From Mars to the Stars

The voice belonged to a very advanced AI that was mobilized and was able to provide patients with basic medical care.

"When will I see a human?" he asked.

"Doctor Peters will be here soon. In the meanwhile, please drink this energy and protein drink," it said in a cheerful, fairly cheeky tone of voice. "I have been told that it has a pleasant taste, but as I am only an AI, I really am not qualified to pass judgment on such matters!"

He drank it. It was a passable strawberry style flavor, and after a quarter of an hour a man of medium height and build helped him out of his pod. They clasped hands in the Martian way of greeting.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Tim Peters, I'm meeting with everyone on the Gagarin. "You are Paul Daley, yes?"

"That's me. Should I call you Doctor Peters or Tim?"

"Oh, please call me Tim. I'm a Doctor, not a stuffed shirt, to use an old expression my grandfather liked to use. My role is to check out your vital signs, check your weight and so on and make sure you are fit and healthy. I expect you have some questions; fire away and I'll either answer them or find out the answer for you as soon as I can. Please follow me."

As they walked through the corridors of the ship Paul said: "How come I feel so fit and healthy after being asleep for half a century?"

"You weren't actually asleep, as such. Your body was placed in a stasis field which basically slowed your metabolism right down. Even so, we gave you physical therapy for a couple of weeks using automatic systems whilst you were removed from the stasis field and kept unconscious."

"What's the planet like? Are there any inhabitants?"

"There are inhabitants. And in a way, it's weird how human they are. In fact, you'd not know they weren't Martians or Earth dwellers if you met them in Elonia or New York. They are very peaceful, kindly people and, in fact, they are really pleased that we are here in their star system. Obviously, their customs are different to ours, but not in a way that is amazingly different. They have a different language to us, but then why the heck wouldn't they?" He laughed at his joke.

"Later today we'll take you and some others down to the surface of the planet. The gravity's not too bad, it's somewhere between Earth and Mars and the air is very pleasant to breathe, smells a little bit like mint to me. Other people think it smells like chamomile or lemongrass; you'll have to make up your own mind."

The next couple of months were a blur of activity for Paul: medical examinations, tests of one kind and another, vaccines, lessons and so on.

The other four people who came with Paul on the Gargarin were sent to different parts of the planet.

He and the others were given intensive language lessons in Nontarian, but these were not as difficult as he had feared because it just felt as if he was learning an Earth language that he hadn't heard before.

Tim had been right. The people of the planet Nontaria looked very human indeed. He spoke about this to Tim. "They are human, aren't they?"

"Yes," replied Tim. "In fact, Nontarian DNA and Earth/Martian DNA is about 99.9% the same as our human DNA. I have been speaking to their experts and we have all come to the conclusion that there can only be one answer: that Earthlings and Nontarians had a common ancestor. There'll be a meal this evening and I think your command of Nontarian is now up to such a standard that you'll be able to participate in the discussions. Would you like to do that?"

Paul nodded. "Yes, please. I'd like to be able to meet Nontarians outside of the medical facility and the classroom."

At the meal that evening, Paul was introduced to the other diners. There was Tim, Targe and his daughter Indrit, and a couple of other Nontarians who were colleagues of Targe from the university.

By this stage in his life on Nontaria, Paul was getting used to life on the planet. In fact, Targe good-naturedly quizzed both Tim and Paul about how they were settling in on Nontaria, how they were finding learning an alien tongue, coping with different foods and so on.

When it was Paul's turn, he replied, nodding toward the meal they were eating: "The food is absolutely delicious. However, the most interesting adjustment from my perspective is the fact that Nontaria has two suns. That did take a while to get used to, having only ever been used to having one sun, previously!

"Learning the language has proven much easier than I would have thought."

Targe nodded. "Part of my responsibilities at the university is the study of the language of Nontaria and its history. In fact, when I became aware of the first alien visitors to Nontaria, I was fascinated when I learned that the DNA of Nontarians and Humans were almost exactly the same, I decided to make historical comparisons between Nontarian and Earth languages.

