The Pollinator's Ceremony: Part 1

The giant glass dome glowed red from the sky, reflecting the color of the Martian regolith surrounding it outside. In the distance the view of the Mountain and other domes clearly in view, no dust storms today. Inside people were gathering around and looking at the green plants scattered throughout the space. Automatic watering devices whirring while tending to the plants. The hellish land outside was unimaginable in this green, lush paradise. 

"It's beautiful in here and it smells great!" Roberta commented to her husband, various plant and flower smells filled the dome. It was very different from the ozone and machine smells all the human Martians were accustomed to experiencing. Edward was ignoring her and looking in the direction of a blonde woman serving small liquid beakers for nourishment. The theme was science and technology; the decor and food, down to the smallest detailed microchip shaped crackers, were perfect. Even the test tubes of flavored protein showed the creativity of the team. Caters worked overtime for this event, the utilitarian society never squanders resources for such things. Today was different, this dome was different. 

"Honey, I'm way more interested in what they are serving for drinks and food." Edward smiled at her then turned to another woman holding a plate of white radishes shaped like little spaceships. Rations meant nothing tonight and Edward planned to take advantage of it. 

"Boys! Checkout out these radishes!" Edward was in awe of the shapes and basically anything food related.  

"No way! We need to go find our youth groups and talk to the botanists!" his oldest boy, Milo, was searching anxiously, looking for his peer group. He saw a familiar teacher in a brown jumpsuit, grabbed his younger brother and they took off. 

"Have fun and make sure to ask lots of questions to put in your growth ledgers." Roberta said as two boys ran ahead to find snacks and games. 

Pollinator ceremonies were a rare, but a main event on the planet, only 1,000 people were invited to move in and out of the new dome to see the state-of-the-art technology, hybrid plants, and the release of the robotic insects. Dome 6, created to be the largest of all the domes, was carefully erected over two years and was promising to be a new place for food sources, housing, and recreation. 

Plants had been carefully tended in the previous weeks; the small fruit trees had been grown for years and were blooming, ready to bare the first fruits. Edgar was on hand for the event. This new dome would be an important source of food and had several pods for living as well. The people serving this dome would also be living in it, a new concept to the colony because normally only first families and elders lived inside the domes and everyone else lived underground in the tunnels. 

"Edgar!" Roberta yelled, seeing her sister's friend across the way. She loved that he was a minor celebrity in the colony.  

Edgar saw them.  Roberta and Edward. Neither of them was his favorite people, but they were Sarah's family, and he felt obligated to talk to them. He also thought maybe he'd see Sarah if he saw her sister. 

"Roberta! Happy P Day!  Where are the boys? Did they find the other children? There are some great talks this year, Jenny Balata is going to speak with them this year, she's an excellent botanist, I studied with her." 

They gave a quick hug; Edward gave his hand a fist bump and he slipped his other hand to grab a small glass of the yellow liquid from a brunette waitress. Still hoping to find one with some caffeine. Stimulants were highly regulated. 

Roberta was overwhelmed by all the people. There were only 8000 living on the planet and 1/8 of them were in this dome. No new domes had been constructed in 15 years; this opening was a major event. 

"Have you seen Sarah? I tried calling her, but her device is on DND" Roberta asked Edgar, looking just as puzzled as she sounded. 

"No, I tried as well. I would think she would be here. This is Carl's big project and it's a huge event. I've even added a few experimental plants because this dome is warmer than previous one and the AI controlled watering devices will probably help with the growth project." 

Edgar started talking about the process of hybrid vegetables, the impact of the low gravity on some of the seeds, yield predictions on the squash, and Roberta was obviously bored. She was not interested in any of this and began looking around for her brother-in-law. Her own husband had checked out a long time ago and was looking at the waitresses, but to his credit it was the food and drink they carried in which he was most interested. 

Carl wasn't too far away, shaking hands and having conversations with coworkers following the completion of his big project. Unlike Edward he was looking at the waitresses and not the food they carried. He slipped a little packet of goo out of his pocket and quickly ate it. This was pure caffeine. He frequently got these from the black market. 

Roberta noticed, she could see him, talking to a blonde woman. He looked angry and anxious. Something swelled up inside her and her nosiness took over and without another word to Edgar, she headed Carl's way.