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Ten Long Years.

Waiting at the spaceport with my few belongings, I watched the space ship slowly sinking on its anti gravity pads. At last the ship reached the bay and the doors, no not the doors the side of the ship swung up and over leaving the ship wide open.

Cranes appeared and container after container was unloaded. I had no interest in what was going on before my eyes. The crew appeared at last and left the ship. Strange machines rolled alongside the ship and different machines were placed aboard and connected by teams of engineers.

The signal for those returning to Earth came over the wristwatches that each person on Mars were compelled to wear. At the very beginning we were told that these watches were a form of insurance. Each watch sent out signals letting base one know exactly where each person was at any given moment. This I now knew was a form of Big Brother watching over each and everyone. It was practically impossible to do anything without the administrators knowing. Crime was unknown on Mars.

I made my way to the waiting place and took my place in the small queue waiting to board the spaceship on its return to Earth. Ten long years now over with me going back to earth with a pension awaiting me that would ensure that I would never have to work again.

The journey back to earth with most of the passengers sleeping, No one wanted to speak it was as if the passengers were all deaf and unable to speak. The long awaited noise of the antigravity plates told us that the ship was landing.

Each left the ship in an orderly manner. At the exits our wrist watches were taken from us and we were issued with a new wrist watch a Police Escort led us to a bus like attraction and as soon as all were aboard the people that had returned from Mars with Police escort were taken to what looked like a prison enclosure. Here each man and woman was given a shabby but clean uniform. We were now all dressed in brown. Each was given a set of rules. At the top of the list were the words No Visitors. Then came the real rules. All that had worked on Mars were considered to be Foreign to this Earth. No pensions, we all had worked ten long years in terrible conditions and no Government of this new world was willing to pay us for our long-term contracts. Most were shocked a few that spoke out were taken away and never seen again. I kept quiet and did in no way show that I had been dealt a savage blow. What had I been doing for ten years on the planet Mars. No payment, no pension and now imprisoned in this place until death became my new partner.

I spent hours studying the new wristwatch on my arm. I had to get rid of this watch. Without the watch I had a chance a very small chance it is true but a chance to escape this place.
The watch was no real problem but how could I make sure that the watch moved around in the confines of this prison enclosure. My answer came sooner than I expected. A rabbit was the answer I managed to catch a rabbit and transferred the watch to the rabbit’s neck.

The next sleeping period was fortunately for me very dark and I had always prided myself on my fitness. Thirty-five years and I could run and jump like a fifteen year old. I took one of the Police cars from the parking place. The car was not even locked and all kinds of weapons were placed around the inside of the car. For an engineer with my qualifications and knowledge it was easy enough to travel the country looking for somewhere where I could be safe from the Authorities. I had made arrangements with the Government ten long years ago. I was going to get every penny from this new Government. I donned one of the uniforms that I found in the Police car. I only had to walk in to a shop a restaurant and all food and drink was free. To say I was a welcome guest would have been a lie all were scared stiff this uniform made it easy for me to lie and cheat my way through life. I was given a few hectares of ground and built myself a small fortress all paid for by the Government. To make it even more ridiculous I was granted a pay rise. My salary was now much more that my original pension would have been. Any one that I caught wearing the brown uniform of the prison camps. I gave then fresh clothes and new identity papers good enough to fool any Police officer.