"Imagine my surprise when I realized that some root words were common in Nontarian and the Earth languages. Taking into consideration the twin factors of the matching DNA and the same historical root words, it became clear to me and other experts I was in communication with, both Nontarian and Human, that we must have a common ancestor. We have dubbed this the Common Ancestor Theory."

"What's the basis of that theory?" asked Paul.

"That Nontarians and Humans have a common ancestor. Either Nontarians settled on Earth, Earth people settled on Nontaria, or someone else visited both Nontaria and Earth and settled both planets."

"Which theory do you support, Targe?" Tim interjected.

Targe shrugged. "Part of me wishes it to be Nontaria, though I freely admit that it could just as easily be Earth. Both worlds suffered from cataclysmic pre-historical events, thus destroying their records, so either could be the original home planet.

"However, I tend to support the theory that a third, as yet unknown, people could have settled both our worlds. This might be because ever since my childhood I have favored adventure stories, especially of the science fictional variety. So the idea of potentially many other worlds out there, like ours, settled by our distant relatives, fills me with fascination."

As the meal progressed and as Nontarian wines flowed, Paul began noticing Indrit. He was looking at her and he realized that she was looking at him.

As the dinner party broke up, Indrit stood up and invited Paul to step out onto the lawns of the house she shared with her father and mother. "I think you'll admire our sunset, Paul," she said.

As they stood and gazed at the stunning spectacle of two suns setting, Paul said: "I have never seen a more spectacular event."

Indrit bobbed her head in the Nontarian gesture that meant agreement or acknowledgment. "Yes. It doesn't happen very often, only when our two suns, Prem and Grend, are in conjunction in the sky."

"So, I'm even luckier than I knew," said Paul.

"Tell me, Paul, what do you think of Nontaria?"

Paul shrugged. "It's a lovely planet. It's vastly different from Mars, where I was born. But then again, Mars was a so-called dead planet that people were working very hard to make suitable for human habitation.

"I have seen video recordings of Earth, our home world, but it seemed crowded and a bit sad, somehow."

"You never visited Earth?" Indrit asked.

"No. I wanted to visit the Earth, but It was a long, difficult and expensive journey, and the opportunity never arose to make that trip."

"Nontaria is the only planet that is habitable in our system" Indrit explained. "We have sent probes to them, even manned missions to some, but we never felt the need to settle on them. Unlike your solar system, there were no real opportunities or needs to colonize our sister planets."

Paul nodded. The fact that he had subconsciously bobbed his head in the Nontarian style didn't register with him, though Indrit noticed and was pleased by it. "Yes, I see that would limit the need to do much settling. But, back to Nontaria. I find it fascinating that on Nontaria there is a lot of land that surrounds a relatively small number of seas that are all landlocked. On Earth, over 70% of the surface of the planet is covered by water."

Indrit gasped. "By my ancestors! Over 70%? Didn't that present certain challenges?

"I think it did," Paul replied. "Of course, I'm no expert, but the fact that landmasses were often separated by vast stretches of sea did result in voyages of discovery with people taking ships to navigate round the world. But it also led to battles and fights and a lot of ill feelings and problems between different peoples."

Indrit nodded, reflectively. "I'd imagine that it might. Had the land to sea split in Nontarian not been almost the exact opposite, 60% land and 40% water, I think the mainly peaceful society that grew and developed on Nontaria might not have been possible."

He looked at Indrit and realized that she was an extremely attractive woman. She was full bodied and womanly, to use an old expression. At the back of his mind, the lizard part of his brain, was realizing that he had had to travel four light years to meet a woman who was the archetypal woman of his dreams and desires, yet Emily, his former fiancé back on Mars had been thin, angular and sharp featured. Actually, not his type at all, he mused.

Indrit smiled at him, and said, "You're thinking. Can you share your thoughts with me, if that's not too much of an imposition?"

"Not an imposition at all," he replied. He realized that now was not the time for prevarication or equivocation. Now was the time for truthfulness and honesty.

"I was just thinking what a beautiful and truly captivating woman you are."

She gave a tiny start and then giggled. "That's interesting. I was just thinking similar thoughts about you and how captivating you are as a man."

