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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 transfer 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 door ceiling shut behind her with a soft,

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Speaker 1: resonating hum. Considering how much time they spent together, Red

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Speaker 1: and Blue generally got along as well as expected. Still,

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

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

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Speaker 1: bored even when reading, which Red could never understand. Reading

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Speaker 1: was one of the most fun things to do in

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Speaker 1: the universe, and if he wasn't constantly eating, he would

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Speaker 1: bug her. Basically, she never had any peace. The city

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Speaker 1: around her was a maze of angular structures with brushed

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Speaker 1: walls and shimmering windows that gave off a silver glow.

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Speaker 1: It was overwhelmingly gray, but Red was used to this.

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Speaker 1: In fact, she preferred it as gray was her favorite color.

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Speaker 1: Gray was a much nicer backdrop than all the colors

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Speaker 1: people kept talking about on Earth. Who would want to

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Speaker 1: go to Earth anyway? Yak. The walkway she lived on

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Speaker 1: was incredibly wide and at least five hundred years old.

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Speaker 1: The city was built beneath the surface of Mars to

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Speaker 1: protect its inhabitants from harsh conditions and the occasional meteoroid impact.

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Speaker 1: Eons ago, Mars lost her atmosphere, and everyone now spent

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Speaker 1: most of their time beneath the surface or in the

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Speaker 1: domes above. Red liked the domes above, but lately they

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Speaker 1: had been filled with too many visitors from Earth and

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Speaker 1: all their loud voices. Why can't they be more quiet,

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Speaker 1: she thought. Red's colorful skin contrasted against the dull surroundings.

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Speaker 1: The grayness of Martian cities meant that people liked to

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Speaker 1: express themselves with vivid splashes of color. So Red applied

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Speaker 1: a liquid to her skin that made her otherwise pale

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Speaker 1: complexion a vibrant, scarlet color that sparkled whenever she walked

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Speaker 1: by a bright enough light. She also loved to wear

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Speaker 1: comfortable and colorful clothes. Red loved gray, but she loved

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Speaker 1: color too, as long as it wasn't blue or green,

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Speaker 1: the colors of Earth, because they were yucky. As she walked,

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Speaker 1: the soles of her shoes emitted tiny sparks of light

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Speaker 1: with each step, a technology designed to guide pedestrians through

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Speaker 1: the city's hine walkways. Her way was also marked by

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Speaker 1: rare splashes of vivid color adorning the walls of buildings

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Speaker 1: and walkways. The murals painted by the city's artists depicted

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Speaker 1: what they once could see of the Martian sky, spectacular

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Speaker 1: sunsets that had set the horizon a blaze with shades

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Speaker 1: of pink, orange, and deep crimson. Now, without an atmosphere,

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Speaker 1: the moving of the sun was much more muted. The

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Speaker 1: murals also told the story of their history, and much

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Speaker 1: of Red's early learning time before she could even walk,

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Speaker 1: was spent in front of these murals, learning about Martian history.

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Speaker 1: Her father was her first teacher, and he always said

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

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Speaker 1: know where you have been. As Red walked, she could

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Speaker 1: hear the soft chatter of citizens, voices filling the air,

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Speaker 1: mixed with the distant hum of machinery. Larger pathways below

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Speaker 1: were where transports zoomed around the city and the planet.

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Speaker 1: As it was break there were many people out and about.

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Speaker 1: They communicated in a language that to an outsider might

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

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Speaker 1: a brief, beautiful song. The echoes of these songs bounced

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

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Speaker 1: the sounds of earth languages, including English, which Red was

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Speaker 1: required to learn. It was her weakest subject. She walked

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Speaker 1: past a market where traders from different sectors exchanged goods.

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Speaker 1: The scent of herbs wafted through the air. They gave

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Speaker 1: off a sharp, minty aroma with undertones of something sweet

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Speaker 1: and earthy. Merchants called out to her, showcasing their brightly

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Speaker 1: colored fabrics, glowing trinkets, and spices. Every item was designed

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Speaker 1: to bring vibrancy and life to the otherwise muted surroundings.

