Orion's cantilever, solar system, Mars.

The Mars in front of me is no longer the desert and lonely appearance of more than ten years ago.

In the planet's orbit, 3 space elevators run straight through the heavens and the earth, and 3 spaceports of different sizes are all under construction or expansion.

Tens of millions of small robots are tirelessly executing construction instructions one by one, creating countless materials into buildings and facilities.

Hundreds of spaceships are constantly unloading various construction equipment to the spaceport, and then transported to the colony city below through the space elevator to support the construction, and everything on Mars is changing with each passing day.

Star-studded, like amber colonial urban agglomerations expand outward with space elevators as the center, igniting the fire of civilization on Mars.

So far, nearly 30 million earthlings have completed space migration in the first three large metropolitan areas of Mars, and hundreds of millions of humans have lived or worked here through virtual reality technology.

The existence of Captain Ghost has opened up a stable and safe development environment for the solar system, and virtual reality technology has strongly promoted global scientific and technological research and development.

Coupled with the explosion of foreign technology and industry, the current earth civilization has gradually developed into a colonial system with the two regions of the Earth-Moon system and Mars as the core, covering the entire solar system.

As another important colonial core for the development of civilization on Earth, Mars has been tilted by key resources in recent years, with various merchant ships traveling back and forth between the Earth-Moon system and Mars, transporting raw materials back to the moon, and then supporting the construction of Mars with various finished products and equipment.

In the outer space orbit of Mars, you can not only see three busy spaceports and thousands of kilometers of space elevators, but also a huge pillar of light that runs through the sky and the earth!

Through the "Prometheus Energy Project", a huge amount of solar energy from the central star was unsparingly put on the back side of Mars far away from the urban agglomeration, injecting a large amount of energy into the entire planet and accelerating the "warming" of Mars.

According to the Mars modification plan formulated by scientists, as the temperature rises, the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the interior of Mars will increase rapidly, which is conducive to the further formation of the water cycle.

In about another year or two, some improved plant seeds will be scattered on the surface of Mars, and through means such as breeding, Mars will quickly give birth to the initial life planetary environment.

The next step is to adjust the environment little by little, so that Mars will gradually become a second planet suitable for human survival.

……

"Jerry, I'm homesick."

Tom sat on the edge of Spaceport 3 with his legs slumped over in an outer spacewalk suit, looking at the busy scene around him with a sad expression.

"Shit! You were playing mahjong at 'home' half an hour ago! ”

Jerry was checking the data with a terminal, and Tom couldn't help but glance at him.

Behind the two of them, a large number of small robots are working, an army of robots operating fully automated, and the efficiency of the project is crushing the traditional construction team, and the nearby facilities are changing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In today's era of modularization and automation, it is not much more difficult to build an airport facility than to build a base with a click of a mouse in the Red Police.

As experienced veteran astronauts, Tom and Jerry are among the few who need to operate in a variety of space environments.

Because Spaceport 3 is a new generation of "technology verification port", they were sent here for acceptance work and "survival environment testing" during this time.

"It's all virtual, virtual! Do you understand? It's completely different from the real thing! Tom yelled at Jerry disgruntled.

"Really? I remember that the fidelity of the virtual world is close to 99.9%, and I ask you, is it your optic nerve that has found the picture distorted, or is your pain nerve unable to feel the iron fist of love? ”

"Uh...... Not really. ”

“So？”

"It's not! Jerry, that's not the problem! Although the picture is very beautiful and the feeling is very real, you don't think that the virtual hug has no temperature, and even Kiss has a smell of data, it's like I'm licking the screen, can you understand what I mean? Tom explained, gesturing.

Jerry finally put down the data panel in his hand and looked Tom up and down very seriously for a while, "In love?" I remember you just went back to the moon last month for a vacation? ”

"Oh Jerry! You're so ...... Got me! Tom scratched his helmet.

"I met Mera on the moon, you don't know, she was so charming, she hooked my heart directly, I felt like I couldn't live without her, I decided! I'm going to propose to her next time I go back! ”

"Seriously, this time?" Jerry looked at him suspiciously.

"I swear in the name of the pancake fruit!"

Jerry immediately believed it.

"Alas! Boogie is retired, I didn't expect even you to get married......" Jerry sighed, a little helplessness in his eyes.

From the International Space Station, to the "New World" lunar exploration, to the Mars colonization program, the three have been partners for many years, and have been struggling on the front line of human external expansion......

Although we can often meet through virtual reality technology, I always feel a little empty in my heart.

Humanity, which has just stepped into space, is still learning to adapt to the long space gap in the universe.

"Alright! I respect your decision and wish you happiness! So, when are you going to file your resignation? ”

"Resign? No, no, no! Jerry, you misunderstood, I said I was going home to get married, but I didn't say I was leaving! You're still here, how could I abandon you and wander alone in the endless starry sky? We're a golden partner! ”

Jerry was moved by these words, but also pleasantly surprised, "You're not leaving?" ”

"Of course! Our goal is the sea of stars, and I am ready to apply to be the first real astronaut to leave the solar system next year, how can I go now?

I'm saying all this, just to ask you to give me more marriage leave. ”

Jerry: "......"

Although he was a little speechless about this unobtrusive companion, Jerry's mood of being lost and recovered still made Jerry feel good.

"Batch! Apply for marriage leave for you now, is one month enough? ”

Today, Jerry is a Lv8-level veteran pioneer astronaut, and in terms of position, he is already Tom's immediate boss.

"I'm afraid it's not enough."

"That'...... Two months? Although there was a shortage of manpower, as a friend for many years, Jerry thought about it and gave way.

In recent years, the earth's civilization with a big population explosion is still short of people, and the population growth rate has never kept up with the rapid development of civilization, and high-end talents like Tom and Jerry are even more scarce.

"This ...... I'm afraid it's still not enough. Tom scratched his head in embarrassment.

Jerry's eyes widened, "Are you going back to get married, not going back to have a baby, do you still want me to grant you half a year of maternity leave?" ”

"Ahem! 2 months is enough for a wedding honeymoon, but I still have to spend some time with Mela's three children to nurture their relationship......"

Three children......

Jerry looked at Tom speechlessly.

Because all countries have implemented very extreme policies to encourage childbearing, the continuous baby boom has broken out on the earth in recent years, coupled with the popularity of IVF, artificial wombs and nanny robot technology, it is not unusual for a woman to have several babies.

Because of policy reasons, the legal age of marriage for women has dropped again and again, and now unmarried adult women on the earth are really scarce, and it is difficult for Tom......

Considering the problem of work, Jerry had the heart to refuse, but when he thought that his old friend for many years had finally found his happiness, he still couldn't help but feel soft in his heart.

But just as he wanted to give him a few more days off, Tom spoke again.

"Of course, in addition to the three children, I still need to convince Mela to get a divorce certificate before I get married, which also takes a lot of work, I estimated, the holidays ...... Ah! ”

Before the words were finished, the man had already been kicked directly from the edge of the space station, 1,200 kilometers from the surface of Mars.

"Why don't you die!"

In the headset, Jerry's roar was long overdue......