Futuristic Writing

Juan Esteban Bustamante

English 11, Block 1
November 2012


The big red timer started countdown, and the rocket passengers started to shut down all
electronic devices and flipped their seats to the upright position. Gavin was reading a safety instructions
booklet that was in the front seat, which the space hostess told him to put away during the decoupling
process. It was the first time physicist Gavin took part in a galactic hyper drive flight, and it was his first
time visiting mars too. He was scared, and once the timer marked seven minutes, the hostess initiated
the placement and safety instructions in using the HPO helmet and armor. This made Gavin even more
nervous because he felt claustrophobic in the high tech suit they armed him with in order to have
optimum conditions during hyper drive.
The timer reached zero and the rocket propelled aircraft detached from the massive B-98
cargo plane, which continued its flight towards Russia. All 60 passengers and staff of the
WhiteKnightEight felt the hasty vibration that the aircraft suffered and not long after they felt the strong
propulsion from the back of the ship. In an instant, Gavin felt the dense air rushing in from various parts
of the helmet and felt his face shrink. He started breathing heavily from the fear of running out of air. He
looked at the person next to him and saw that this guy was as calm as a hibernating bear. Through the
window, the picture of Earth was stunning, showing off all of its nature and dying power. Gavins visor
turned on and started to display a video: Welcome noble passengers, Virgin is proud to inform you that
we have just exited Earths stratosphere and we are headed to a comfortable flight into the orbital
planetary nation of Mars. The ETA of the voyage is of 6 days, 16 hours, and 40 minutes. Your suit will
now initiate the sleeping process to make the trip even shorter. Have a nice flight and thank you for
choosing Virgin Galactic! The enthusiastic and colorful video turned off, relaxing soft music started to
play in the sides of the helmet and a dark vapor started to fog Gavins visor, a few minutes later he was
sound asleep.
He woke up to a spasmodic alarm that made him puke all over his helmet; fortunately the
advanced waste disposal system in his helmet was effective enough to clean fully all the mess he
created. He looked out the window; a big red mass was each second becoming bigger. Soon enough, the
aircraft landed on the external mars base platform. Gavins suit went through a series of adjustments
which he felt all over his body in order to fit his exact body and engage in full mobility on the surface of
the planet. The crew called its farewells on the passengers as they walked off the front exit, and people
all around the landing zone were greeting them, showing faces of joy through their silver visor. Once
Gavin set foot on the ground, it felt very natural to walk, it felt very close to walking on earth: there
must be magnets in these boots attached to the magnetic field of the planet, Gavin thought. He walked
through a big entrance which read Welcome to Mars in big red letters.
Name, birth date, and profession. Asked a tall guy dressed in black though a window pane.
Gavin Ramsey, 2073, molecular physicist. Responded Gavin.
In less than a few seconds, a red card popped out of the wall with the same information that he gave the
man but instead of the birth date it said his age: 48.
He went through a series of medical tests before entering the main facility where it looked to be
very busy. Gavin started searching for office 409 in the many maps of the compound, when he heard a
familiar voice.
Gavin! Ive been expecting you.
Dr. Geoff, its nice to see you again after all these years.
What do you think of mars? Its nice right?
Its impressive, but the flight was very bizarre.
Glad you liked it, please follow me.
Gavin followed his past mentor back to his office. He found the compound to be very open and
full of aluminum structures. Geoff started talking.
Its been 30 years since the first manned mission to Mars, and since then we have made many
improvements to this place, but recently we have made our greatest discovery. You might know that the
reason that we had for setting a civilization in such a remote area was because we found high levels of
radiation to specific Martian rock fifty clicks from here. Well we found a way to turn that radiation into
usable energy. Let me show you.
Geoff moved to the big window on his office, Gavin followed. There, in the middle of a flat area
was a small house where green light was piercing through the windows.
Scientist havent been able to fully use these rocks, they just keep disintegrating once they are
exposed to heat. We need you to crack the code Gavin: if we dont find a way to release the energy
produced by that rock the whole Mars project will be in vain. Your studies on molecular physics are just
what we need in this very moment, I will provide you with all the equipment and privacy you need to
figure out a way to make that energy usable. In the end this is why we brought you here, didnt we?
Gavin stood there, admiring the extraordinary view, while millions of formulas passed through his head
all at once. He finally answered:
Give me three weeks, Ill get it done.