The Ruins of Mars (The Ruins of Mars Trilogy Book 1) by Dylan James Quarles Page A

high-frequency laser wave, which, when passing through the dome, is actually detectable in the visual light spectrum. It’s kind of a purplish-blue color, like electricity or something. Anyway, no two laser beams generate the same light frequency, or in simpler terms, no two beams are the same exact color. You see, these lasers are quite powerful, but not enough so to break up any dense solid object bigger than maybe a basketball on their own.”
          Noticing the perplexed looks passing between the President and Ben Crain, James continued quickly.
          “It’s when two or more lasers are trained on an object that the conflicting wave frequencies generated by those lasers will cause the projectile to break apart. No object may approach the ship without being in the line of sight of at least two lasers at any given trajectory, due to their strategic arrangement. Now, the ship itself will be covered entirely in a super-hard ceramic shell, which will be enough to withstand impacts from objects smaller than an apple. It’s the bigger stuff that the lasers will go for. It’s actually quite cool to watch in action.”
          “I see,” said the President thoughtfully. “And what about radiation?”
          Smiling, James swiped a finger across the face of his Tablet. The model changed colors again: this time showing a layer of bright blue, which covered the entire crew portion of the ship.
          “This blue here represents our radiation shield. It’s a two-pronged system starting with the actual shell of the ship, under the ceramic, which is woven from an assortment of reflective metals like aluminum, copper, and gold. Next, we move beneath the skin to a four-inch space, which is filled with water—”
          “Water?” interrupted Crain.
          “Yes,” James replied. “Water is actually quite effective at slowing or even stopping solar radiation. Even so, we have also lined the insides of the walls around the galley with six-inch-thick lead. In the event of a solar storm, the entire crew will need to wait it out in there. That’s also why the area has another bathroom. These storms can sometimes last for days.”
          “Is that enough protection?” worried the President.
         “No,” admitted James. “But we have developed an array of preemptive drug treatments, which the crew will be given before the mission. These inoculations will prevent mutated cells from becoming cancerous, but there is no fix-all in this situation. They will still need to adhere to a strict diet as well as a regiment of precancerous inhibitors for the length of the trip.”
          “That brings up a good point,” cut in Eve. “How long is this trip going to be?”
          Sighing, James leaned back in his chair.
          “Originally, we had planned on a year of surface missions. That was supposed to give us enough time to build a permanent base, set up a greenhouse and start processing the Martin water for fuel and drinking water. After that, we were going to send crews out on two-year-long construction contracts until more bases were built and the Terraforming projects were underway. In any case, adding an additional person to any trip means factoring in extra food and extra water.”
          Rapping on the table, Eve pressed her point, “That’s another question I have. Where exactly is the construction equipment and extra food, Dr. Floyd? From what I see of the ship, you only have enough food storage to sustain the entire crew for the flight there and back. What are they supposed to eat on the surface? Furthermore, where are they supposed to live? I don’t see enough room on Braun for the materials needed to build a dome.”
          Swiping two fingers across the Tablet, James called out, “Bring up the Arc.”
          At that command, a second image leaped into focus next to the ship. This new ship resembled the simple and phallic shape of a