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    Lonely Hearts on Mars: Taxyon Space, #0
    Lonely Hearts on Mars: Taxyon Space, #0
    Lonely Hearts on Mars: Taxyon Space, #0
    Ebook56 pages53 minutesTaxyon Space

    Lonely Hearts on Mars: Taxyon Space, #0

    By Aurora Springer

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    About this ebook

    A science fiction short story set on Mars in the near future.

    When an accident leaves Lucilla with multi-colored artificial eyes, she is rejected by her boyfriend. Alone and shunned by society, she flees to Mars to serve as one of four isloated scientists observing the terraforming of the planet. But, when disaster strikes, she can expect no help from Earth. She must overcome her fears if she is to survive in the hostile environment. 

    Taxyon Space, Book 0

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAurora Springer
    Release dateAug 14, 2016
    ISBN9781536531237
    Lonely Hearts on Mars: Taxyon Space, #0
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    Author

    Aurora Springer

    Aurora Springer is a scientist morphing into a novelist. This year, I achieved a lifelong ambition by becoming a published novelist, after years of working as a professional scientist. I have composed science fiction and fantasy stories for as long as I can remember. I was born in the UK, and have a PhD in molecular biophysics. Currently, I live in Atlanta, USA with my husband, a dog and the requisite two cats to lie on my laptop. My novels allow me to express humor and a wild imagination with weird new characters and worlds, while exploring serious questions. My published works include science fiction romance novels and a short fantasy novella.

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      Book preview

      Lonely Hearts on Mars - Aurora Springer

      Lonely Hearts on Mars

      A short story about life on Mars in the near future

      By

      Aurora Springer

      After an accident leaves Lucilla with multi-colored artificial eyes, she is shunned by society and her boyfriend rejects her. She flees to Mars as one of the scientists observing the terraforming of the planet. When disaster strikes, she can expect no help from Earth. She must overcome her fears if she is to survive in the hostile environment.

      Copyright

      Copyright © 2015 Aurora Springer

      All rights reserved.

      Disclaimer

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidence.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      Acknowledgment

      The cover was designed using the public domain image of Mars with Curiosity from NASA.

      Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Bonus Material from Europa, Book 1 of Taxyon Space

      Chapter 1

      Oxygen.

      Yes, the oxygen level was rising. Lucilla noted the sensor reading on her tablet. The little angels were working their miracle and transforming the atmosphere of Mars.

      She stared at the rocky terrain outside the transparent dome. She had never imagined the angel covered surface would be so colorful. The green and yellow slime crept among the rocks, and the small pools of water reflected the deepening blue of the sky.

      It was funny how popular names emerged from acronyms. The inventors had used the name of Genetically Engineered Early Lifeforms for the cyanobacteria designed to survive on the surface of Mars and release oxygen via the process of photosynthesis. Subsequently, the public relations advisors had deleted the word Genetically because of the unpopular connotations. Their suggested acronym of ENGELs was corrupted quickly to angels, which was a fitting name for the initial agents of the vast project intended to save humanity. 

      If the long term strategy succeeded, Mars would be terraformed into a farm to grow food for the billions of people on overpopulated Earth. The angel bacteria seeded with the nitrogen enriched fertilizer to produce oxygen were the first stage in the transformation. The final stages would not come during her lifetime.

      The daily news reports flashed on the screen. Lucilla shuddered at the images of the rioting mobs. She could never return to the cities of Earth. She had deliberately chosen this life of isolation as a scientist analyzing the transformation of Mars. Three years of evaluations and training for her solitary job, followed by the hardships of a year in a spaceship, had proved worthwhile when she was assigned to Mars Station Three. For a scarred introvert like her, four years living of alone in the dome were bliss. The nearest people were the two scientists in their separate domes on distinct regions of Mars, and the watcher stationed on the moon Phobos. The four people on Mars enjoyed their privacy, and even communicated using virtual avatars instead of displaying their real faces.

      She assumed the others had their reasons, just as she had, for using the avatars. Even now, after a decade, she remembered her bleak desolation when Steve had refused to visit after her accident. She recalled the disgust in his eyes when she tried to speak with him. No, it was better to live here on Mars. Who would want to see her ruined face with the scars and the fake eyeballs? At least her prosthetic eyes gave her

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