Marooned! Read Online Free PDF

breathing, but most of it comes from the regolith, the basic rock of Mars. A lot of the minerals that make up the rock are oxides, and one thing the colonists have to do is to build a chain of solar-powered oxygen factories all around the planet. Now that the air’s thicker, we have to make sure that eventually we can breathe it.”
    “Some of the oxygen comes from water, too,” Alex added. “There are underground, automated factories near the south pole that will mine subsurface ice and then break it into hydrogen and oxygen. When the factories are fully operational, the gases will be piped back here.”
    Sean was beginning to feel warm again. They headed back to what was generally called the townhall, a community structure where meetings could be held, games could be played, and meals could be eaten. It had been one of the first habitats for humans on Mars, and years ago it had suffered a blowout when the shell burst and the air had exploded outward. Colonists had repaired and reinforced it with a cage of tubular steel, made right on Mars. The hall itself was proof that the colonists wouldn’t give up easily and would bounce back from disaster, or so Sean had been told in his orientation sessions.
    Weekends were a time of relaxation, though work never completely stopped in the colony. They found the hall about half full of colonists, some of the younger ones tossing a ball around, others deep in discussion at tables along the walls, and still others eating. Sean, Alex, and Jenny joined this last group.
    Alex made a face as he checked the menu. “Great. Tuna salad or vegetarian today. Yuck.”
    “One day we’ll be eating only food we produceourselves,” Jenny said. “Right now about half is reconstituted stuff from Earth. Think of it as survival rations.”
    “I’d give a lot for a pizza,” complained Alex.
    “Hi, guys.” Mickey Goldberg breezed over and pulled up a seat at their table. “What are you three up to?”
    Sean told him about their brief stroll out in the open. Mickey chuckled. “You know why we have those unheated suits? It’s to keep us from roaming around too far from safety. Hey, Jenny, tell them about the time you nearly froze!”
    Jenny’s face turned red. “I didn’t nearly freeze. I just stayed out too long.”
    “Uh-huh,” Mickey said in a teasing voice. “Just long enough for the emergency sensor to sound. Simak had to send out a rescue party to bring you back in.”
    “I walked back in on my own, didn’t I?” demanded Jenny. “I didn’t even have frostbite.”
    Mickey laughed. “Well, Sean, just wait untilthey want you to do some work. Then you’ll get one of the fancy blue suits. They’re heated, and have auxiliary boosters built in, so you can lift half a ton. You feel like some kind of cartoon hero in one of those things. Hey, have you been assigned a specialty yet?”
    Sean looked down at his plate of half-eaten tuna salad. “Not yet.”
    “Give him time,” Jenny said. “He just got here.”
    Mickey shrugged. “Okay, okay. I just thought he might have decided to be a survival specialist or something. I mean, he’s famous for having survived back on Earth, right?”
    “Let him alone, Mickey,” Alex said. “Sean will be fine.”
    “Everyone’s touchy today,” Mickey said, getting up. “Okay, I’m going. See you guys around.” Mickey bounced away, looking like a kangaroo.
    A moment later, Ellman’s voice lashed out: “Goldberg! Walk properly when you’re not in a gymnasium.”
    “Good,” Sean said. “He had it coming.”
    “Don’t let him get to you,” Jenny said. “He’s too energetic for his own good, and sometimes his mouth is a few steps ahead of his brain, you know?”
    After a few moments of silence, Alex asked, “So what was it like, back on Earth, when you were running with the gang?”
    Sean shrugged. “I did what I had to do to live, that’s all. I don’t want to talk about it.”
    Alex leaned back in his chair. “I was just