Mars Time Odyssey

Mars Time Odyssey

By Antokin of MaRS

The Sahara region, a sea of sand I chose for my journey from the fast, hectic pace of civilization. After hitching with some caravans I went on my way to a journey, an odyssey through the desert...

The solitude felt good. My senses absorbed the landscape, the sand, the color, the smell. Soon my mind adapted to the slow rythmn of my present environment.

Then something catches my eye in the distance.

I could see a pillar of sand a few dunes away. Strange but not unusual in all this heat so I went on in my solitude.

But I looked again at the pillar and I notice it wasn't moving it was just stationary. A standing swirling pillar of sand doing nothing.

Wondering what it is I'm looking at. I looked around if I was alone. No one was around.

This tale would end right now if I just ignored it and gone on with my journey but I went to the pillar.

The pillar of sand was below a dune. I moved down for a closer look. The swirling sand was nesting on a base of stone.

The base looked ordinary, a large square shaped stone. Looking closer though, revealed strange markings on its edge. It wasn't anything I have seen or familiar with.

No sound emanated from the pillar of sand. I moved closer to the base, so far nothing happened just the continuing swirling sand on top of it. Now I felt strange feeling no wind coming from the swirl. I dug around the base of stone and I noticed it was a pedestal in the form of a small step pyramid. I dug more to reveal the pyramid.

I went around the pyramid... and contemplated as I watch the pyramid and the swirling sand.

I stepped on the pyramid.

The Sahara disappeared replaced by a vision of images, like a movie, a history.

The images showed a great city with tall buildings of grace and beauty its inhabitants human looking but strangely tall for a human, graceful in their stride.

The city was alive with people bustling, vehicles moving, flying, floating. This was a Sahara of an era long gone, before the sands took over.

I wanted to step out but I couldn't get off the pyramid. Then a tremor began to shake the city. The land broke up the city, crumbling structures, its spires falling. The inhabitants were dying from the catastrophe and I couldn't move to help. I could only watched helplessly.

Suddenly I was pulled up high to the sky to space I was leaving the Earth! The city was covered in a flash of light before it disappeared from sight. I could see the Earth in orbit and soon passed the moon.

I was headed for Mars! I was amazed to see a different planet moving in orbit; a Mars alive with life not red but a green and blue jewel like Earth.

I descended down to another city larger and so beautiful! This was the main city of Mars. I descended on a similar pyramid. I tried to get down but I was stuck I couldn't get down from the pyramid.