52 bad short stories.

After eating dinner alone and falling asleep alone I awoke to my communication device ringing. It was my sister Roberta. “Hi I haven’t talked to you in a while, how are you?” She sounded a little frazzled.  "I'm fine, I'm just realizing I overslept. I must have been tired". Roberta lived in colony 4 with her husband and two young sons. She was not a fan of Carl and frequently reminded me that I should be reminding him about how he’s a jerk. She calls him a "red fingered rock handler" which is about the worst thing you can say about someone. It's an insult that was originally designed for the miners, who despite the protective gear always somehow ended up turning red. We have better protections and more robots, so this is no longer an issue, but the insult continues to live in modern day Mars.  “Have you seen Carl? Or heard from him?” “Not since yesterday. He was working on a big project, the underground dome in colony-6” She was silent for a minute. “The...

It's not only my parents; it's also my grandparents. We've become Martians. Naturally, there are debates about whether we're still human since we're no longer Earthlings. I am human, yet distinctly Martian—a second-generation Martian. Earth is a three-month journey on outdated commuter ship navigating through an asteroid belt. Very few of us ever depart, and no one arrives anymore. The most pressing issue we face is the growing population, which is our most contentious subject. I've spent my whole life here, born, raised, married, and trained to excel in my community. I can't discern the differences between here and Earth. On Earth, people can freely go outside, but here, stepping outside without a suit means certain death. Our buildings are enormous, and everything is contained within. The botanical dome is my sanctuary; it's where the enchantment unfolds, and I believe it's the closest experience to being outdoors on Earth. I am from Colony 1. We a...