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Speaker 1: Or an ad free listening experience. And more stories, please

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Speaker 1: check out sleep Type Premium. A link can be found

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Speaker 1: in our show notes. Thank you, hello friends, and welcome

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Speaker 1: to sleep Tight Stories. This is the second of our

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Speaker 1: series telling the story of Red before she moved to Earth,

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Speaker 1: became a student at a new school, and eventually became

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Speaker 1: part of the solving a mystery club. Red cannot believe

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Speaker 1: that her family is going to Earth. That was the

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Speaker 1: last thing she expected to hear. Is there any way

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Speaker 1: she can make them stay on Mars? The transfer student

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Speaker 1: Red must move to Earth. Red stood in the middle

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Speaker 1: of their home in a state of shock, holding her breath.

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Speaker 1: The only sound she could hear was the deafening thump

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Speaker 1: of her heart, which she was sure would jump right

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Speaker 1: outside her chest. She held her breath for what felt

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Speaker 1: like an eternity. A part of her thought she might

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Speaker 1: finally win the how long can you hold your breath?

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Speaker 1: Contest that she and the gang used to have before

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Speaker 1: they graduated to different pursuits. When she heard her annoying

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Speaker 1: brother say, hey, stinky head, your face is turning blue,

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Speaker 1: she took a deep breath and looked at the pad

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Speaker 1: on her wrist she had held her breath longer than anyone.

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Speaker 1: Too bad it didn't count. Isn't this great news? Red's

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Speaker 1: mother said excitedly. We are moving to Earth. You will

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Speaker 1: get to attend a new school, make new friends, and,

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Speaker 1: best of all, breathe in non manufactured air. No, it's

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Speaker 1: terrible news, Red said bluntly, her anger rising. Red had

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Speaker 1: always had a tendency to get angry quickly, hence her name.

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Speaker 1: Usually this rise in emotion served her well when she

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Speaker 1: directed it toward her studies or a goal she was

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Speaker 1: trying to meet, but her parents often complained it just

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Speaker 1: as often made her grumpy and disagreeable. This is the

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Speaker 1: worst decision ever, Red continued. Mars is my home, our home.

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Speaker 1: Why would we ever want to leave our home for

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Speaker 1: some yucky blue and green ball of color when we

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Speaker 1: have perfection here. Please don't get upset, Red, Mars is

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Speaker 1: far from perfect, and this represents a great opportunity for us.

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Speaker 1: Red's father said, trying to calm her down. We never thought,

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Speaker 1: what with your father's work with the exodus, that we

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Speaker 1: would be permitted to leave. Just think, Red, we can

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Speaker 1: be together as a family. We are together as a family.

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Speaker 1: All my friends are here, No matter what you say,

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Speaker 1: Mars is perfect, and whatever problems might exist, I will

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Speaker 1: solve them. You once said that all problems can be

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Speaker 1: solved if we work smart and hard enough. Isn't that right,

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Speaker 1: Red said, looking at her father as she got increasingly upset. Yes, Red,

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Speaker 1: I said that, but some problems outlive us. I don't

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Speaker 1: want to leave, Red said, folding her arms. I don't

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Speaker 1: want to leave. Blah blah blah. Blue said, in the

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Speaker 1: tone he usually used to annoy Red. You are an

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Speaker 1: impossible little stinky head, Red said angrily to Blue. No,

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Speaker 1: you are, Blue said, sticking out his tongue. Blue, stop

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Speaker 1: being rude. You are not helping, Red's mother said, getting

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Speaker 1: angry at him. Red and her brother always fought. It

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Speaker 1: was as much a game as any real rivalry or

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Speaker 1: dislike for each other. In fact, they were almost inseparable,

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Speaker 1: but this time his teasing bothered her more than usual.

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Speaker 1: She knew that crying in front of people, especially her family,

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Speaker 1: was a part of the range of emotions that everyone shared.

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Speaker 1: Crying meant that she was of the human species, but

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Speaker 1: this time she wanted to keep her tears to herself,

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Speaker 1: so she turned around and started towards the door before

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Speaker 1: they started flowing from her eyes red. Where are you going,

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Speaker 1: her father asked, somewhere where I can enjoy my home

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Speaker 1: while I can. The heavy door to their house opened

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Speaker 1: and closed with its usual soft and resonating hum As

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Speaker 1: she walked, the tears flowed. The tiny sparks of light

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Speaker 1: her shoes emitted seemed to lose color. The color on

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Speaker 1: the walls seemed lifeless. Mars was her home, the only

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Speaker 1: place she had ever known, and the only place she

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Speaker 1: ever wanted to know. The thought of leaving left her

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Speaker 1: feeling gloomy and sad. It just wasn't fair. Why why, why?

