“Hop down for me,” Dr. Brito said absently. Her eyes were glued to the medical chart she held in her hands.
Her patient, Mariano, stood from the examination table. He wore a light blue gown that was tied in the back. He was younger than the doctor, young enough to be her son, but still an adult in his twenties. He could have been a handsome young man, but his dark skin was pale and ashy and his face was gaunt like he hadn’t eaten in months. There were dark bags under his eye that looked to be sunken into the sockets. He was average height, but lankey, and his skin seemed to be stretched over his bones that threatened to break through. Despite his appearance, Mariano seemed to be in a good mood.
“Your tests look good, all things considered,” Dr. Brito said. “How’ve you been sleeping?”
“Fine, I guess,” he said. “Definitely better than last time I saw you.”
“Are you still feeling pain, or do you have dreams?” the doctor asked.
“The pain isn’t an issue, it’s almost gone completely,” Mariano explained, “but it’s hard to turn off my brain sometimes. I do what you say, I lean into what I see, I try to follow it through, but it’s hard to make sense of it.”
“Recurring dreams or random things?”
“Not recurring, not now, but a continuation of the recurring dream from earlier.”
The doctor nodded throughtfully as she scribbled notes.
“Do you see yourself in these dreams?” she asked.
“Never, just the view through my eyes.”
“Describe the view.”
Mariano hesitated, then said, “I hardly have words for it doctor…”
“I know,” she interrupted, “they must be very strange images to you still, but I need you to try. I have to know if your donor’s memories are manifesting in your consciousness still.”
“I would say yes. It’s not a place I recognize anywhere but my dreams. It’s usually really dark and I know you can’t smell the stuff you dream about, but I can swear I can smell eggs or something. I’m moving through an outside space, and I guess it’s stuff growing all around, but I don’t know what it is.”
Dr. Brito nodded thoughtfully.
“It all sounds pretty standard,” she said, “all things considered of course. What about your appetite?
“I eat a lot,” Mariano said with a laugh, “believe it or not.”
“So you enjoy it or are you just satisfying hunger?”
“Both, it feels good to be full. Honestly, though, nothing tastes as good as it used to.”
“Interesting,” the doctor said. “One more question before your injection. You were advised of the possible side effects of the injection at the start of your current course, and the potential is greater with each subsequent course. The effects of the injection are reversible and if you choose to do so, you must notify me now.”
Mariano smiled weakly. “Let’s keep going.”
Dr. Brito nodded and then retrieved a large needle filled with a neon red liquid. She rubbed the side of Mariano’s neck with an alcohol swab and then slowly injected the bright, red liquid. As it left the syringe and entered his body, it seemed that all the veins of his body glowed, spreading the liquid until Mariano’s physical appearance changed.
He stood a half foot taller than he had and his body filled out on his bones. His eyes came alive and his face was full. His dark skin became vibrant and warm. After about twenty minutes, Mariano looked like a healthy twenty years old, like he had been nourished in record time.
“How do you feel?” Dr. Brito asked.
“Better now,” he said. “I can’t wait until it’s permanent. No offense, doctor, but I’ll be glad when I don’t have to come here anymore.”
“None taken,” Dr. Brito said. “That’s the point of all of this. The effects of the thin atmosphere here on Mars ravages our bodies, but thanks to the organisms we discovered here, we can extract their DNA to alter humanity to be better suited for this environment without significant terraforming. Thanks to these injections, you and the others like you, are more Martian than Earthling.”
Mariano nodded.
“I thought travelling here was hard enough,” he said. “The way my parents talk about it, the settlement almost failed multiple times on the trip and even after they landed and struggled to make substantial agriculture. My mom says that changing our bodies is extreme, but I don’t mind.”
“It’s not like we have much choice,” Dr. Brito said. “There’s still no communication from Earth, and we can’t expect more supplies and equipment any time soon. We have to adapt.”
Mariano nodded dutifully.
“Things are good here,” he said. “The stories that people tell about Earth, all the guns and the hostility between people based on physical appearance, I’m glad I was born here.”
Dr. Brito smiled, but there was a pang of sadness on her face.
“We have a good opportunity here to show how humanity can live free of conflicts. I miss Earth, there’s no doubt about that, but it’s hard to deny that in a lot of ways, humanity is much better off here. Once we manage to build a proper ship, do you want to go to Earth? See it for yourself?”
Mariano had seen pictures and videos of Earth and even though there were truly beautiful landscapes and there was delicious looking food that couldn’t be made on Mars due to limitations on the food they could cultivate, he didn’t feel any particular longing to go there.
He shrugged. “I guess time will tell,” he said.
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