A Farm On Mars | Relaxing Bedtime Story About Space

now you're ready for a deep and soothing night sleep. This episode goes out to the established

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Your support enables the show to keep going and to grow. Thank you. I love sci-fi. The sheer escapeism of traveling to another world, another dimension, imagining a fantastical futuristic approach to living. The best sci-fi's are often just allegories, enabling us to explore philosophical concepts, to explore ideas, and there is nothing like immersing yourself in an idea, immersing yourself in a story.

In tonight's story, we leave our spine and revisit Mars to find out how the planet is changed

since astronaut Logan Anderson landed there 11 years ago. A surprising new development is about to take place and it's one that is brought about by Logan's young son and his love for horses. Before we begin, here's the quick ad break that keeps this free content possible. To go add free, subscribe via the link in the show notes.

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“Logan Anderson gazed softly at the amber-hued sky and watched the sun rising over the horizon of”

Mars. The planet, he now called home. Even though he'd lived on the red planet for 11 years,

the spectacular sight of the Martian sunrise never failed to impress him. It was something he would

never tire of and he always made the effort to witness as many of them as he could. Normally he would watch the amazing sight on his own, but that morning he had company. On either side of him stood his colleagues who had made the maiden voyage to Mars with him. Not only were they respected members of the team, but Captain Louisa Ortiz and Dr. Gregory

“Beckham Byer were also close friends of Logan's and he'd go so far as to say they were like family to him.”

Louisa gave Logan a friendly shoulder bump and said, "So, Mr. Anderson, I didn't think this was going to happen so soon and I'm laying the blame completely at your door. The familiar twinkle in her eyes caused Logan to break into a smile and he knew she was justing." He could naturedly retorce it, I begged a differ Captain Orsis and I may respectfully say that you had a large part to play in the present situation.

Through the visor of her helmet, Louisa on the Captain's eyes crinkling up in Marth. Her tone remained serious as she replied, "For perhaps I do take some responsibility. However, Dr. Gregory Beckham Byer is the one who sets off this chain of event. So perhaps he should take the full responsibility. She gave Logan a small wink.

Logan and Louisa turned to the third person in their company.

The cherry-faced geologist beamed at them and said the present situation was a marvelous one to be in, and whenever anyone asked how it had come about so swiftly, he would simply say it had been completely his idea. Indeed, he said as he puffed his chest out. I will step forward and take so full glory of everyone's admiration and praise, and if you so wish, I would be delighted to

“pose for a statue to commemorate my wonderful idea. I think this will make an excellent pose.”

He put his hand on his chest and gazed into the distance. His stance caused his friends to burst

into laughter. Amazing things had happened since they'd first arrived on Mars.

Incredible developments they had only ever dreamed about. An often, quite unexpected events, no one had ever considered, even in their wildest plans. Life on Mars was about to expand, even more, and yet another unexpected way, and the colleagues were getting ready to break the news to the inhabitants of the planet. It was going to be a busy day for them, and it had been Logan's idea to start the day by watching the sunrise, as it wasn't event that always gave him a sense of peace

and calm. Captain Ortez checked the time and said the spaceship they were waiting for was on schedule, and should be with them later that day. She smiled tightly and said there was a lot of explaining to do first, and she didn't know how long that would take. In his deep, gentle voice, Dr. Backenbar said, "Our explanations conveyed, let's stay here and bask in the beauty of this splendid, different sunset." He gazed at the red sky, and sighed contentedly.

stern faced and barely smiled. But living on Mars had changed him. Uncovering the planet's

“rich history, and an arthing it's hidden geological treasures, had transformed the doctor,”

and he had become one of the happiest people on the planet.

He always had a spring in his step, a smile on his face, and a song in his heart.

Mars had worked its magic on him, as it had with everyone who had made the planet their home. The trio lingered a little longer, and then walked over to their space buggy and climbed into it. Captain Arts has drove the vehicle over the familiar red terrain, and towards the hubs, where people lived and worked. The main hub came into view, and through the large windows, the trio could see it was already a hive of activity. People walked briskly along the corridors,

“and into offices where their teammates were gathered.”

Hungry customers waited in line outside the cafe. People lounged in chairs, lost in animated

conversations with each other. Captain Arts is pulled into a parking bay outside the hub, and said, "Okay, time to get this show on the road. There's a certain young boy who would be having his biggest dream realized today, and I don't want to delay that for any longer than necessary." Logan and Dr. Bakkenbara smiled warmly at her. They knew who she was talking about. They left the buggy and dented the hub. After completing the necessary safety checks,

they walked into the main area, and caught the attention of a large group of people

“who were sitting in a long table near the cafe. The group consisted of team members of the”

various departments. They looked the captain's way, expectant expressions on their faces. Louisa gave them an almost imperceptible nod, and the people at the table rose in unison, and headed over to the captain. Logan wondered if the joy in his eyes was visible to the group. This day had taken a lot of planning, and there had been many obstacles to overcome. But as with many projects on the planet, the impossible soon became part of normal life.

