It was an unusually quiet night in the city. Terrence Rogers leaned upon the balcony of his rather expensive apartment. He stared down at the city below, a cup of scotch in one hand. It was almost as if the city was expecting something, waiting, holding its breath. Terrence sighed and sipped his alcoholic beverage as someone buzzed in.
“Yes?” Terrence spoke aloud.
“There is someone here to see you, Mr. Rogers,” a timid voice said, “Shall I send him up?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Terrence answered, “Send him up.”
Terrence walked over to his minibar to refill his glass as he waited for his guest. He tried to ignore his nerves by drowning them in alcohol. Not enough to get him full blown drunk but enough to help get him through this. As he took another sip of his drink, there was a knock on his door.
“Come in,” Terrence said.
The door swung open, revealing a man in a suit and tie. His hair was graying and his face was etched with lines of age, stress and worry. His dark brown eyes were nearly black, giving one the impression that he had one large pupil. He quickly stepped into the room and closed the door.
“Hello Terrence, the man greeted formally.
Terrence nodded. “Hello Philip.”
Philip adjusted his tie and shifted from one foot to another. Terrence offered him a seat but Philip politely refused.
“I was sent here to discuss your so-called “Project”” Philip said.
“Of course,” Terrence said, “After all, why else would you be here? Certainly not to see me!”
Terrence chuckled as Philip continued on.
“My employers are investing a LOT of money into this,” Philip said, “They want to know if they made the right decision.”
“They are,” Terrence answered simply as he took another sip of his drink, “Everything is going according to plan. Tell your employers that there is nothing to worry about.”
“Okay,” Philip said, uncertain, “Well would you be happy to help address some of their fears?”
“No,” Terrence answered, “But I will anyway.”
Philip nodded and took one furtive glance about the room before his eyes rested back on Terrence.
“They are unsure if you should be using robots to establish this proposed colony on Mars,” Philip said, “Especially so soon after the “Haven Riots”...”
“Robots are the only plausible solution in this day in age,” Terrence answered, “They don’t require food or drink. They don’t even need to breath! A person requires these things, and these things take up space. With a machine, you only need to send it and the necessary materials.”
“They know this,” Philip said quietly, “What they want to know is are the machines capable of independent thought?”
“Yes,” Terrence answered, staring at the amber liquid in his glass.
This stunned Philip.
“B-but,” Philip stuttered, “What of the risks? Giving these machines independant thought-”
“First of all,” Terrence interrupted, “They are not as smart as the previous models, particularly those involved with the Haven Riots. They are smart enough for independent thought but not smart enough to start questioning their purpose in life. Besides, they are already pre-programmed to establish the colony and to make it habitable for humans. Second, it would take too long to remote control them. It takes nearly three minutes to send a signal to Mars. Controlling them remotely would not make any sense.”
“So why not send a man with them?” Philip suggested, “They can control the machines to ensure that the colony is built.”
“Weren’t you listening to what I said before?” Terrence asked, “Humans take up so much unnecessary space! Not to mention the risks involved for sending that one man! Why, they could go insane from loneliness or die from lack of food. Then it would take months to send a replacement, months that could’ve been spent building the settlement.”
“So send a few instead of one,” Philip said.
Terrence gave him an annoyed look. “No. Machines are the only plausible solution.”
“What about the moon?” Philip asked as Terrence grumbled something and refilled his glass, “Men helped build Luna City.”
“The moon is not Mars,” Terrence answered frankly, “It takes only a few weeks to get there. It takes several months to get to Mars.”
Philip shifted uneasily as Terrence took one long sip from his drink.
“Look Rogers,” Philip said, “My employers aren’t too thrilled when they hear that machines will be building this colony. They’re afraid that they might rebel and claim Mars for themselves, or worse…”
“A legitimate fear,” Terrence said, “But unless they are willing to spend absurd amounts of money to send people first then I won’t stop them.”
Terrence walked back over to his balcony, staring at the lighted city streets below.
“This means a lot,” Terrence whispered almost inaudibly, “Not just for me or you but for humanity as a whole. If this is successful, then it proves that humanity has the right to travel the stars. To see new worlds. To finally leave this radioactive rock that we have decimated.”
Terrence looked back at Philip. “It serves as hope. Hope that despite everything that has happened to us, we prevail and even exceed that which came before! I would hate to see this opportunity destroyed by a few rich men's’ fears.”
Philip looked at Terrence for a long while before he nodded. With one last look around Terrence’s expensive apartment, he walked towards the door and opened it.
“I’ll tell them everything you told me,” Philip said without looking back, “I hope, I pray that they agree with you.”
With that, Philip left, leaving Terrence alone once more. He finished his drink quickly before he stumbled over to his bed. Now the scotch was starting to catch up with him. As he shut off the lights and rested his head on the pillow, he could not help thinking of Mars as he drifted away into unconsciousness. Mars. The Red Planet. If they failed, then what hope was left for humanity? Terrence did not dare think of it.