StarGaze

Ancients

If you think Mars is a red barren planet with no expectancy of life then you, my friend, are terribly wrong. But if you think that it is all blue with little patches of land like Earth, you are wrong there too. 

There were only four mountain ranges on the whole planet. Most of the planet was solid. There were small oceans, but they were occupied by the backup servers which the Martians liked to call the trees of life. And it seems like they were greatly influenced by the Earth dwellers. 

I say that because there were cities and structures similar to those on Earth. Overall, it was an eerily peaceful environment. And if you are concerned about a population explosion like the one on Earth, I understand. Because in spite of the constant tensions and wars, humans have managed to populate a large chunk of their planet. So naturally, a species like the Martians would be flooding due to no murders, no death penalties, and s**t. But my friend, you are wrong again. 

You see, there is a dark corner to every seemingly bright society. On the four mountain peaks that spread across the planet, resided four deadly apex predators, the only ones on the planet. They were not naturally present on Mars before the ancients (immigrant humans) arrived. In fact, all the animal species present on Mars at the time of the Ancients’ arrival ‘mysteriously’ disappeared. The purging was done to protect the aliens from any infections that could prove lethal. A few animals of each species were still present at some kind of research center. 

Anyway, the apex predators were actually bio technically manufactured machines programmed to kill any Martian insight. They would come down from the mountains three times a week and hunt as many Ancients as they could spot. They couldn't age and didn't feel anything. What they did have were excellent vision and a very efficient eating mechanism. Well, we have to say that it is an effective method of population control. 

Now back to Raghav and his companions. The ship landed in a grass patch. The surrounding was surprisingly vibrantly colored. Raghav felt like he was seeing everything in ultra HD. Turns out that Mars’ atmosphere does some freaky s**t to the light from the sun. Raghav got out of the ship and looked around. 

He was expecting someone to be sent to receive him. After all, he was a bit of a celebrity around these parts, or so he thought. So when he stepped on the grass-covered land and couldn't spot anyone, he was a little disappointed. 

“Ready to explore my planet?” He heard Pinky’s voice from behind. 

He turned around while letting out a cold sigh and jumped in fear at the sight of the Martian. It was not like he was afraid of something, it was just that she caught him off guard. So here is how a true Martian female looked like- 

She was taller than Raghav, with completely blue skin (not the dark kind of blue, the more soothing light one). There were white glittering spots all over her body which were only visible in Mars’s atmosphere. Her face was just like any other human, well, except the color. Her hair was white and stretched to her lower back. Her upper and lower ‘delicate parts’ were taken over by some protective sheath of skin and were only revealed when their functions were required. And yes, Ancients were naked. You people think that just because you wear clothes means that everyone in the universe does? 

Anyway, Raghav quickly captured his breath and took a long glance at her body. The concept of awkwardness isn’t introduced to Ancients, so she didn't mind. 

“Beautiful!” Raghav exclaimed, fascinated by the beauty that evolution had bestowed upon his distant cousins. 

Pinky lowered her eyes, and Raghav was a little taken aback. He thought that the ancients couldn't feel anything. But this lady right here was undoubtedly blushing. Maybe she had been away from the tree of life too long and started to feel the emotional aspect of her character that was otherwise inhibited. 

“Are you...are you blushing?” Raghav asked and smiled. 

“What?...who? ME?! NO!” Pinky said and looked away in haste. 

“Aww come on, look at that cute little bluish face,” Raghav said and laughed. 

Pinky didn't reply and Raghav decided to focus on what he was here to do. So he followed Pinky into the grasslands and looked at the sky. He could clearly see Titan (Mars’s moon). It looked bigger and closer than our moon and Raghav couldn't take his eyes off of it. 

“Wow, such an exotic place. The only thing I am missing right now is the chirping of birds and crickets. How come it is so awfully quiet here?” Raghav asked, looking around. 

“Animals are actually a barrier in peace, so we had to remove them from the food chain,” Pinky said casually. 

“What do you mean removed? You just killed all of them?” Raghav asked, astonished. 

“Yes,” Pinky replied coldly. 

“How did you manage to do that?” Raghav asked. 

“Simple, we engineered a virus which altered the animal’s DNA and forced them to eat each other. The last ones left died of starvation. We still waited for a hundred years after that just to be sure that it was safe for us.” Pinky said. 

“You people blame our species for being aggressive and violent, and look at the things you have done,” Raghav said, looking at Pinky with taunting eyes. 

“We never denied that we are ‘bad’, according to your definition. We just don't want to be on the suffering side of the scale.” Pinky said and increased her pace. 

They were now in the outskirts of what seemed like a city. There were only residential buildings inside the city. There were no schools, hospitals, and things like that. After all, why do you need education when you can just plug your mind into a genius’ and why do you need to fear death when you can just upload your consciousness into a f*****g cloud system. 

“Just one thing before we reach our destination,” Pinky said and stopped Raghav in his tracks. 

“What is it?” Raghav asked, breaking a twig from a wheat plant. 

“Do not mention anywhere that I ‘blushed’,” Pinky said, panicking. 

“Ah look, you showed another emotion- fear,” Raghav said and grinned. 

“All right, I will not mention it. But you have to smile for me first.” Raghav said, trying to soothe Pinky after seeing her blue face turn to white. 

Pinky looked up in confusion. But as soon as she looked at Raghav’s wholesome face, she couldn't help but pass a smile at him, and he replied with the same. He then laughed and started walking again. 

“Humans. Strange creations.” Pinky said and smiled, looking at Raghav walking away. 

The white dots on her body slowly grew brighter and then dimmed again. This had never happened again. But then again, she had never felt that electricity for someone before...