NOTE: Here is the commentary to this work, the original work entitled "Six" by Nathan Foster: Six Commentary. You may read the original work first if you wish. However, to make sense of this work, I feel reading the commentary is absolutely necessary. This is why I definitely suggest that you do it. You see, the real drama does not involve these fictional characters. No, the real drama is my own.
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"Six. Five. Four. ... Three. ... Two. ... One," the loudspeaker announced.
The pyramid sunk into the Martian dust. A3 piloted the ship, being the best of Martian stock, and the only one with the unshaken will to combat the planet Earth.
"Primary lock set. Due to launch in 24 day-divisions and counting."
A3 strode down the steps of the pyramid, nonchalantly for a Martian, B5 ready to greet.
"We still have no data as to the surface political conditions of the planet Earth, A3," B5 said.
"Yes, I know," said A3. "It's too risky. But then again, so is staying here."
Every Martian knew that their planet was dying from the inside out. It had been many millennia since the last volcanic eruption, and the core had been cooling off ever since. "Thus dies Mars" was a phrase that became part of the popular vernacular.
"Have you seen the new findings?" A3 asked.
"No," said B5.
"At the center of the planet Earth is a black hole. This is proposed to be why Earth is so sustainable — the black hole at the center of the planet. Our great race is one hundred thousand years old, and we do not have that technology. We need it — very badly we need it."
"You are in a dangerous place, A3, talking so positively about black holes. Their very nature is ignorance, and fear."
"Their nature is physical, not substantially different from a rock."
"Physical representations of ignorance and fear," B5 insisted. "By their nature they cannot be measured."
"That isn't strictly true first off, and also, their very nature is separate from the nature of conventional physics, which you as a historian should note, was the fall of Mars."
"Greed and militarism were the fall of Mars."
"B5, no. Mars was falling from the start. Conventional physical living is synonymous with impermanence. The only way to conquer impermanence is through ignorance of the proper type — ignorance of faith — because knowledge of all things is necessarily finite, and thus unsustainable. This is the hope humans talk about — real hope. Do you not want real hope?"
"I apologize; I do not intend to question the wisdom of a superior. Please forgive me, as I only do so because I would rather hope for you and your safe return than hope in any way for the survival of a planet."
"Our planet is far-gone in degradation. I demand a beautiful planet."
"I do not understand the degradation of the body of our planet. I studied history. But I feel you're right, and I wish you luck tomorrow."
A3 touched B5's forehead with his finger — a symbol for loving compassion.
"C6.2665," A3 said, "Do you have my costume ready?"
"Yes. Materials science dictated a more efficient way to control your appearance without harming the skin," C6.2665 said. "I took the liberty of applying it. I hope you forgive me."
"It works the same way, right?"
"Yes."
C6.2665 looked nervous — he was the type to take liberties when he saw a technological advance. but taking liberties with the project of a superior would make any Martian nervous. However, .2665's independent nature was one of the reasons A3 selected him to be on his base team.
"It's remarkable how similar the Human body is to the Martian," A3 said. "May I view your base team?"
"Of course," .2665 said. He opened the doors on the rear end of the counter to show humility.
"Very good, very good," A3 said.
A3 had invited B5 to dinner that night. She looked out of A3's window at the expansive cavern. Stalactites of dry dirt held up by ancient iron mesh hung lazily over the many towers, which poked up through a sea of black tar-balls patiently waiting for a chance to suck something under. The great honor of a visit with the Martian leader notwithstanding, B5 enjoyed the view from his high tower. B5 gently stirred the black pudding she was eating. A3 never started a meal right off; he liked to let the mood sink in first.
"It has been a thousand years since an Earth conquest," A3 said.
"Yes, and Earth is more dangerous now," B5 said. "May the black caverns hold you secure."
"In my thought and in my center," A3 replied. "I intend to return only with a gift."
"Only with a gift?"
"Yes, if I return without a gift, casting myself into the tar would hardly be punishment enough for the reckless waste of energy I expended on the trip. Only with a gift, or I might as well stay on Earth."
B5 stared at her pudding, not wanting to eat. A3 understood, and looked at her lovingly. He gobbled a large bite of the black stuff, savoring it in his mouth.
