Wanna back home

- Boring... Everything's so boring... I'm so tired... I hate this planet, this infinity of sand, wind and cold.

- Nicolas, it's late already. Why don't you switch off the light and go to bed? - Zaid whispered almost falling asleep and pulling up the blanket.

Nicolas stood up, made a cup of coffee with the coffee machine, sat back next to the window and continued looking at the rocky Martian desert. The smell of natural coffee permeated the room.

- What year is it now? - Nicolas asked as if he didn't know the answer. - Is it 2307? I haven't seen my family for 5 years. You guys have been here for a year only, so you have no idea how it is to be on Mars for a long time. Zaid, look at Peter. He's sleeping like a baby. It seems that he likes his job here very much. Do you like what you're doing here?

- Man, I can't sleep while you're talking to me. Okay, what was the question about? Ah, yes, I like being here, I like working on this station. I was lucky to be sent here, not to other stations. This one is the oldest and biggest and has 20 scientists. I like it. Why did you ask?

- Every day we're doing the same work - installing wind turbines. I really want to do something different, something new. Sometimes I think it was a mistake that I signed the contract with this company.

-Yeah, 5 years is a long time. When are you going back to Earth? - asked Zaid, hiding his yawn.

-Maybe next year, I don't really know. As long as I'm responsible for the connections of new stations to the main grid, I'm wired to this damn planet. People of the Earth want more energy. What are they doing there, eh? There're 11 working station already on Mars producing pretty well enough electricity. Despite that, the company recently announced that a huge ring of connected storm-turbines will be built around Jupiter in its upper atmosphere. Crazy stuff! And then they want to send the electricity from Jupiter to here for, as they say, "waking up the Martian planet core". The core is believed to produce the electromagnetic field by itself if we put enough electricity to it. How would it work? No idea! But it would be good though: the electromagnetic field would protect the planet against solar radiation and hold the atmosphere, making a green house effect. Then probably after a hundred years or so, we'd be able to terraform Mars and grow plants outside stations. You know, Zaid, I believe in those smart guys.

- Hm... I feel much better now - continued Nicolas, looking right into the cup of his coffee - by the way, a new transmitter is due to arrive next month. It will reduce the dissipation of energy transmitted through space to the Earth. So, you, Peter and other engineers will see it soon.

He smiled, shifting his glance from the deserted landscape lighted by searchlights at the window to Zaid, who was already sleeping.