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Speaker 1: Hello, friends, and welcome to sleep tight Stories. This story

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Speaker 1: is about Red. Before she moved to Earth, Red lived

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Speaker 1: on Mars and was very happy there, except for when

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Speaker 1: Blue was annoying her. Red is at home with Blue,

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Speaker 1: who is making stinks. When she gets a message from

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Speaker 1: her friend, she heads out to their favorite meeting place,

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Speaker 1: and when she arrives, her friend is waiting for her

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Speaker 1: to share some news. The trance first student Red on Mars. Mom,

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Speaker 1: can you please tell Blue to sit in another room?

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Speaker 1: He keeps making stinks and he is so disgusting. Red

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Speaker 1: yelled from the comfy seat she and Blue were sitting

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Speaker 1: on while they read from their pads. Red, stop calling

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Speaker 1: your brother names. It's not polite, her mother yelled in reply.

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Speaker 1: But Mom, he smells bad. I don't smell as bad

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Speaker 1: as you do with that silly stuff you spray on

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Speaker 1: yourself so that you can impress your friends, Blue said,

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Speaker 1: as he plugged his nose with his fingers. You're such

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Speaker 1: a stinker, Red replied, No, you are, Blue replied, sticking

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Speaker 1: his tongue out afterwards. Okay, knock it off you too.

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Speaker 1: Why can't you both get along for one half a cycle?

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Speaker 1: Their mother said as she walked into the open space

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Speaker 1: that the family used to relax. He started it, Red said,

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Speaker 1: crossing her arms in protest. Oh, Red, try to be

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Speaker 1: the mature older sister. Red's mother said, with a look

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Speaker 1: of exasperation. You got a message on our wallpad. One

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Speaker 1: of your friends asked you to meet them at the

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Speaker 1: lookout near the outer rings saved by the wallpad, Red said,

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Speaker 1: as she hopped up and started toward their home. Store

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Speaker 1: by Stinker, Blue said, Blue, Phew, finally I can be

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Speaker 1: free of my annoying brother for a while, Red said

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Speaker 1: to herself as she exited their house to the common hallway.

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Speaker 1: The heavy ceiling shut behind her with a soft, resonating hum.

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Speaker 1: Considering how much time they spent together, Red and Blue

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Speaker 1: generally got along as well as expected. Still, her little

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Speaker 1: brother certainly seemed to like bugging her, especially when he

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Speaker 1: was bored, which was often. He would get bored even

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Speaker 1: when reading, which Red could never understand. Reading was one

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Speaker 1: of the most fun things to do in the universe,

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Speaker 1: and if he wasn't constantly eating, he would bug her. Basically,

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Speaker 1: she never had any peace. The city around her was

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Speaker 1: a maze of angular structures with brushed walls and shimmering

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Speaker 1: windows that gave off a silver glow. It was overwhelmingly gray,

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Speaker 1: but Red was used to this. In fact, she preferred

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Speaker 1: it as gray was her favorite color. Gray was a

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Speaker 1: much nicer backdrop than all the colors people kept talking

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Speaker 1: about on Earth. Who would want to go to Earth anyway? Yach.

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Speaker 1: The walkway she lived on was incredibly wide and at

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Speaker 1: least five hundred years old. The city was built beneath

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Speaker 1: the surface of Mars to protect its inhabitants from harsh

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Speaker 1: conditions and the occasional meteoroid impact. Eons ago, Mars lost

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Speaker 1: her atmosphere, and everyone now spent most of their time

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Speaker 1: beneath the surface or in the domes above. Red liked

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Speaker 1: the domes above, but lately they had been filled with

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Speaker 1: too many visitors from Earth and all their loud voices.

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Speaker 1: Why can't they be more quiet, she thought. Red's colorful

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Speaker 1: skin contrasted against the dull surroundings. The grayness of Martian

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Speaker 1: cities meant that people liked to express themselves with vivid

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Speaker 1: splashes of color. So Red applied a liquid to her

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Speaker 1: skin that made her otherwise pale complexion a vibrant, scarlet

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Speaker 1: color that sparkled whenever she walked by a bright enough light.

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Speaker 1: She also loved to wear comfortable and colorful clothes. Red

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Speaker 1: loved gray, but she loved color too, as long as

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Speaker 1: it wasn't blue or green, the colors of Earth, because

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Speaker 1: they were yucky. As she walked, the soles of her

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Speaker 1: shoes emitted tiny sparks of light with each step, a

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Speaker 1: technology designed to guide pedestrians through the city's behind walkways.