"Wow. This is an interesting and very welcome development. How should we approach this issue, with us admiring each other so much?"

"Well," she said, cuddling against him, "I think we should take it slowly and easily. Obviously, that's the usual Nontarian way, and I'd guess the Human way, too. But seeing as we are both from different planets, though as we discussed at dinner, linked by a common ancestor somewhere along the line, I think it's most imperative that we do take it slowly."

"I agree," replied Paul. "There's no point in rushing things. How about a date, soon?"

"Date?" she said, puzzled. There then followed a brief debate on the meaning of the word date in the context of couples going out. The equivalent word in Nontarian was romant or romanting, a word introduced to Nontarian by a writer of classic Nontarian literature who, as far as Paul could work out, was something like a cross between Shakespeare and Voltaire. After much giggling, Indrit decided she preferred the word dating. They arranged for a romant or a date at a restaurant in Eltrina, the town that the university was based in, the next evening.

Paul liked the restaurant. The food was good. The style of the restaurant was of a buffet with a selection of a variety of foods to sample from, some savory and some sweet.

Drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, were available. There were wines which were pretty much like the wines that had been available on Mars, although of much better quality and variety.

There were drinks that were close to the ales he had favored on Mars, but were subtly different in ways he couldn't quite define, and a number of fruit drinks, including one which tasted jarringly like Cola, but which was from a popular Nontarian fruit bush called the Karfter.

Live music was being performed by a four-piece group consisting of two wind instruments, one flute-like and the other that looked like an ocarina, and two stringed instruments that looked like zithers. The music was very melodious, and when he quietly praised them to Indrit, she said, "I'm pleased that you like them. They are all music students at the university; their professor is a friend of my mother."

They finished their date with a kiss, which although it began as a chaste kiss, soon developed into something that was far deeper.

They continued dating over the next several weeks, with Indrit taking Paul to see the local sites such as the stunning gardens of the university where she had her father and her mother worked. They took a popular excursion on a 'love boat' on the river that flowed through the centre of the town, they visited the Nontarian equivalent of a zoo and she took great pleasure in introducing him to a Nontarian delicacy that translated to ice cream, but was certainly far, far better than any ice cream he had ever tasted when he was living on Mars.

Eventually, after a kissing session at her home that became very heated indeed, Indrit said: "Paul, my parents are out. Let's take ourselves to my room."

Paul bobbed his head in agreement, both stunned and pleased with this development. Indrit led the way to her bedroom that was on the second floor of the large house that she shared with her parents.

The bedroom was decorated in a range of colors and shades that, even though Indrit was from an alien culture in more than one meaning of the term, Paul recognized as being very feminine.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"It's lovely. It's really nice. It reflects your personality," he said.

She bobbed her head. She approached him and he saw a sort of manic gleam in her eyes that unnerved him for a split second until he realized it for what it was. A look of pure, fiery lust. A look, his subconscious mind realized he had never seen in the eyes of his ex-fiancé, Emily. Had Emily ever really loved him? He doubted that, but suppressed the intruding thought.

Indrit smiled at him, bobbed her head and began undressing. Paul quickly followed her lead and soon they were both standing by her bed, naked.

She took hold of his arm and they both tumbled onto the bed. He kissed his way down her body until he reached her vagina and began licking her. She bucked under his probing tongue and began babbling in Nonatrian so rapidly that he couldn't follow what she was saying. As she grabbed his head with both her hands and convulsively shoved his face into her vagina, he realized that he must be doing something right.

After several minutes, she came and she took his face in her hands and lovingly cleaned his mouth and face with her tongue.

"Wow! That was wonderful" she said.

He asked her about contraception and she inclined her head in the Nontarian gesture that meant "no." "I don't have contraception, but at this moment, I don't care. Besides, if I do become pregnant, it'll be the ultimate proof of the Common Ancestor Theory, right?" he smiled as she said it, so Paul realized that she was joking. Sort of.

She bobbed her head, lay back on the bed, unconsciously plumping the pillow beneath her head as she did so.

She spread her legs and Paul slid on top of her, supporting his weight with his arms. Swiftly, his penis was within her already extremely moist vagina, and they both gasped at the sensation of the penetration.

