When they stepped down onto Antares Platform 1, the heat on the surface smothered them like a damp cloth. Tomaso’s nose immediately wrinkled in discomfort.
“It feels just like summer,” said Johann, looking up at the solar pillars towering over them.
From their slightly elevated position on the platform, they had a clear view of this planet’s downtown area. The sight of all the mid-rise buildings stretching into the far distance left Tomaso momentarily speechless.
Trees roughly as tall as buildings dotted the landscape, along with a few green sections that appeared to be fields of some kind. It was a large city, yet there was also something rustic about it like the rural town Tomaso grew up in. More than anything, he was struck by the fact that the horizon was a straight line rather than a curve.
The moment they walked out of the station, however, he realized that what seemed “rustic” at first was actually devastation and ruin. The paved asphalt roads were cracked and overgrown as though the city had been torn apart, and countless snake gourd vines trailed between buildings, snaking around street lights and the rails separating the road from the sidewalk, as if to suggest the city had long fulfilled its purpose.
They continued cautiously, spotting not a single other soul as they walked—just plants. Tomaso wondered if anyone even lived here.
Beams of sunlight occasionally poked through the buildings; they were likely the heart of the city. The large sun that burned intensely on the other side of space was the planet’s only light source and cast purple pillars of light across the city’s surface. Johann explained that the sun never set here, which must’ve meant night didn’t exist on this planet. It looks like nighttime, Tomaso thought to himself as he looked at the lavender-tinted city streets.
After walking for about thirty minutes, wiping sweat off their brows the whole way, the pair came to a four-way intersection where two large roads crossed. They were a fair distance away from the city center by now, so the buildings were more sparse, and trees and flowers grew wild along the road. A multitude of tropical plants had grown through the asphalt as well.
“This is Scorpion Crossing,” Johann explained, as usual. “The grass is what’s known as scorpion plant, because the ends of the leaves look like scorpion tails.”
Because of how well-informed he was at such a young age, Johann could be preachy at times. He’d been teased by friends his age in the past for behaving like an old man. Fortunately for Johann, adults found it endearing. Tomaso was just thankful he was volunteering to be his tour guide.
“That’s the building.”
Johann took Tomaso by the hand and quickened his pace. The small, wooden cabin on one corner of the intersection was their destination, it seemed. Covered in vegetation and with trees poking through the roof’s shingles, it showed no signs of being occupied.
Johann pushed aside grass as tall as himself, and upon finding the door to the entrance, opened it without a moment’s hesitation.
Previous chapter
If you enjoyed this translation, please consider buying me a coffee! 😊