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Speaker 1: Her way was also marked by rare splashes of vivid

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Speaker 1: color adorning the walls of buildings and walkways. The murals

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Speaker 1: painted by the city's artists depicted what they once could

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Speaker 1: see of the Martian sky, spectacular sunsets that had set

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Speaker 1: the horizon a blaze with shades of pink, orange, and

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Speaker 1: deep crimson. Now, without an atmosphere, the moving of the

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Speaker 1: sun was much more muted. The murals also told the

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Speaker 1: story of their history, and much of Red's early learning

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Speaker 1: time before she could even walk, was spent in front

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Speaker 1: of these murals, learning about Martian history. Her father was

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Speaker 1: her first teacher, and he always said that before you

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Speaker 1: know where you are going, you must know where you

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Speaker 1: have been. As Red walked, she could hear the soft

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Speaker 1: chatter of citizens, voices filling the air, mixed with the

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Speaker 1: distant hum of machinery. Larger pathways below were where transports

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Speaker 1: zoomed around the city and the planet. As it was

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Speaker 1: break there were many people out and about. They communicated

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Speaker 1: in a language that to an outsider might sound like

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Speaker 1: a series of musical notes, each phrase resembling a brief,

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Speaker 1: beautiful song. The echoes of these songs bounced gently off

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Speaker 1: the manufactured walls. Interspersed among these melodies were the sounds

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Speaker 1: of earth languages, including English, which Red was required to learn.

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Speaker 1: It was her weakest subject. She walked past a market

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Speaker 1: where traders from different sectors exchanged goods. The scent of

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Speaker 1: herbs wafted through the air. They gave off a sharp,

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Speaker 1: minty aroma with undertones of something sweet and earthy. Merchants

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Speaker 1: called out to her, showcasing their brightly colored fabrics, glowing trinkets,

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Speaker 1: and spices. Every item was designed to bring vibrancy and

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Speaker 1: life to the otherwise muted surroundings. A soft chime played

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Speaker 1: from her wristpad, reminding Red of her meeting at the lookout.

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Speaker 1: Quickening her pace, she moved towards the outer pathway of

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Speaker 1: the city here, the atmosphere was different. The city's constant

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Speaker 1: hum faded, replaced by the sound of a distant wind

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Speaker 1: that whispered secrets of the barren Martian deserts. Halfway to

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Speaker 1: the outer Rings, her favorite place to hang out with

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Speaker 1: her friends, she finally reached the Lookout, a massive dome

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Speaker 1: made of a transparent material stronger than any earthly glass.

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Speaker 1: Everyone liked to meet up here as it provided a

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Speaker 1: sense of place, fresh drinks and snacks to eat. As

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Speaker 1: she stepped inside, the vast Martian landscape stretched before her.

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Speaker 1: It was a sea of red sand dunes, with the

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Speaker 1: occasional rocky outcrop breaking the monotony. Giant dust devils danced

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Speaker 1: in the distance, casting spirals of red into the star

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Speaker 1: filled sky. But what captured many people's attention was the horizon,

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Speaker 1: where the two largest volcanoes, Olympus Mons and Elisa Mons,

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Speaker 1: stood like sentinels overlooking the planet. Their peaks were dusty

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Speaker 1: with a white frost, a stark contrast to the red surroundings.

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Speaker 1: Sitting at a makeshift table at the center of the dome,

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Speaker 1: her friend Lyria waited with two drinks in her hand. Hey, Red,

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Speaker 1: I got you some of that gray. Ghuck. You love

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Speaker 1: to drink so much, Lyria shouted with a smile. Better

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Speaker 1: than that green tea you started drinking. Red replied with

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Speaker 1: a yuck face. It's the latest trend, Red, you got

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Speaker 1: to catch the trends. It's green, so I think I

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Speaker 1: will pass. Where's the rest of the gang? Well, I

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Speaker 1: was trying to organize a meetup at the outer Rings,

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Speaker 1: but everyone got called up for service except you and I.

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Speaker 1: Aren't we the lucky ones, Lyria said, taking a drink

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Speaker 1: of her tea. What service are they doing? Red asked,

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure, but I know Aliona is helping to

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Speaker 1: greet a new delegation from Earth. You know, her family

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Speaker 1: joined the lottery, right, so she is trying to practice

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Speaker 1: her English in the chance they win and she finds

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Speaker 1: herself in a new school somewhere. The AID is pretty

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Speaker 1: strict about language protocols and all that. I would rather

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Speaker 1: write exams and functional analysis every day for the rest

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Speaker 1: of my life than move to that place of green

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Speaker 1: and blue, Red said, after enjoying a taste of her drink.

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Speaker 1: You are weird, Lyria said, laughing. Don't you long to

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Speaker 1: explore off planet to start over on Earth? Or anywhere.

