NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40: Boundary Testing
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Adya: Your father and I love each other very much, love just looks different for grown-ups
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Sol 492 FY 26, 16:21 Mars Time, Bonestell Crater Colony, Hab Layer, 9.32.002.B
Earlier that day.
"Thanks for being so understanding," Marie said, glancing sideways as she unwrapped a snack bar, trying to keep the crinkling aluminum noise to a minimum. "It's just a whole lot of money, even if it isn't quite as much for me as it is for you."
"Hang on a sec," Gordon interjected, shifting slightly on his mattress. The fitted sheet crinkled beneath him as he propped himself up on one elbow, his bathrobe slipping off his shoulder. "Not going to let that pass—you're not being paid a different amount, are you?"
"Nothing like that," Marie said, wolfing down the bar, barely even chewing. "It's just… well, getting anything to Mars requires a minimum investment to get a ship to go to Mars at all. The colony pays whatever that investment is. Let's pretend it's like $100,000—but I don't really know the exact number. Anyway, the colony isn't just going to cover that cost outright. It comes out of everyone's pocket, but there aren't like 100,000 of us constantly shipping things. So it's not like we each pay a dollar to cover the surcharge—it's more like 20 of us, so each of us pays $5,000. Do you see?"
She took another bite. Yummy vanilla fruit flavor, plus dehydrated greens. Mmm.
Gordon let out a slow exhale, eyes fixed on the soft, drifting cloud animation on his ceiling monitors. "Yeah, okay," he said, nodding. "Makes sense."
"So anything that I'm getting paid, I have to think—yes, but I can't buy that many dollars' worth of stuff with it, because I also have to account for how I'm going to get it shipped all the way to me."
"I hadn't thought of that," Gordon admitted, rubbing his face wearily over the video feed. By his voice, he was starting to feel the weight of the hour—1 AM was a little past his usual cutoff for their chats—but the conversation was keeping him engaged. "So you really aren't getting as much benefit out of all this."
"It depends," she said, careful to keep her voice steady as she took another quick bite of her snack bar. "For purely digital stuff, my money's worth as much as yours. But if I want something physical on Mars, I have to buy it with credits. We earn credits based on how much we contribute—kind of like shares in the colony. And as the colony's valuation goes up with the UN, our credit valuation goes up compared to the dollar. Or I could just convert all my dollars into credits at the current exchange rate. Or, alternatively, I could just use the money digitally. But honestly, there's not a lot I want digitally—so it's an option, but not one I use often."
She exhaled and added, "Anyway, I've just been sitting around, nervous, because I know how much this means to you. I know this could be the difference between waiting a year and just a few months before you finish your streaming contract and move up here—out here, I should say. And that's exciting! But it also means that if it doesn't go through, the loss would hit even harder. So yeah, it's a little scary."
Gordon gave a reassuring nod, scratching at the seam of his bathrobe. "I get why you've been thinking that way. But I think we're pretty solid now. We've just got to keep our stream interesting. No great challenge there, right?"
Marie smiled, half-covering her mouth as she chewed. "Not on my side. Everyone seems really interested in seeing what Gallant will do next. As long as he doesn't do the same thing over and over, they'll stay invested."
Gordon smirked. "We really knocked it out of the park."
She grinned, dusting off her fingers. "Yeah, well," she teased, "I think you just wanted to give me something to remember you by."
He shifted onto his back, staring up at the slow-turning clouds on his monitors. "I know you've been lonely," he admitted. "I feel bad that I can't just be there for you."
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"Our time is going to sync up again," she reassured him, flicking crumbs off her sleeve. "It won't be that long. And we can stream and talk at the same time—that's a lot like having you here. And with Gallant, it'll be even more like having you here, because he can help me and you can talk to me."
"I'd hoped that would be possible," he admitted. "And—I wasn't going to ask you to pay my way, you know."
She nodded, her mouth full. "I miss you," she said simply.
Neither of them said anything for a moment, just—letting the moment sit.
"I miss you, too," Gordon said eventually. "Thank you."
"Like I said, it's not as useful for me anyway. Half-and-half is only fair. But—"
Marie hesitated then, her fingers brushing against the edge of another snack bar she wasn't sure she wanted to open. Finally, she said, "Gordon… I've been having dreams. Nightmares, actually. I was wondering… if there was something on Earth that you couldn't just give up for me, would you tell me?"
Gordon frowned, shifting onto his side so he could see her better on his screen. The cool glow of the Q-Net link reflected faintly off his face. "I wouldn't keep something like that from you," he said. "Where is this coming from?"
"Like I said, I've been having nightmares," she admitted. She lowered the snack bar, suddenly not hungry anymore. "You're so athletic and strong—it's something you care about. And the gravity is so weak here… I keep dreaming that you're going to resent me for what it does to you when you get weaker."
Gordon considered that for a moment, then exhaled, shifting onto his back again. "If it helps," he said gently, "that was already going to happen. Maybe not as fast, but look at it this way—I'm 28. People's bodies start declining in their mid-30s. Fitness only lasts, what, a decade? Maybe two, if you're lucky? Then you're just an average guy again."
Marie studied his expression on the screen, searching for any trace of hesitation.
"There was already a time limit on my fitness," he continued, watching the slow drift of artificial clouds. "I don't define myself by my muscles. If I did, I'd be walking into a trap, because they're going to go away soon enough anyway. I just hope I stay attractive to you once they're gone."
She softened, lips pressing together. "You won't miss sports?"
"I truly promise, I will not miss sports," he said, dead serious.
Then he grinned. "Though… perhaps I'll find my own sporting events on Mars. Horizontal ones."
Marie's eyes widened, and she coughed, quickly reaching for her drink. "Wow. You went there."
Gordon laughed, stretching his arms above his head. "I'm just saying—I'm hoping to get regular exercise."
Marie shook her head, trying to suppress her own grin. "Right. I bet you are."
There was a pause. Then, indignant, Marie spoke up again: "Speaking of flirting!"
"Was Karen a little much for you?" Gordon asked.
Marie's mouth quirked infinitesimally. "She's… really something."
That got a short laugh out of him. "That's one way to put it."
Marie pulled her legs up beneath her chair, leaning against her desk. "She's really confident."
"Yeah."
"And flirty."
"Yeah," Gordon admitted, scratching the back of his head. "She always has been. That's just… Karen."
Marie tilted her head, studying his expression on the Q-Net link. "She doesn't have a lot of boundaries, does she?"
Gordon made a vague sound, somewhere between agreement and dismissal. "She's never really crossed any, she just kind of hovers around them. We've known each other since we were kids, so there's not a lot of unspoken tension or weirdness there. It's just how she is."
Marie nodded slowly, pressing her lips together. "I figured."
He glanced at her, picking up on something in her tone. "Is that bothering you?"
Marie let out a small breath, as if trying to release the thought along with it. "Not really. I mean… I know better than to be insecure about that sort of thing."
Gordon gave her a look. "That sounded like a very practiced answer."
She huffed a quiet laugh. "Okay, fine. Maybe a little. I think… It's different when she's flirting with you. I think there are real feelings there."
Gordon shifted onto his side, propping his head up on his hand. "Look, Karen's just like that with everyone. She doesn't mean anything by it. We've been friends for ages—"
Marie let that sit for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. I figured." She sighed, picking at the corner of the wrapper in her hand. "It's just weird, I guess. Seeing a piece of your life I hadn't seen before. Puts everything into a different perspective."
"Well. As deeply as I want you involved in my life and everything that comes peripherally to that, maybe letting my best friend get too frisky with you might not be the best idea. I want you to myself."