"The hope," George continued, "is that enough of us
will use our common sense on this new world.
If we can keep alive the lesson of how the Earth was treated in the hearts and minds
of the first generation of Mars colonists, then all the generations to come have a chance
to create and keep a paradise."
"You, John, are my hope for the future. All that
I've shown you about the beauty and power of Nature you already knew because
it's common sense. My job was simply to wake up that knowledge inside of you."
"I understand Grandpa, I really do," and George saw
that John truly did, and that his heart was letting go of its unbearable sadness.
"I promise I will do all I can to see that we don't make the same mistakes
again. But I still don't understand why you have to stay behind. Why can't
you come and show others what you've shown me?"
George paused to look at the sea below and to appreciate the warmth of
the sun on his face.
"John," his grandfather replied, "this is going to
be very difficult for you to hear, and I can only hope that, in time, you will
understand what I am about to say."
Just then, a red-tailed hawk swooped low over their heads and curved over and down
the backside of the mountain. In a moment, they saw the hawk rise, seemingly out of
the ground, as it caught a thermal updraft and began its slow curling ascent. Its sharp
cries pierced the blue sky and alerted the boy and his grandfather to the shift in the
wind from a dry, northerly breeze to sporadic wet and salty gusts urging in the afternoon
fog from the west. In another couple of hours, the fog would shroud the little town below
and send wisps winding up and over the mountain where John and George now sat, speaking of
their separate futures.
"I am staying, John, because I choose to.
I choose to remain here, in the loving embrace of this Mother Earth, with her winds and clouds,
her rain and sunlight, her mountains and oceans. I've lived in our little town pretty much my
whole life and I'd like to stay. I'm happy here and, like you, I
never tire of the natural wonders that present themselves every day.
"It is true that should I venture too far in any direction
I would encounter wastelands not protected by the Shield Web, where one step on the parched earth or one
breath of air would end my life instantly. However, trust me that I will be safe here within the borders
of this protected oasis.