text: When I first signed up to join the group of contestants on their mission to mars, I could only hope that I would make it. After about a year I heard back and was picked. I have a degree in computer science which honestly really doesn’t help with much but because I have been working with UNIX for 10 years and the fact that I am very technical they decided it would aid the mission. Apparently most of the systems they use on the ships and in the housing modules all run Linux imagine that. Anyway here I am strapped to this chair shaking like no tomorrow as we enter the atmosphere of Mars. So far there are 5 other people that have landed in the last 24 hours. From what I’ve seen while on approach things are going OK. There seems to be mostly one person doing the talking and reporting a guy named Davis. He is one of the doctors on the trip I met him a few times in training and he seemed cool, I guess he is a psychiatrist. The last report had them all hooked up and starting to deploy the green house gear for building. Everything is automated; I don’t have to do a thing as we land. I radio in and let Davis know that I have landed and will be engaging the rover capabilities of the module to start my advance and eventual connection to the other modules. He seems nonplused about the whole thing, I’m not sure if that is a good sign or a bad sign. We did just get here you would think people would be overly excited. The landing wasn’t too bad, a little bit of a bump at the end. I have to give it to the development team they really did a good job with the ships and modules. The trip here was a long year but there was plenty of entertainment along the way, I’m excited to finally get out and see other people face to face though. After following the navigation screen to where the other modules are I come over a slight hill and can see them. It’s getting dark it should be night soon, the sun is slowly working its way to the horizon. It is beautiful and completely alien here, so much rock and the sky has an odd blue tint to it as the sun sets. Gravity doesn’t seem too bad it takes a little getting used to but I definitely feel lighter. As I pull up to the last pod in the row I can see Davis, none of the others though which is strange. No one is working outside at all, which I would have expected. Connecting to the module went without issue, and I’m excited to start my new life here on Mars. I open the door to greet Davis and what I see is horror. The walls are covered in smeared blood, there are a couple bodies in the corner cut up into pieces. One woman is still alive it looks like but is just silently opening and closing her mouth. As I stand there in shock Davis comes from the side and says “Welcome to Mars!” I’m too slow and in too much shock to move as he hits me full force with a large pipe wrench to the face. I fall back into my module and my head lands on the console facing out towards the sunset. I feel a sharp stabbing repeatedly into my back and stomach area then a slight tugging as some instrument gets stuck. My final thoughts as my life drains from me are, I’m glad I got to see the sunset, it is so beautiful.