"Well I intend to ensure your safe return in any way I can," B5 said.
There it was, A3 thought, the mood. He looked across the rooftops of his town as he finished the rest of his meal.
The next day was a simple one — A3 strapped himself into the ship and fell into hypersleep, and that was that as far as he was concerned. The pyramid housed a boom mechanism which shot his space ship upwards, prime rockets to ignite near the crest of the hight he was shot up to. Thus the progression went from mechanical, to chemical, to atomic fusion and fission. As was custom, B5 strapped herself to the wall near the pit of tar-balls. It was a ritual intended to concentrate her spirit on A3, hopefully to help safely bring him home when the time came.
A3 awoke orbiting the Earth. He landed his ship in the outskirts of New York City. It was the middle of a cool August night. His task was to find a human of sufficient intelligence in regards to Earth science. He checked the mirror — .2665's costume made him look sufficiently human. Before the trip, he had placed a knife, a human gun replica, two hundred-dollar bill replicas, and a Martian particle weapon in a small, human hand-bag replica.
A3 disguised his ship by connecting square metal sheets, which formed into a box that surrounded the ship. He then hit the streets and walked east. He came across a cluster of trees from which emanated a rustling sound. Taking a close look, he saw a human with a sleeping bag. He walked up to this man to speak with him.
"Hello, could you tell me please where I could find a scientist?" A3 asked.
"Donno whatcha talking about," the man said.
"Could you point me in the direction of power and knowledge?"
The bum laughed. "That way," he said, pointing downtown.
"Thank you," A3 said.
The bum called after him, "But hey buddy, hey buddy. It's best you don't know. It's best you don't know what you're talking about."
A3 continued walking east as the bum began talking to himself.
"More power and knowledge huh, more power and knowledge," the bum said. "That's what they want. More knowledge and...power."
A3 walked and walked. His ship was far enough into the outskirts that he had to walk several hours before getting to the downtown area. The closer he got, the more dangerous the area felt. Wanting to protect himself, A3 decided not to take the main road. He took a detour. But the detour had problems of its own — the road ended, and he wound up having to back-track several blocks and start again on a different road. Eventually, he wound up near the shoreline, and among the maze of bigger buildings. He had to backtrack again. Oddly enough, he began noticing the buildings were shrinking. But then he realized why when he saw from the back a building he had once seen from the front: he was going in the wrong direction.
Finally, A3 found a road that went north along the shoreline. He followed it, looking for some kind of college or university so he could find a quantum scientist. A3 held steadfast to his goal of a gift — he would not return to Mars without one.
But A3 didn't find any universities or colleges, and he was getting tired. He found a sheltered spot underneath an overpass where he could rest. As he walked beneath the overpass, he found another man there, rolled up in a blanket. So as not to disturb the man unnecessarily, A3 took smaller and smaller steps as he approached him. Then after standing still for a moment, resting his weight almost completely on his left foot, he decided to sit down. After several minutes, the man rolled over and noticed A3 sitting there.
"Where you from?" The man asked.
"I'm from Mars."
"Hah, he's from Mars!"
"I'm trying to find a scientist, but every try has degraded."
"What do you need a scientist for?"
"There's a black hole at the center of your planet. I want to know why."
"Our planet or your planet?"
"Your planet. That could be why everything degrades here."
But when A3 said this, he remembered his conversation with B5. Mars degraded without the presence of a black hole, so that can't be it. "No, that's not why everything degrades," A3 said. "It's just a fact of life."
"Of course, man, every thing degrades. It's like a ... chess game you know, when you have players and they think they wanna beat something... it's just like a big game. Like a game. Everything degrades, of course."
A3 thought for a minute. Earth was a terribly confusing planet — he was beginning to form the opinion that Earth people need Martian leaders to make their planet make sense. But then again, you can't rule without understanding, and there was certainly a boundless sea of knowledge about Earth which he still did not understand.
"What's my name?" A3 asked the human.
"You don't know your own name?" said the bum.
"I want you to tell me."
"Ah, okay."
The man thought for a moment, his eyes growing bigger every second until he said, "Six. Your name is six."
"That's all?"
