It took a couple days to arrange and transport everyone that wanted to come to Mars without drawing undue attention during the exodus. It had taken a fair bit of running around, and no fewer than three shuttles, simply due to the fact that Lisa hadn’t concerned herself with where they might be in the world when she contacted them. Each person had left a note or message stating that they were leaving of their own free will, then snuck out to a secluded area to meet the shuttle assigned to collect them. It would no doubt cause another small uproar as people leap to the conclusion that they had abducted a bunch of scientists, but it was barely a drop in the ocean by this point.

Rebekkah had also insisted that their guests were all aware that although they would provide the necessities, and would try to provide anything that was requested within reason, they would not be paid for their time, nor for their contributions. The trip itself was reward enough in her opinion, since no other scientists from Earth had ever set foot on Martian soil, and certainly hadn’t been granted access to alien technology that would no doubt allow them to make large advancements in their fields. It was solid logic, and wasn’t hurt by the fact that their assets had been frozen pending investigation, nor by the fact that Rebekkah had also decided to stop using Earth-based currencies entirely if at all possible.

She had taken it upon herself to develop their fledgling colony into first a city, then a nation in its own right, and had firmly stated that a true nation must have its own currency. To continue to rely on currency from another nation, any nation, would leave them vulnerable to the whims of that country and tether them to the economic well-being of said country. She took a page from the Confederacy and established a network of AIs that would manage a digital currency for them with a value selected and maintained by an algorithm that was dizzyingly complex.

The only problem was the fact that they were yet to be considered an independent organization, let alone country, and their currency would be worthless to everyone that wasn’t on Mars. It was also pretty useless to the people that were on Mars at the moment, but that was because there were so few of them that it simply wasn’t needed. As their population grew it would become increasingly important if they wanted to maintain stability.

Evan, Jason, and Kinzie had all simply decided to let her do as she wished with that portion of things, since economics and business was her area of expertise. The only part of the idea they continued to argue about was the actual form their government would take. They had just finished discussing it when their guests started arriving, having settled tentatively on a blend of meritocracy and technocracy for the time being. The exact form the blend would have would no doubt be the subject of future debates, but it could wait.

They went to meet the shuttles, which had landed at the colony proper and not their little compound. They waved at the crowd of excited scientists that boiled out of the shuttles excitedly, doing their best to see everything all at once. “Hello! This way please!” Evan called. “We’ll show you where you’ll be staying for now, and the labs we have set up for your use!”

They led the way into the colony proper, which had been designed and built with both practicality and aesthetics in mind, unlike the relatively basic survival dome they lived in. They had ensured that the route from the landing sites around the fledgling city was enclosed by thick, reinforced clear material that provided an unobstructed view of the gleaming spires and the rings of large silver tubes that connected them. The tubes were a mix of footpaths, rail transit, and roadway’s for the automated taxi service.

Each spire was capable of hosting the equivalent of a mid-sized town. They had plenty of residential space throughout the upper floors, while the lower floors that are connected to the city’s transit networks contained workspaces and storefronts reserved for its residents. They had generalized everything for the time being, and would simply let the spires specialize themselves naturally as people joined them. It would be simple enough to make changes when they needed to after all.

“We put everyone in the closest spire for now,” Evan explained as they approached their destination. “We expect that people will gather with others that share the same interests and the spires will wind up specializing in different fields, but most of them are still unfinished, and it would be silly to spread so few people across the place now.”

“Have you started working on any starships yet?” A man asked eagerly. “I was hoping for a chance to see the engines and equipment needed to achieve interstellar flight in person.”

“I was also hoping to see what you have done with your hydroponics systems and any other botanical equipment or set-ups you may have. I was told you used many of the ideas from my work, and cannot wait to see what is actually effective.” A petite Asian woman asked.

Evan saw Jason do a double-take out of the corner of his eye and smiled. It would seem that Doctor Long wasn’t a man, and that Jason had just learned a lesson in assuming gender. “We do indeed have a starship being built, but it will be close to a month before anyone will be able to board it. We can get you set up with the blueprints of them though, and anything else you may need to study them.” He responded to the man first, then turned to the woman. “You would be Dr. Long I presume? We actually only have two established hydroponics bays right now, one in our personal habitat and a larger one in the spire we are headed for. We would love to have your opinion on them, as well as your help planning easily maintained parks that can be established throughout the city.