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Speaker 1: Why must we go? I thought we were on the

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Speaker 1: cusp of being able to reintroduce an atmosphere to the

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Speaker 1: surface of the planet, to be able to return full

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Speaker 1: time to the surface to again see the vivid colors

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Speaker 1: of the Martian atmosphere. Like many kids, she dreamed of

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Speaker 1: joining one of the quadras that flew to the stars

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Speaker 1: and explored the regions beyond, but they always returned. She

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Speaker 1: never imagined anyone would leave, at least until the exodus

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Speaker 1: plan was slowly revealed. How could her father help craft

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Speaker 1: such a thing? People from Mars moving to Earth? Who

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Speaker 1: would ever want to leave the luscious gray of the city,

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Speaker 1: the lovely red hues of the Martian desert, or that

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Speaker 1: stupid green and blue ball of yuckiness. As she walked

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Speaker 1: towards her secret place, the place only she and her

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Speaker 1: closest friends in the gang knew about, the city, with

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Speaker 1: its endless walkways and paths, already seemed like a strange place,

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Speaker 1: a place of past memories. The angular, brushed steel structures

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Speaker 1: loomed over her, like watchguards from the Aid, making sure

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Speaker 1: she didn't tell some secret that would result in her

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Speaker 1: getting into trouble. The brushed walls and shimmering windows reflected

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Speaker 1: the underground illumination systems, now cool sterile light. Their silver glow,

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Speaker 1: which had always felt futuristic and energetic, now cast dark,

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Speaker 1: gloomy shadows that seemed to reflect her mood. As Red walked,

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Speaker 1: the usually soothing hum of the city sounded more like

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Speaker 1: a jerge like hers. The spark emitting shoes of pedestrians

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Speaker 1: had lost their color and now were reminiscent of fleeting moments,

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Speaker 1: transient like the sparks they produced. The colorful murals that

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Speaker 1: once brought her joy now seemed dim and unrecognizable. What

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Speaker 1: would happen to all of Martian history if we moved

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Speaker 1: to earth? She barely noticed the market she was passing through.

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Speaker 1: The familiar aroma of Martian herbs, which at one time

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Speaker 1: always made her feel happy, now contributed to her bad mood.

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Speaker 1: What food on Earth could compare to the tastes and

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Speaker 1: smells here. The merchant's musical chatters, which she always loved,

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Speaker 1: seemed more like laments. The shimmering trinkets and glowing fabrics

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Speaker 1: blurred passed her vision. As her tears continued to flow.

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Speaker 1: Each step felt increasingly heavy, like she was carrying the

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Speaker 1: weight of her entire world on her shoulders. She kept

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Speaker 1: trying to think of ways to convince her mother and

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Speaker 1: father not to leave Mars. It felt like an impossible problem,

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Speaker 1: like the continuing hypothesis she was introduced to at a

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Speaker 1: young age. Red used to believe her father when he

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Speaker 1: said she could solve all of mars problems, But now

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Speaker 1: she doubted that what he said was true. How is

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Speaker 1: it that I can't figure out a way for us

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Speaker 1: to stay? She knew deep in her heart that this

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Speaker 1: was a problem, one decision that could not be solved

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Speaker 1: or undone skirting past the outer corridors, past the entrance

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Speaker 1: to the outer rings, the murmur of the city started fading,

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Speaker 1: replaced by a subdued silence, broken only by the distant

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Speaker 1: whisper of the Martian winds, not real winds, but the

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Speaker 1: closest facimile that the machines could generate. Finally, after what

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Speaker 1: felt like an eternity, she finally arrived at the end

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Speaker 1: trance to her secret place, the Gang Sanctuary, a narrow,

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Speaker 1: unassuming corridor leading to an all cove overlooking a subterranean garden,

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Speaker 1: a rarity on Mars. This garden, cultivated with great care,

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Speaker 1: held a variety of native Martian flora that emitted a

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Speaker 1: soft luminescence. They no longer existed outside this space, which

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Speaker 1: made it all the more special. She sat down, her

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Speaker 1: vision blurry with tears. The scent of the garden slowly

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Speaker 1: began to soothe her. It was here that she felt

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Speaker 1: most connected to Mars. Red took a deep breath. She

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Speaker 1: and the Gang thought the air here was special, closer

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Speaker 1: to what the Martian atmosphere must have once been. They

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Speaker 1: would come here to rest whenever they had a particularly

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Speaker 1: grueling set of exams to study. For it always succeeded

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Speaker 1: in helping them pass with flying colors. As she inhaled

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Speaker 1: the familiar sense, Red started to relax, and, feeling exhausted,

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Speaker 1: laid down and fell asleep. She didn't know how, but

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Speaker 1: she always knew when he was close by. She looked

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Speaker 1: at her wrist pad and saw that she had been

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Speaker 1: asleep longer than she should have. Naps interfered with her sleep.

