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and reflect... diffuse light differently at different times of day. I used the
hardest glass I could make. I'm hoping it won't get sandblasted if it's in the
courtyard between the airlock and the shed. I'm going to make a garden out of
that spot...."
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Carter stood staring up at the huge structure, while Annie had Philippe take
her for a walk around it. "It's wonderful," she said to Philippe quietly. She
gave him a radiant smile, as if nothing were wrong.
When they completed their circuit, Carter said, "It's really good, Philippe.
It's beautiful. A tie to Earth, but different."
"Different," Annie echoed.
"How many leaves are there?" Carter asked.
"Over four thousand. One for every person who has been on Mars, according to
the registry. I've been assembling it all since Friday."
Carter glanced at Annie and suppressed a strained smile. "All that since
Friday?"
"
Jesuistresfatigue.
Of course, I made the branches and most of the leaves months ago. They were
waiting for me."
Annie said, "We should get to put our names on them."
"There is one with your name on it. And one with Carter's, and mine,
everyone's. If you look, you'll find one leaf that is different. Scarlet. That
is Stafford's."
"Oh, where is my leaf?" Annie laughed.
"I don't know anymore."
The comment stung her. She knew Philippe was in pain. She should have handled
it better, but damn it...
Annie walked around the tree, closer to where Philippe was working, as if
looking for her special leaf. "It must have taken forever," she said. She
wanted to hug him, but couldn't with Carter there. He looked like a little
boy, trying to be brave....
Well, she had made this bed and now she was lying right in the middle of it.
"I thought about leaving room on the tree for new leaves," Philippe was
saying. "Future arrivals. They could have a ceremony every six months. Attach
leaves for new people, and the tree could grow. Then I
thought, no, I will design it for today, so there will be no bare branches. It
commemorates how far we have come. In the future, when people come to Mars
City, they can look at this and say, 'It all started in
'09. That is how far they got by '31.' I hope this will be a benchmark for
them all to see a continued increase, a kind of progress." Philippe sighed.
"Tomorrow I must get up very early. They move it out into position."
"We've got to tell you about what we found," Carter said. "Come on. Let's get
you out of here. You look like you're going to drop. Let's go somewhere
comfortable where we can talk." Carter started for the door exuberantly,
trying too hard to be cheerful and to stand near Annie at the same time.
When Philippe went to turn out the lights on the far side of the studio, Annie
trailed behind him, eyeing the tree judiciously from every angle.
"It's good to see you again, Philippe," she whispered to him. "Everything will
be all right."
When they left, Philippe turned out the lights one by one and they all watched
the tree fade into night-dormancy.
On the way to the restaurant, they passed a pregnant woman in the hallways.
"Are they still having babies?" Philippe said after she had passed. He waved
his arms. "Here it is, March.
Why don't they just havethem all in January and get it over with?"
Carter: "What's that supposed to mean?"
Philippe shrugged. "I don't know. It just popped into my head. I have had no
time to think about what it means. I think it is black humor, probably."
ARRIBA YADELANTE, said the sign over the door. FROM THE SONORAN DESERT: FOOD
FOR THE GREATEST DESERT IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM! Someone had penciled an extra "S"
in the second "desert." Inside, they made their plans over "cheese" enchiladas
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and beans from the green-houses.
Philippe was full of his impending unveiling, trying to avoid the sense of
triangle among them. Carter and
Annie let him talk. Phobos was exploding in them, but it was as if they did
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