He began moving back and forth, slowly and with purpose. He was able to deny himself an early orgasm by using meditation techniques, and for a long, glorious time they both enjoyed their coupling.

Indrit began to shudder and moan, and suddenly Paul felt his penis slide even further into her smooth vagina and it was as if his cock head was entering a flower that nibbled gently on his glans.

His meditation techniques failed him and with a strangled groan he felt his penis gushing forth what seemed like rope after rope of semen.

Indrit's eyes rolled in her head as she, too, let out a groan and he felt his own eyes fluttering as the strength of their mutual orgasm took their consciousness away from them, briefly.

They lay together, cuddling and kissing each other as they came to terms with what had just happened.

"Wow, Paul. That's never happened to me before during sex. Ever. What about you?"

"Me neither," Paul replied "That was incredible. Do you want to try again?"

Indrit bobbed her head, and Paul was happy to comply with her request. It took him slightly longer to orgasm the second time, and although it wasn't quite as good as their first time, it was still very, very good indeed.

Meanwhile, or in the context of time and space, meanthen, 50 years earlier, the newly married Emily arrived back at the apartment she shared with her newly wed husband, Cooper, Paul's older brother.

The first clue that she had that things were not quite what she had believed, or had convinced herself to believe, was when she went into the bedroom she shared with Cooper and found Cooper and his former girlfriend Sandrina in bed together, obviously in a state of post-coital bliss.

She shouted "You utter, utter brastard! I broke Paul's heart to marry you and this is how you treat me? I... I thought you loved me." She cursed herself inwardly because she realized that she was starting to whine.

Cooper gave a sigh of exasperation. "I'm sorry you found out about Sandrina and myself like this, fact is, I'd rather you hadn't found out at all. But it is what it is. And, whilst I like you a lot, I don't 'love' you. Oh, I love you in my own way, but I don't love you in the same puppydog way that Paul loved you. I thought you knew that, when our parents decided to arrange our marriage as a power wedding between our families?"

Angrily wiping the tears in her eyes, Emily shook her head. "In my head I knew all that, but in my heart I thought maybe that you could learn to love me like Paul loved me."

Cooper flashed her a look that was exasperated, yet also tinged with sympathy.

"What about us, Cooper? Doesn't our marriage mean anything to you? And why with Sandrina?"

Before Cooper could respond, Sandrina said, "Just a frucking moment there, Emily! Why not with me? What's wrong with me? You came along, you stole my boyfriend from me and smashed the heart of your fiancé to pieces! You know, Paul sent me a message warning me of what was happening, that you and Cooper were going to get married. And the sick thing was, I already knew.

"My one regret now is that I didn't have the guts to reply to his message and he went off into interstellar space thinking nobody cared about him, that nobody loved him. That was a shiddy thing for me to do and I'll regret that 'til the day I die."

Emily then began sobbing and collapsed on the floor, bewildered by this turn of events Cooper and Sandrina both cuddled her, comforting her, because Emily finally, totally got what she did and understood that she had frucked everything up.

Cooper looked skyward. "I'm sorry Paul, my little brother," he said. "I hope things turn out okay for you, no matter where you end up."

Moving forward 50 years or so, Paul and Indrit talked together, then they both showered, dressed again and cleaned up the room before her parents came back.

When her parents returned to the home later that day, they looked at the flushed faces of their daughter and Paul, checked out the looks they were trying not to give each other and did their best not to laugh, as it was obvious that something had taken place between them. Had Indrit asked her parents to stay out that day? Perhaps she had.

The Gargarin had been re-fitted, restocked and some new Nontarian equipment installed and they asked for volunteers to crew the ship to launch it on another voyage of discovery, heading toward another solar system 70 years travel away from Nontarian's twin suns.

Indrit anxiously spoke to Paul. "Are you volunteering, Paul?"

"No. Not me! My space roving days are over. I fully intend to settle down here and ask you to be my wife."

She squealed with excitement, jumped up and down and grabbed hold of him, crushing him in her excitement. "Yes! Please!"