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Speaker 1: How did you find me, Red said to her father,

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Speaker 1: sitting near by, looking at the garden below. Do you

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Speaker 1: think you are the only one who needs a secret

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Speaker 1: place to think and relax? Her father said, I used

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Speaker 1: to come here all the time when I was your age. Later,

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Speaker 1: I introduce this place to your mother, and we used

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Speaker 1: to come here to talk back when her parents wouldn't

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Speaker 1: let us be alone. Her father took a long time

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Speaker 1: to accept me. Maybe he had a premonition that you

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Speaker 1: would form the exodus and force all the people of

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Speaker 1: Mars to leave for a stinky planet called Earth. Red

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Speaker 1: said her father's side. I don't want to leave. This

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Speaker 1: is my home and all I know, all my friends

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Speaker 1: are here. Can't we continue working on Mars's problems? Why

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Speaker 1: give up? Red asked? We aren't giving up bread. We

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Speaker 1: are simply acknowledging that our people's future is not necessarily

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Speaker 1: tied to one place, and this kind of change is

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Speaker 1: more positive than you think. Remember the quote on one

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Speaker 1: of the murals near our house from the sands of

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Speaker 1: Transformation Mars teaches us that the greatest galaxies of opportunity arise.

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Speaker 1: I always thought it was poorly written, Red said. The

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Speaker 1: point is that change can bring new and exciting opportunities.

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Speaker 1: But Red, you don't understand. We have been working on

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Speaker 1: fixing the problems, problems that were created by our ancestors

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Speaker 1: for hundreds of years. We now have the ability to

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Speaker 1: create a new Mars atmosphere to bring life back to

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Speaker 1: the surface. That's great, father, Red said excitedly. So why

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Speaker 1: would we ever want to leave? This process will take

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Speaker 1: thousands of years, and in the interim there is the

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Speaker 1: risk that we as a people will not a only

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Speaker 1: not thrive here, but that the process of transformation would

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Speaker 1: put us at great risk. This is why I have

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Speaker 1: helped with the exodus to ensure that we can have

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Speaker 1: a future in which you bleue and all your friends

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Speaker 1: can thrive. The great cities below the surface can no

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Speaker 1: longer provide that. But why am I just hearing this now?

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Speaker 1: Why is it such a secret. Well, that's the doing

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Speaker 1: of the AID. I don't agree with all their decisions,

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Speaker 1: but it's their decision, and I trust they, like us,

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Speaker 1: want the best for all of us. I think they

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Speaker 1: look creepy. They can be a little serious looking. I

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Speaker 1: think they looked at some old Earth movies and adopted

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Speaker 1: the movies funny style of dress. No one had the

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Speaker 1: heart to tell them when they started like that, and

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Speaker 1: well it just stuck. Now it's their uniform of choice.

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Speaker 1: So all of Mars will leave for Earth, not all,

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Speaker 1: but quite a few. Some will travel elsewhere, and some

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Speaker 1: will stay here managing the process and the transformation of

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Speaker 1: the planet. I wish I could see Mars as it

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Speaker 1: once was, and not just as it is depicted on

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Speaker 1: pads or in the lab as do I read as

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Speaker 1: do I? If this place is any indication, it must

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Speaker 1: have been even more beautiful than it is today. I

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Speaker 1: love the desert, but to see the flora, hear all

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Speaker 1: the vastness of the planet would be an incredible sight.

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Speaker 1: One day it will return. Why don't you come back

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Speaker 1: with me? Your mother is making an Earth delicacy, which

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Speaker 1: I am sure you will love. Red's father said, standing

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Speaker 1: up and getting ready to leave, I doubt I will

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Speaker 1: love anything that comes from Earth, ever, Red said, with

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Speaker 1: a frown, you might be surprised. I try to bite,

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Speaker 1: and it tasted really nice. Getting up to leave with

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Speaker 1: her father, she asked, what is this earth delicacy she

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Speaker 1: is making called? I think she called it waffles and

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Speaker 1: syrup with hot chocolate. Ugh, sounds yucky. And that is

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Speaker 1: the end of this part. Good Night, sleep Tight. Then

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Speaker 1: the movie The area