"Six... Sybille. Your name is Six Sybille, the man from Mars. And Earth. The Martian from Earth."
A3 smiled at this.
"I'm going to find myself a scientist now."
A3 got up and continued his walk north.
It had been all night before he found the university. He had the pleasure of experiencing the sunrise — a pleasure to be highly prized by a Martian, who would have lived all his or her life in a cave. He felt the atmosphere grow gradually colder and colder, until he could barely withstand the cold. But right when it seemed the night was longest, he looked up and noticed the sky was a slightly bluer hue. The sky got bluer and bluer as A3 got colder and colder. He had to check himself frequently for he was rather stunned by the startling blueness of Earth's sky.
And then the sun became visible. He had expected the Earth to get gradually warmer in the same way that it got gradually cooler over the course of the night. But instead, once the sun came up, A3 was overwhelmed by the flood of warmth it gave so readily to his body. It almost scared him — as a Martian, he was trained to mistrust sudden blasts of warmth, for on Mars these were undoubtedly a waste of precious energy and the result of somebody's grievous error.
A3 entered the rotary doors of the university. He approached the man at the counter.
"Hello," he said. "Could you point me in the direction of the department of quantum science?" he said.
"Are you part of the tour?"
"Yes, I'm a prospective student of your university. I particularly want to see the department of quantum science. That is the focus of my studies. And may I take a pen?"
"Here you go," said the receptionist, handing A3 a metal pen. "I'll call Todd over for you."
"Perfect. This is a nice pen."
A half an hour later, A3 entered the office of Fred Lichtman. A3 placed the pen on the desk and pulled out his particle weapon. He shot the pen, causing it to melt on the desk and shoot ink out of the barrel. Then he rubbed off some of his costume on his hand, showing his dark, reddish brown skin and long fingers.
"My name is Six," A3 said. "I'm from Mars. I need to know about the black hole at the center of your planet."
"Our planet? I don't know what you're talking about."
"At the center of your planet," A3 repeated. "We need one of our own."
Fred thought carefully. He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a chunk of coal, holding it for A3 to look at.
"This has everything you need."
"What do you study?" A3 asked.
"It's called quantum science, which studies the in-depth nature of particles."
"What does this have to do with quantum science?"
"It is... called coal. It's the source of all life. Carbon is the source of life."
"Very good," A3 said, taking the coal. "Our planet is dying for lack of particles to annihilate. In return, a piece of advice — turn off your microwaves and CRT monitors. You never know when those spare particles could come in handy."
A3 peeled off his fake face and looked Fred directly in the eye. "Mars thanks you." Putting his fake face back on, he then turned to leave.
A3 exited the university and stood for a second, getting his bearings. A young female human approached him.
"You finding what you're looking for?" She asked.
"Well no, but then again perhaps it's better that way," A3 said, echoing the words of the bum.
The female's eyes grew wider and wider at this response, exactly the same way as the other bum's did when he found A3's human name.
"Hey wait," A3 said, "I was wrong, don't listen to me. It's far better to have knowledge and power. Thank you for asking."
A3 saw confusion rising in the young female as her eyes darted back and forth. Worried that something bizarre might happen, A3 turned to walk south, back towards his space ship, admiring the sun which set as he walked.
When A3 landed back on Mars, there were the expected celebrations. Nothing was wasted of course, but all was merry, especially in the case of B5, who wilted over A3's arms in the rare but customary Martian embrace. A3 touched his thumb to B5's forehead, then turned to face the rest of the crowd which had followed him.
"They named me. The Earth people named me," he said. All eyes were on him now. "My name is Six. Six Sybille," he said, "twin citizen of Earth and Mars. And I come not only with knowledge and resources, but with a purpose."
"What is your purpose?" B5 asked.
"To barter with the humans; to trade technology for wisdom, of which they are much in want. We must be an excellent example, for we are to synthesize our own black hole. We turn to face a new day, a new sunrise, and a new mode of activity. Planet Mars, the galactic center of ancient power and wisdom — now to become the mirror of our sister planet Earth. Let us be a good, clean mirror, and lead the Earth people to real knowledge and power, inseparable from the wisdom of our great ancestors."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Copyright © 2007 Nathan Foster, some rights reserved.