Louisa led the group into one of the larger meeting rooms. She took a seat at the head of the table, Logan and Dr. Bakkenbara sat on either side of her. The group of people sat down and waited for the captain to begin. Louisa looked around the room and said, "We are expecting a spaceship within the next few hours, and whilst some of you are aware of the importance of the ship, many of you haven't been given the full detail yet."

Although I'm sure you've no doubt realized that something exciting is happening. We are terrible at keeping our relation under control sometimes. Logan nodded. He was guilty of that. Louisa said she would get everyone fully up to speed with the latest developments concerning the project, and had the situation had come about much sooner than they'd planned.

She introduced Logan and Dr. Bakkenbara and asked them to explain the parts they had played in the

project. With the nod of Dr. Bakkenbara, she asked him to speak first.

The doctor rose, beamed widely at everyone, and started to speak. You might know about the green crystal I found in one of the lava tubes about five years ago, and how it contained seeds frozen in time. So seeds fell lovingly cultivated by my good friend, Logan Anderson, and you've no doubt seen the result of his vast,

all those millions of years ago. Finding those seeds answered my questions about whether or not

“there had been life on Mars. He cast a look around the room before continuing.”

Of course, the finding those seeds was a huge leap forward in our understanding of Mars geological past, and I'm sure you all know about my discovery three years ago, and my team, and I found animal fossils deep within the layers of sediment volcano Olympus month. Those fossils have a striking resemblance to crustaceans living on earth. Unless we have yet to find any evidence of dinosaurs. He grinned at the people in front of him.

Dr. Backimbaer explained how he'd enlisted the help of the older school children,

“with some of his expeditions, as he thought it was an excellent way to teach them the fascinating”

subject of geology. The children had become fully absorbed in every aspect of their

field trips, and their thirst for knowledge never lessened. They would compare the fossils with

those found on earth and be amazed at how similar they were. The children loved talking about the ancient animals on Mars, and of course, they wanted to know if there would be animals again on the planet, and when that would happen. The doctor had explained to the children, it would take time, and there were many projects to be undertaken before the planet would be ready for animals. He stopped talking and turned to Logan. Logan knew what was coming next,

and he couldn't help himself from smiling. Dr. Backimbaer said, it was easy to explain how the fossils had once been animals to the older children, because they had seen animals on earth before they came here. But it was different for one particular child, because he was the first one to be born on Mars,

and he had never seen an animal before, except in books or on a screen.

The boy is called Milagro. He is Logan's son. I'm sure many of you have met Milagro, and you know what a delightful boy he is, always singing and smiling. But I must admit that in all my many years, I have never met anyone with such an inquisitive mind before, and every time we meet,

“he has numerous questions for me. And just when I think I've answered all his questions,”

he comes up with a dozen more. And it's because of Milagro's natural curiosity, that we ought to have animals on Mars much earlier than we planned. I'll let Logan take over now, and he can explain how this situation arose. Dr. Backimbaer sat down and Logan got to his feet. He gave everyone a warm welcome. Like the captain, he took into account the newcomers to the group, and explained how he was one of the original crew members of the maiden voyage to Mars,

and if they weren't aware, his expertise was in horticultural matters. He told them how his initial attempts at growing plants on the planet were copied by many people on earth, including a woman called Natasha and her daughter, Maisy. Through their love of gardening, he became friends with them, and was somewhat surprised when Natasha and Maisy arrived on Mars a while later. He and Natasha had connected immediately,

and they were later married. Logan smiled at the memory and said that falling in love had been part of his plan, but love had a habit of sneaking up on a person when they weren't looking.

the name as it was of Spanish origin and meant miracle and wonder. Words that also described the

“amazing planet, they now called home. Logan recounted how Milagro saw his first animals”

during a video call to Logan's parents and Kansas. They owned a farm and had taken the call outside, and horses were grazing in the fields behind them. As soon as Milagro saw the horses, his little mouth dropped open, and his eyes glazed over. He couldn't take his attention off the animals, and pressed his face against the screen to get a better look at them.

Being only six months old, he wasn't able to talk, but when he did, his first word was

horse. Logan gave a rise, smile, and said he was hoping Milagro's first word would be

“family related, but what can you do? As the years progressed, Milagro became obsessed with horses”

and would talk incessantly about them. He would draw pictures of them too and show them running across the red soil of Mars. Milagro and his family were often in the drawings too. The little boy composed stories, and rose about the adventures the horses would have on the red planet.