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Speaker 1: A soft chime played from her wristpad, reminding Red of

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Speaker 1: her meeting at the lookout. Quickening her pace, she moved

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Speaker 1: towards the outer pathway of the city. Here, the atmosphere

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Speaker 1: was different. The city's constant hum faded, replaced by the

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Speaker 1: sound of a distant wind that whispered secrets of the

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Speaker 1: barren Martian deserts. Halfway to the outer Rings, her favorite

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Speaker 1: place to hang out with her friends, she finally reached

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Speaker 1: the Lookout, a massive dome made of a transparent material

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Speaker 1: stronger than any earthly glass. Everyone liked to meet up

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Speaker 1: here as it provided a sense of place, fresh drinks

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Speaker 1: and snacks to eat. As she stepped inside, the vast

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Speaker 1: Martian landscape stretched before her. It was a sea of

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Speaker 1: red sand dunes, with the occasional rocky outcrop breaking the monotony.

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Speaker 1: Giant dust devils danced in the distance, casting spirals of

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Speaker 1: red into the star filled sky. But what captured many

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Speaker 1: people's attention was the horizon, where the two largest volcanoes,

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Speaker 1: Olympus Mons and Elisa Mons, stood like sentinels overlooking the planet.

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Speaker 1: Their peaks were dusted with a white frost, a stark

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Speaker 1: contrast to the red surroundings. Sitting at a makeshift table

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Speaker 1: at the center of the dome, her friend Lyria waited

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Speaker 1: with two drinks in her hand. Hey, Red, I got

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Speaker 1: you some of that gray ghuck. You love to drink

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Speaker 1: so much, Lyria shouted with a smile, Better than that

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Speaker 1: green tea you started drinking. Red replied with a yuck face.

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Speaker 1: It's the latest trend, Red, you got to catch the trends.

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Speaker 1: It's green, so I think I will pass. Where's the

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Speaker 1: rest of the gang? Well, I was trying to organize

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Speaker 1: a meetup at the outer Rings, but everyone got called

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Speaker 1: up for service except you and I. Aren't we the

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Speaker 1: lucky ones, Lyria said, taking a drink of her tea.

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Speaker 1: What service are they doing? Red asked, I'm not sure,

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Speaker 1: but I know Aliona is helping to greet a new

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Speaker 1: delegation from Earth. You know, her family joined the lottery, right,

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Speaker 1: so she is trying to practice her English in the

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Speaker 1: chance they win and she finds herself in a new

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Speaker 1: school somewhere. The AID is pretty strict about language protocols

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Speaker 1: and all that. I would rather write exams and functional

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Speaker 1: analysis every day for the rest of my life than

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Speaker 1: move to that place of green and blue, Red said,

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Speaker 1: after enjoying a taste of her drink. You are weird,

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Speaker 1: Lyria said, laughing. Don't you long to explore off planet

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Speaker 1: to start over on Earth? Or anywhere. It feels so

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Speaker 1: small here. No Mars is home. It's gray and it's comfortable.

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Speaker 1: But if they could take my brother, that would be perfect. Now,

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Speaker 1: is the little squirt? I think my little sister likes

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Speaker 1: him or something. You better get your sister checked at

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Speaker 1: the medical facility because she is obviously suffering from the

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Speaker 1: Martian flu. If she likes my little stinker of a brother,

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Speaker 1: ha ha, Yeah, that's how I talk about my little

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Speaker 1: sister too. He is a cutie. Though, maybe you should

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Speaker 1: also get checked. Red said grimacing, are you ready for

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Speaker 1: this upcoming school cycle? It's going to be a challenge

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Speaker 1: with all the turnover in our class. It seems like

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Speaker 1: everyone has left Mars on the plus side, though, that

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Speaker 1: means less competition for me in the upcoming academic standing contests.

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Speaker 1: 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 mass 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, sleepnight,