Free The Martian Viking by Tim Sullivan Page B

Alderdice said, "feel the gravity."
    "It's a lot lower than Earth," Johnsmith said, "but it's been so long since we left home, I feel as if I weigh a ton."
    "Should have taken more exercise," Co-pilot Prudy said, entering the cabin behind Captain Hi. "It's the best way to compensate."
    "Yeah, but it's too late now." Johnsmith thought of all the time he had spent on the voyage under the influence of onees. He unstrapped himself and stood, the oppressive weight of his body forcing him to lean against a bulkhead for support.
    "Come on," Hi said. "You'll be all right."
    He led them through a hatch to an elevator, which they took down. They got into the pressure suits in the airlock. Hi opened the outer hatch, and they looked out at Mars.
    Johnsmith was reminded of a Western he'd seen once, with lots of sunsets over the desert. Too red, too vast to be real. Unlike the one in the film, though, this desert covered almost an entire planet.
    Somebody was walking toward them from the right, wearing a pressure suit with chevrons on the shoulders. Behind him was a series of low huts, hangars, three big personnel carriers, and a few Martian terrain vehicles. One or two people could be seen seated in wieldos, putting up wallsheets, but other than that the landscape was devoid of all but sand and rocks.
    "Welcome to your new home," a voice crackled inside Johnsmith's helmet. As their greeter came closer, he began to make out a man's face through the clear plastic visor.
    "I'm your supervisor," the guy said, stopping just outside the airlock. "Angel Torquemada."
    Johnsmith took a good look at him. He was a thin-faced man who did not smile as he spoke. His grim manner seemed to fit into his surroundings flawlessly.
    "My co-pilot and I are tired," Hi said. "We'd like something to eat, and some R&R until we leave seventy-two hours from now."
    "Duly noted, Captain," said Angel Torquemada. "Why don't you come with me?"
    Johnsmith was impressed that Mr. Torquemada had come out to greet them himself, instead of sending one of his underlings. Maybe there would be a sense of civility here, after all. He supposed that it was possible a frontier society like this one might be very close knit. He'd find out before long.
    As they moved toward the compound, Johnsmith glanced at the new buildings under construction, which Hi had told him about a few days ago. It appeared that the new buildings would be considerably more elaborate than the quonset huts they were now approaching.
    The wind whipped around them so savagely that Johnsmith almost lost his footing once or twice. He wondered if the Martian wind ever completely died down. It seemed to somehow penetrate his pressure suit, chilling him in spite of the suit's heater.
    They came to the nearest hut and went inside. There was an antechamber, sort of a spacious airlock, where they could remove their suits and hang them up. They did so, and followed Angel Torquemada into a long, warm room where a dozen or so people sat on long benches working with machines Johnsmith was unfamiliar with. He noticed an odd odor as he looked around. It was more than the close smell of human sweat, machines, and synthetic coffee. It occurred to him that this smell, which he could not identify, might be the lingering scent of Mars itself. Johnsmith felt dizzy with the knowledge of just how different, how alien his surroundings were from what he had known all his life.
    He really was on Mars.
    "This is data processing," Angel Torquemada said. His black hair was combed straight back, widow's peak over an aquiline nose and thin lips. "If you show aptitude and add up enough merit points, you may be promoted to work in here. If not, there's plenty of work available building the factory."
    "What factory?" Felicia asked in a suspicious tone.
    Torquemada turned to her. With no change of expression, he said, "The one we are building here."
    "What are you going to make here that you couldn't manufacture on Luna or in the Belt?" Felicia