Mia drew in a shaky breath, the unpleasant feeling in her stomach getting worse. “No, Korum. I don’t think that. I don’t want to think that. I just want to know the truth. All of it.” He still looked implacable, so she added, “Please, Korum . . . If you truly care for me, please tell me everything.”
Chapter 28
“All right.” His voice was colder than anything she’d heard from him in a long time. “Keep in mind, though, my sweet, no one outside of the Council and the Elders knows what I am about to tell you. You can’t share this with anyone else, do you understand me?”
Mia nodded, holding her breath.
“We’re not going to take Earth from you,” he said. “We’ll take Mars. And then we’ll give humans the option of relocating there, once we have created the proper conditions for life.”
Mia stared at him in shock. “What? Mars? But . . . but that’s uninhabitable.”
“It is uninhabitable now,” Korum said. “Once we’re done with it, it’s going to be like paradise. The planet already has water in the form of ice. We’ll warm it up, create an atmosphere, and give Mars a magnetic field to mitigate solar radiation and keep the atmosphere from escaping into space. Even the gravity differential can be fixed; our scientists have recently come up with a way to enhance surface gravity and make it similar to that of Earth and Krina.”
“But –” Mia found herself at a loss for words. “Wait, so you want Mars, not Earth?”
Korum sighed. “No, Mia. We want a place for our species to continue flourishing once our sun begins to dim. It’s unfortunate, but we can’t keep our star from dying. Maybe one day we’ll discover a way to fix that too, but for now, we have to plan for the worst. Earth would be our second choice, after Krina, and Mars would be our third.”
“So you do want Earth?” Mia felt like she wasn’t getting something.
“Yes.” His amber gaze was cool and even. “Of course we do. At least the warmer parts of it. But we’re not going to kill humans for it, or whatever it is Saret implied. We’ll give your people the option of remaining on Earth or relocating to the newly transformed Mars in exchange for significant wealth and other perks.”
“You’ll bribe humans to leave Earth?” Mia stared at him in disbelief.
“Yes.” A small smile appeared on his lips. “You could call it that. There are plenty of regions on Earth that are poor, where daily existence is a struggle. We’ll offer those people the option of moving to a place that’s very much like paradise, where all their basic needs would be met and they would live like kings. Don’t you think that would be appealing to someone in rural India or Zimbabwe?”
Mia blinked. She could see his logic – but she could also see a big problem with what he was saying. “If Mars is going to be so great,” she said slowly, “why wouldn’t the Krinar want to live there themselves and leave our planet alone?”
“Some of us will probably want to live on Mars,” Korum said. “It’s not out of the question that you and I might move there at some point. But there will always be those who are uncomfortable with what they view as artificial nature, those who would much rather live on a planet that’s gone through billions of years of natural evolution – even if that planet has been somewhat polluted and damaged by humans.”
“So they will come live with us – with humans, I mean – on Earth?”
“Yes,” Korum said, “exactly. We’ll build more Centers on Earth, so that some Krinar can live there. And in exchange for humans ceding us that space, we’ll give them a much more luxurious environment on Mars. It’ll be a win-win for both species.”
“And if humans would not want to cede that space?”
His eyes narrowed. “Why wouldn’t they? Do you really think a subsistence farmer in Rwanda would object to never having to do back-breaking work again? To being able to feed his family every day with tasty, nutritious food? Whoever comes to Mars will hav
e access to free healthcare, education, housing . . . whatever they need. We’re not going to do to your people what Europeans did to Native Americans. That’s not our way.”
“You didn’t really answer my question,” Mia said slowly. “If people don’t want to go, are they going to be forcibly transported to Mars? Are you going to take their land from them no matter what?”
“We’re going to do whatever is necessary to ensure the survival – and continued prosperity – of our species, Mia,” he said, his eyes cold and bright under the dark slashes of his eyebrows. “Just like your kind would.”
A chill ran down Mia’s spine. “I see.”
“What did you expect to hear, my sweet?” His tone was softly mocking. “Did you want me to lie to you, to tell you that we would never take what we need if we couldn’t get it some other way?”
“No,” Mia said. “I didn’t want you to lie to me. I never wanted you to lie to me.” Getting to her feet, she went to stand by the water, staring at the dark blue surface with unseeing gaze. She didn’t know what to think, how to even begin to approach this situation.
What Korum had just described sounded relatively harmless, even generous compared to what human conquerors had done throughout history. Yet Mia knew it wouldn’t be so simple. The Krinar arrival several years ago caused a major panic that spawned the Resistance movement and resulted in thousands of deaths. It was folly to think that the same thing wouldn’t happen when people learned about the Ks’ intentions for Mars. Even if the Krinar relocated only those who went willingly, the general population would be deeply suspicious – and likely with good reason. Once the Krinar had a place where they could move humans with a clear conscience, what would prevent them from doing so?
Korum came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her chest, pulling her up against him so that the top of her head was nestled under his chin. “I’m sorry, Mia,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to be harsh with you. Of course you have a right to know – and I shouldn’t blame you for not trusting me after the way we first met. I don’t want to harm your kind. I truly don’t – especially now that I’ve fallen for you and met your family. We’ll do our best to ensure that everything goes smoothly, that all your governments are fully on board and informed about what’s going on. Nobody has to get hurt. We’ll make sure everybody comes out ahead in this.”
Mia wanted to melt into his embrace, to let him reassure her that everything would be all right, but she couldn’t be an ostrich hiding her head in the sand. “When are you going to do this?” Her voice sounded dull, empty. “When are you going to transform Mars?”
“Soon,” Korum said, his arms tightening around her. “I have just received the final go-ahead from the Elders to proceed.”
“But why Mars?” Mia couldn’t understand that part. “Why don’t the Krinar just take some planet in another solar system? If you can do this, this kind of thing –”