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Speaker 1: It feels so small here. No Mars is home. It's

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Speaker 1: gray and it's comfortable. But if they could take my brother,

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Speaker 1: that would be perfect. Now is the little squirt? I

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Speaker 1: think my little sister likes him or something. You better

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Speaker 1: get your sister checked at the medical facility because she

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Speaker 1: is obviously suffering from the Martian flu. If she likes

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Speaker 1: my little stinker of a brother, ha ha, Yeah, that's

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Speaker 1: how I talk about my little sister too. He is acutie.

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Speaker 1: Though maybe you should also get checked. Red said, grimacing,

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Speaker 1: are you ready for this upcoming school cycle. It's going

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Speaker 1: to be a challenge with all the turnover in our class.

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Speaker 1: It seems like everyone has left Mars. On the plus side, though,

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Speaker 1: that means less competition for me in the upcoming academic

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Speaker 1: standing contests. Lyria looked nervously at Red, her gray eyes shimmering. Well,

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Speaker 1: that's one of the reasons why I wanted the gang

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Speaker 1: to get together. I mean, we always hang out all

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Speaker 1: the time at the Outer Rings, but I wanted to

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Speaker 1: talk to you bunch before Lyria hesitated to complete her sentence.

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Speaker 1: Before what Red asked, before I left, I wanted to

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Speaker 1: say goodbye to you all. I mean the aid forbids

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Speaker 1: any talk about our exodus to Earth, but I just

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Speaker 1: couldn't bear leaving without saying goodbye. Lyria blurted, my family

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Speaker 1: won the lottery, and we leave in less than five cycles.

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Speaker 1: Red's eyes widened, her complexion deepening Earth. Why would you

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Speaker 1: leave our home for that chaotic water soaked blue and

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Speaker 1: green rock? Lyria aside, It's about opportunities, Red. Earth is

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Speaker 1: teeming with life, cultures and landscapes I want to experience. Plus,

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Speaker 1: there are art education programs that could change my life.

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Speaker 1: And you know that our life here cannot grow. Mars

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Speaker 1: has reached its limit, and all the technology in the

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Speaker 1: universe won't change that fact. Red crossed her arms, visibly agitated.

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Speaker 1: You know how I feel about this Martian exodus. We're

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Speaker 1: abandoning our roots, our traditions, for what overcrowded cities and

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Speaker 1: blue and green landscapes. I'm sure scientists will figure out

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Speaker 1: a solution to our problems. Maybe maybe I will. Lyria

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Speaker 1: reached out, placing her hand on Red's arm. It's not

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Speaker 1: about leaving things behind. It's about moving forward, embracing change.

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Speaker 1: Earth has its problems, yes, but it's also filled with possibilities.

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Speaker 1: Don't you ever dream of seeing places beyond our rock?

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Speaker 1: Red looked away, trying to map emotions. No, never waiting

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Speaker 1: a moment, Red continued, sometimes, but Mars is our home.

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Speaker 1: We've survived here, thrived and built a culture. I know,

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Speaker 1: Lyria whispered, But sometimes we need to venture out of

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Speaker 1: our comfort zones and explore the universe. Our ancestors did it,

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Speaker 1: That's how we got here. Red looked into Lyria's eyes, conflicted.

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Speaker 1: I just I don't want to lose another friend. Red

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Speaker 1: didn't cry. She knew that most of the gang would

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Speaker 1: stay behind. Their parents were too important for the continued

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Speaker 1: running of the city systems, but she had lost so

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Speaker 1: many classmates and friends to the exodus that it was

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Speaker 1: hard not to feel sad. Walking quickly back to her

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Speaker 1: home via the pathways, she ignored the sight and sound

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Speaker 1: of her city. The more she thought about the exodus,

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Speaker 1: the crankier she got, especially the restrictions that the aid

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Speaker 1: put on the movement of people. Everything had to be

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Speaker 1: so secretive. Few knew why it was such a secret

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Speaker 1: and what happened to everyone once they arrived on Earth.

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Speaker 1: But it seemed so wrong to have to completely cut

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Speaker 1: ties with your home. She was sure her father knew

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Speaker 1: why he helped inform the exodus, which strained their relationship

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Speaker 1: this past couple of long cycles, but he didn't discuss

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Speaker 1: anything about his work anymore. Red arrived at her door,

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Speaker 1: which opened automatically at her presence with its usual soft,

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Speaker 1: resonating hum. Standing in the middle of her home was

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Speaker 1: her father, mother, and Blue. They looked more excited than usual.

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Speaker 1: What's going on? Let me guess you are happy because

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Speaker 1: Blue is finally going to school across the planet and

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Speaker 1: I will now have our washroom all to myself. No, Red,

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Speaker 1: her father said, we are so happy because we won

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Speaker 1: the lottery. We are moving to Earth. Ugh, and that

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Speaker 1: is the end of this story. Good night, sleep night,