gripp embarks on a determined quest to find Genevieve. He travels hundreds of miles until he locates her. However, upon meeting her, Gripp is disappointed. He perceives Genevieve as overweight and narrow-minded in her interests, quickly growing annoyed by her presence. Genevieve explains that she chose not to return to Earth with the others because they mistreated her, attempting to control her eating habits and dictate how she should live her life. Gripp realizes that Genevieve is unlikely to change her views to align with his own desires.
When Genevieve expresses her willingness to marry him, Gripp is overwhelmed and decides to flee the city. He realizes that the life he envisioned with Genevieve does not align with his expectations, and he chooses a life of solitude instead. From that moment on, Gripp embraces his loneliness and resolves never to answer a ringing phone again, content with the quiet and solitude of his existence on Mars.
Twenty years have passed since a devastating war decimated life on Earth. Hathaway, a member of the Fourth Expedition, remains on Mars with his family, including his wife, son, and two daughters. They spend their nights contemplating whether any life still exists on Earth. One day, Hathaway spots a rocket approaching Mars, and he is overwhelmed with joy, believing that help has finally arrived. He confesses to his family that during the long wait, he would have taken his own life if it weren't for them. To celebrate, they open a bottle of wine that Hathaway hadsaved for this occasion, and the wine spills over, bringing a sense of shared happiness.
The following day, when the rocket lands, Hathaway is delighted to discover that it is commanded by Captain Wilder, who was the captain of the Fourth Expedition in a previous story. Wilder had been exploring the universe for the past two decades, as Earth authorities had wanted to prevent him from interfering with Martian colonial policy. Now, he and his crew are returning to Earth and agree to take Hathaway and his family with them.
Filled with joy, Hathaway invites Wilder and his crew for a lavish breakfast. They exchange what little news they have: the war on Earth is still ongoing, Sam Parkhill and his wife have returned to Earth, and the
surviving Martians appear to be dead. However, Walter Gripp refused Wilder's offer to return with them. Hathaway proudly introduces his family to Wilder and his crew. To Wilder's surprise, he had actually met Hathaway's family 25 years earlier, but they have not aged since. Suspecting something amiss, Wilder sends one of his crew members to investigate and discovers the graves of Hathaway's family, who died in 2007. It becomes clear that Hathaway has created robotic versions of his deceased family.
Sadly, Hathaway's heart gives out during the breakfast, and he passes away. When his family is informed of his death, they react with indifference and recount a story of Hathaway automating a nearby town to give the impression of continued life. Wilder and his crew bury Hathaway alongside his robotic family but decide to leave the robotic replicas functioning. Once they depart, the robotic family continues to fulfill their roles, gathering around a fire each night, engaging in conversation and laughter. Hathaway's robotic wife gazes at Earth every night, although she remains unaware of the reason behind her actions.
In the desolate city of Allendale, California, the last standing house carries on with its automated routines, following its programmed schedule despite the absence of inhabitants. The house, devoid of people, diligently prepares breakfast for four in the kitchen, serves it, and then disposes of the remnants. The garage doors open and close on cue, and empty rooms are filled with daily announcements. All around, the city lies in ruins and ashes, a grim testament to the devastating atomic war that has decimated the area.
Outside the house, on a wall scarredby the flames, the outlines of the McClellan family are imprinted. The silhouettes depict the final moments of their lives, frozen in time. The father is caught in the act of mowing the lawn, the mother tending to her garden, and the brother and sister playing catch with a ball. Unaware of the impending nuclear explosion, they were taken by surprise.
The house maintains a sense of self-preservation, guarding itself against intruders such as foxes and cats, exhibiting a mechanical paranoia rooted in its desire for self-protection. Inside, a multitude of small robotic mice tirelessly clean the house, their labor likened to a
religious ritual. When a former pet dog attempts to enter the house, it is allowed inside. The dog searches desperately for signs of life but finds none. As it witnesses the stove preparing meals it cannot access, hunger and despair consume the emaciated dog until it eventually succumbs. The cleaning mice make quick work of disposing of its lifeless body.
Shortly after nine in the evening, the house recites a poem titled "There will come soft rains" by Sara Teasdale. This was a favorite poet of Mrs. McClellan, and the poem envisions nature reclaiming the world once humans have been wiped out by war. An hour later, a tree branch crashes through the kitchen window, igniting a fire that quickly spreads throughout the house. Frantically, the house attempts to save itself, but its efforts prove futile as the flames engulf it, reducing it to ashes and debris. In the morning, only a single wall remains, its damaged address system mechanically repeating the date, "August 5, 2026," into the silence of the desolated Earth.
Timothy Thomas, a young boy of around 12 years old, is somewhat oblivious to the true gravity of their situation. He, along with his father, pregnant mother, and two younger brothers, has survived the devastating war on Earth and arrived on Mars under the guise of a vacation. The children are informed that all the Martians, including those who survived the chickenpox epidemic, have perished. However, as their boat travels along a Martian canal and a distant rocket explodes, Timothy realizes that they are not on a temporary vacation but rather a permanent move to Mars. His younger brothers eagerly ask when they will see Martians, and their father, William Thomas, assures them that they will see them soon.
As William skillfully navigates theboat under a deteriorated dock, the family waits until he deems it safe to continue. He encourages his sons to choose which of the Martian cities they prefer, assuring them that the family will live there. Although Timothy and his brothers feel apprehensive about living on Mars, Timothy understands the importance of maintaining a sense of adventure and normalcy, realizing that they must keep playing the game, for "now it was still a game, still a family outing, and the other kids must be kept playing."
After selecting a city, William reveals that the Edwards family,
consisting of his friend Bert, his wife, and their four daughters, will be joining them. Together, they will embark on a new life on Mars. Timothy and his brothers eagerly inquire when they will see the Martians, and William assures them that it won't be long.
Later that evening, William gathers their important papers from Earth, explaining to his sons that he is symbolically burning away the old way of life, just as Earth itself is being cleansed by fire. He reveals that Earth is now gone, and with it, the old ways of humanity. Their two families will now have the opportunity to create a new civilization on Mars, free from the burdens and knowledge of Earth, which William has symbolically burned away. He takes his sons to the edge of a canal and points to their reflections in the water, indicating that they are the new Martians, ready to shape the future of their new home.