Mom would have a field day here, I thought. I remembered how hard she struggled to get things like tomatoes and squash to grow in our garden, with nothing but modern, invasive spider weeds to graft with. In the farm outside the village, I’d seen what looked like beans climbing up stalks of maize, like they grew them in the milpas on Earth. Mom had tried that in her garden without much luck. But these plants were native to Mars, not Earth. If she had access to native species like this, her job would be so much easier.

“This place is incredible,” I breathed. “How long did it take to build?”

“More than the whole of our lives,” said Eos. “It had already begun before I was born, and Marin and I are the oldest citizens still alive.”

Marin smiled wistfully at him, her green eyes seeming to hold a secret behind them that I couldn’t begin to grasp. Something about the way Eos and Marin interacted reminded me of my grandparents—the easy affection born of a lifetime together.

“How old are you guys, anyway?” I asked.

Eos chuckled. “I lost track many years ago. But I’d say I was close to your age when Marin and I first came here, and that was at least three decades ago.”

Thirty years ago… If that was the case, in Earth years—annums—they must be in their eighties now, or close to it. Older than Abuelo.

“So you two are the leaders?”

“No, no.” Marin waved her hand dismissively. “We have no leaders. There’s no need for it. Eos and I are the eldest, so people will often come to us for advice, simply because we have that experience. But if someone chooses not to heed that advice, that’s none of our concern. As long as no one is endangering the community, people essentially live as they please here.”

I nodded thoughtfully. It sounded nice. Of course, everything about Elytherios seemed like a vast improvement over the torquing Orwellian scenario going on in the citidomes. I knew Nadin didn’t trust the people here. And she was right that what had happened with Ceilos—and even with Gitrin—didn’t make any sense. But I still couldn’t help but believe that the Elytherians were telling the truth. Even apart from the fact that they wanted to use me as a guinea pig for an invasion on Earth, I could never trust the geroi. They were like GSAF on steroids.

“So, where are we going, anyway?” I asked as we crossed over a small footbridge spanning the creek.

“There is someone that I would like you to meet, speak with if you can,” Marin said. “We have been having a difficult time communicating with him.”

I frowned. “But what makes you think I’m going to be able to help you?”