“That shall all have to wait until we get everyone settled, there is plenty of time for everyone to work on whatever they wish. Ah, here we are!” He exclaimed as a set of reinforced double doors at the end of the path slid open. “I have to confess, the other reason we didn’t spread everyone across the colony is because this is the only tower close to actual completion at the moment. The rest are empty shells waiting to be filled.” They stepped onto a platform that lifted them up the slope in front of them, eventually revealing a huge domed room filled with empty shop faces and open areas with benches that were clearly intended to be a form of park for people to relax in.

“This is all subject to change, of course, to better fit the needs of the residents. For now, though, welcome to Haven!” He waved his arm at the cavernous room dramatically. “Access to the upper floors is available around the perimeter of the common room, with the nearest elevator in this direction.” He led the way to the right until they reached a bank of elevators around a hundred yards from the main entrance. The elevators were already all at the ground floor, and they piled into a few of them to head to the next floor

As they waited for the elevator to reach the residential section, he continued in a conversational tone. “Has anyone had any trouble with the translation buds yet? No? Wonderful, we plan to use them as one of the first incentives for allowing us to open an embassy. They should be able to translate any language you hear in real-time but we haven’t been able to test them properly with the few people we have here. I imagine that they will be getting a workout with everyone coming from all over the world today.”

The elevator doors opened with a soft chime, revealing an area best described as a very large hotel lobby. “There are a few recreational areas in the residential zones like pools, gyms, and jogging paths, but for now, feel free to go and choose a room. They’re identical, so no need to try and find the best one. Once you have chosen, the system will register it as your room once you place your hand on the scanner and your luggage will be delivered to it via drone. Come back when you are ready and we will move on to the labs and workshops we have set up for you to use.”

“I believe you said earlier that you have a personal habitat? Is it correct to assume that means somewhere other than this spire?” A female voice asked him from behind.

He turned and was slightly surprised to find Samantha there, he had extended the invitation of course, but hadn’t been too convinced she would accept. It was effectively choosing to abandon her old life after all. “That is correct, we haven’t moved out of the smaller structure we built first as it has everything we need and the proximity to each other makes it easier to get everything done.”

“Well if I’m to resume my role as your assistant, wouldn’t it be best if I am close by?” She asked, a slight blush on her cheeks.

Evan sighed. “You know what? This is silly.” He looked at Rebekkah, then at Samantha. “If you two want to start a relationship, go right ahead. You can work for Rebekkah, you can be her partner, you can even be her boss if you two want, it doesn’t matter what your work relationship is anymore. We’re on Mars! I think that is more than enough excuse to not bother adhering to an archaic workplace rule about avoiding relationships between a boss and their employees. Arguably, you ceased to be our employee after the government froze our assets and we became unable to pay you your salary.

“So, if that is why you are here go for it. If it isn’t, well, I don’t really need an assistant, so you would be better put to work helping Rebekkah anyways.”

Samantha looked at Rebekkah, a bit of trepidation and worry in her expression. Rebekkah just smiled warmly though. “I think we can fit another set of rooms in our habitat, it would be very nice to have someone with similar interests around to talk to, and I could certainly use some help with all the work I have on my plate of late.”

The scientists had started to return by now, and they waited impatiently for the rest, eager to get on with the tour and finally see where they would be allowed to work. As the last arrived, Evan spoke up. “Back into the elevators, everyone! We will be going to the basement next, where we have plenty of lab space for you all!” That was all he needed to say to get them back into the elevators. When they offloaded at the basement they all froze in place for a moment at the sight of glass-walled labs filled with equipment. “As you can see, we have ensured that every field has a laboratory suited to their needs. If there is anything you lack, simply ask Lisa and she will do her best to get it for you.

Except for better food. I’m afraid we are a bit lacking in diversity when it comes to rations around here. Hopefully Dr. Long will be able to help us fix that in short order. The doors are clearly labeled, and can be secured should you need to prevent interruptions during sensitive experiments. That concludes the tour, should you wish to explore beyond the areas we showed you feel free, Lisa will alert you if you are about to venture somewhere dangerous. Go and see what we have for you!” As the crowd of scientists started to disperse he spoke again. “Dr. Long, I’m afraid this area doesn’t contain the hydroponics bay we set up for you, that is in the public area upstairs. Come along, we’ll show you where.”