We Return to Earth: part 3, #3

By Melody Martin

After surviving many years living on the planet Mars people begin to return to Earth. Most of those who return are the younger generation of those who originally left Earth. Many of the original settlers decide to not return. Some are too old to survive the return trip. Life back on Earth is difficult at first but they manage to make fife easier by working hard and raising crops and animals for food.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melody Martin
• Release date: Sep 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215101971

Melody Martin

I spent 3 years in the Navy. Today I spend My time writing or Painting. I am a very Independent woman Living in Kansas. This is just another stop in my journey through life. I was born in New York in 1941. So, I was alive when they bombed Pearl Harb I grew up on a small farm In Ulster County. The war years were tough but I never went hungry

Book preview

The Return To Earth Begins

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or used in a  fictitious manner. Any resemblance to an actual person’s, living, or a dead or actual event is purely coincidental.

This story is shorter than the rest. It is written to couple the other two in this series together. In the end, let your imagination run away on how wonderful it would be if all things were this way.

Chapter One

Starting Over

The year is 2106 long after a meteor struck the Earth. Now plant life is recovering and the people who escaped are returning to start anew. It will not be easy there is little to work with. Trees are starting to become large enough to cut and use as a building material. The trouble is harvesting enough will deplete the forest with a small chance of regrowth.  Joy Ann Peace has been working as a director on Earth with her husband Charlie Peace. Right now, not many refugees have returned. Most are botanists, scientists, and laborers. It is their job to make shelters on Earth.  Many more people will travel back to Earth.

The original settlers on Mars will not return. Their average age is seventy-five, making them too old for space travel. Secondarily they would soon become a burden to the new settlers on Earth. Some of the second generations of the original settlers have decided to stay behind and care for their parents. The estimated count of people who will join the settlers on Earth is seventy-five thousand. This number will be manageable if staged for over two years.

The first thing they did was set up sleeping quarters. Rolls of Mylar and rope made from it offloaded from the moon transport ships. There were three tent shelters at first. One for men one for women and a third for couples. Labors set about telling the ground in preparation for planting crops. Solar panels are set up for electricity. Small tillers are battery-powered and help in preparing the soil for planting. Sharing seeds among all the domes on Mars will give everyone a suitable diet. Rice, beans, and beets will give a little protein and sustenance to keep the settlers healthy.

A second ship from Mars carried chickens and goats. They will need to grow a good size herd before tapping into this source of food. Small fruit trees also came with this trip. It will take a few years before these bear fruit. Four explorers leave the camp to try to find resources. They stumble upon a small lake and stop to rest. The water is clear and there is a splash on the water. Tommy Jones calls attention to it. The other three did not see anything. They all stare at the water and again there is a splash. Edgar Love hollers out I saw it I saw it. Bruno agrees there was a splash so does Chester and he asks what it is.

Tommy Jones has a digital camera and turns it on. The camera captures the next splash. He views it on the display. Zooming in he sees a fish jumping out of the water. The good news, we can catch fish here for food. They continue exploring closer to the mountains. Trees are plentiful although most are evergreen. As they come to a clearing, the leader Tommy feels a gust of cold air. They walk toward the source and come to a cave on the side of the ridge. They carry small LED flashlights as they creep into the cave. The cave splits into two, warm air comes from one side. Very cold air comes from the other side. They do not want to go in too far. They exit the cave and mark the spot with a radioactive marker.

It is time to head back to camp. For every kilometer, they walk they set another radioactive marker. It is near nighttime when they return. Joy hears of their return and walks to the tent where they are. The exploration crew reports their findings. The way back is marked the directional Giger counter will point the way.

It is the weekend and Joy always tries to confer with her mom on Mars. Moon base is still manned and they pass messages with the high-powered laser. It takes a while for communication to reach Mars. Joy always prepares her report on her tablet. The return communication comes back in one segment. It is real only because the true voice comes through.

She calls up Moon base and starts her report. Always starting with I love you and miss you, mom. Hope will be at the Mars dome for at least eighteen months more. Then she will come to Earth with some of the people from Mars. Joy cannot wait until she can throw her arms around her mom. Her husband Charles fills her life with joy and companionship. Still, she misses her mom, grandmother Faith, and Grandfather Sabastian. Sometimes she wishes she could just pick up her phone and call them. Sadly, this is not possible there are no cell phone towers set up on Earth now. All phones are converted to communication devices between the people on Earth now.

Chapter Two

Settling In

The first six months were the most difficult. Now all shelters are complete. The second group of settlers has come from Mars. There is a mix of scientists, laborers, and one doctor. Doctor Roya Lightcap married one of the young generations. His name is Barry Lightcap and he studied nursing on Mars. He now has his RN degree. They worked side by side at the hospital on Mars while studying for their degrees. After nearly nine months, they found they had more in common than their love of medicine. They were married on Mars before their journey to Earth.

Explorers have found several more caves at the base of the mountain. Some of the caves stream out cool air and some warm.  Nights are getting cooler leaves are falling off the few hardwoods. Plans are made to make a new encampment by the mouth of the caves expelling warm air. Deep inside of the cool air shafts the temperature drops to about 4.5 degrees Celsius. (45F). this will keep food cool through the summer and winter. The main harvest was rice and it will keep in all conditions provided it is dry.

The first snow came early; the winter settlement was warm and dry.  Later in the winter, it was a chore to keep the solar panels free from snow. The animals were fenced near the edge of the camp. Chickens and rabbits are kept warmer than angora goats. They have very long mohair to keep them protected from the weather. It was a long cold winter and they were glad when it started warming up.

April they move back to the original settlement they now call, Marbridge. There was a huge effort to get the gardens planted. In May another five hundred people were to arrive. The angora goats have more than doubled this spring.  On the next transport, they are sending two ships. One will have new residents and one with animals. It will also carry rolls of Mylar and supplies. One of the mechanical engineers on Mars has created a transport that will go three hundred kilometers on a single charge. On the roof of the vehicle, there are solar panels to recharge the batteries. They also charge batteries while traveling. When assembled, it will pull a trailer that will hold one hundred and fifty kilograms.

One of the late arrivals before winter set in contained a larger drone that would fly five hundred kilometers on a charge.  After the hard work of preparing gardens and planting seeds, Joy decides to