He added other animals too, and made himself the farmer in every story. He was utterly convinced

there would be horses on Mars, and that it would happen very soon. Logan had explained to his son how it wasn't possible yet, and horses on Mars would be a long

“way in the future. Every time he told his curious son that, Milagro wanted to know why it would”

take so long. Logan would explain further, giving his much detail as Milagro could understand. His son would listen, and then say every problem could be dealt with, and he'd remind his father how often he had said, and the thing is possible on Mars. Captain Orts has said, it wasn't just Logan who little Milagro approached. He would ask me questions too, as you know I'm working on reverse engineering the atmosphere of Mars,

and I'm moving towards the time when the air becomes breathable again, and water runs freely once more around the planet. I explained this to Milagro, and said it was taking longer than I'd hoped, and as Logan said he would tell me anything was possible on Mars. His sincere conviction caused me to look at my goal in a different light, and out of nowhere, an idea came to me. It was an idea that has taken me a step closer to my goal,

and something surprising happened to another project of mine. This is the perfect time to report that my team and I have now come up with a way to forecast when the dust storms will occur. And we have something in place that will limit their effect, and hopefully over time it's something that will cause the storms to die away altogether. There was a collective gas of surprise, followed by a random of applause for the captain. She said it was early days,

and they were working on prototype at the present. But as a wise boy had reminded her, anything was possible on Mars. Logan continued talking and told the group that after answering Milagro's many questions, ideas had occurred to him too, and this led to possible solutions to the question of when animals would live on Mars. As a result, an expansive area of land had been cultivated in preparation for a farm. Even though it was a covered area at the moment,

the environment was perfect for a handful of animals to roam there. The conditions would ensure

It wouldn't be long before many farm animals would be established on Mars.

“Logan concluded by saying everything had moved at a faster pace than anyone expected,”

and after many meetings and going over their initial reports dozens of times, they decided it was the right time to bring animals to Mars.

And the first of those animals were on the spaceship that would be arriving within a few hours.

There was another range of applause. Captain horses took over again and gave out some instructions to the team leaders to help them pass the information amongst their various departments. It was an exciting development in the colonisation of Mars, and would result in many advantages changes. She asked if there were any questions.

“There were. Captain horses and her colleagues spent the next hour answering the various”

queries and taking on boards some of the suggestions that were put their way.

When the last question had been answered, the team leaders went on their way to deliver the wonderful news to their colleagues. Louise smiled at Logan and Gregory. She said, "That's went well. Now it's time for the fun part. Are you ready?" Logan and Gregory confirmed they were and followed the captain out of the room.

And along the corridor, the travel the short distance to the school hub and entered the classroom,

“where a certain young boy was sitting with his classmates on the carpet and listening to a”

story being read by their teacher. The teacher stopped talking when Captain horses and the other sent her to her classroom. She had already been briefed about the farm and had been sworn to secrecy. She discreetly raised one eyebrow in question at the captain and received a smile and reply. The teacher put the book down and told the children, "There was going to be a special announcement." Logan waved to his son and Milagro grinned back.

Captain horses sat on the carpet with the children and asked Milagro to tell her one of his farm stories. Milagro's face lit up in joy. He told the captain and his classmates, a story about horses who galloped across the red planet and had them at sheep and cattle who were grazing in the fields. The horses also chatted to the chickens as they pegged at the grain on the ground. And they talked to ducks as they swam across the pond that was outside a big farmhouse.

He said the farmhouse looked like the one his grandparents had in Kansas, which was on earth. To the captain's surprise, the little boy then told them another story about a dog who lived on Mars with Milagro and his family. He added details about the other pets who lived on the planet too. Cats, rabbits, tortoises, and hamsters. Milagro smiled confidently at the captain and said every family on Mars would have a pet soon.

Captain horses looked over at Logan and said, "Pet, I didn't know about this, did you?"

Logan smiled and shook his head and replied, "His son never failed to amaze him."

When Milagro finished talking, Captain Ortiz made her announcement. She told the children about the cultivated farmland, and with the paws, she said a group of animals were already on their way to their planet and would be arriving very soon. The group of animals included four horses. Milagro's mouth dropped open and he gazed at the captain in wonder.

He said, "Thank you, Captain Ortiz. Thank you."

The captain blinked quickly and held the little boy in her arms. Milagro then hugged his father and doctor back in bar.

“He asked what time would the horses be there and could he see them please?”

The captain knew Milagro would ask those questions and had already put some plans in place. She told the children they would be at the landing dock when the spaceship arrived with

the animals, and the children would be the first ones to see them.

The children cheered loudly and jumped to their feet.

“Some of them were so happy that they jumped around the room, waving their arms in the air.”

The teacher allowed them to express their enthusiasm for a while, and then brought them under control. Inside the viewing hub later, the children and the 12 crew members of the maiden voyage watched the latest spaceship arrive on the red planet. Logan was holding his son in his arms.

“For once, Milagro didn't have any questions, and he silently took in every moment.”

The spaceship landed, and once the air tunnels had been put in place, the large door is open.

And then, the first horse stepped onto the red soil of Mars and pressed its hoof firmly down.

Milagro sighed happily, and leaned his little face against Logan's cheek. He said, "Daddy, every day is magical on Mars, but this day is even more magical than any other." Logan kissed the top of his son's head, and couldn't have put it better himself. Anything was possible on Mars, and Logan wondered, "What future delight the planet had in store for them?" "We'll leave our story there for tonight."

"I hope you enjoyed our trip to Mars, and the arrival of the animals." "Sleep well, and sweet dreams." "We'll be back soon, and we'll be back soon." "We'll be back soon, and we'll be back soon." "We'll be back soon, and we'll be back soon."

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