“Yes, dead.
I saw the bodies.
Black, in the rooms, in the houses, dead.
Thousands of them.”
“That’s ridiculous. We’re alive!”
“Mister, you’re invaded, only you don’t know it.
You must have escaped.”
“I haven’t escaped; there was nothing to escape.
What do you mean?
I’m on my way to a festival now at the canal, near the Eniall Mountains.
I was there last night.
Don’t you see the city there?”
The Martian pointed.
Tomas looked and saw the ruins.
“Why, that city’s been dead thousands of years.”
The Martian laughed.
“Dead.
I slept there yesterday!”
“And I was in it a week ago and the week before that, and I just drove through it now, and it’s a heap.
See the broken pillars?”
“Broken?
Why, I see them perfectly. The moonlight helps.
And the pillars are upright.”
“There’s dust in the streets,” said Tomas.
“The streets are clean!”
“The canals are empty right there.”
“The canals are full of lavender wine!”
“It’s dead.”
“It’s alive!” protested the Martian, laughing more now.
“Oh, you’re quite wrong.
See all the carnival lights?
There are beautiful boats as slim as women, beautiful women as slim as boats, women the color of sand, women with fire flowers in their hands.
I can see them, small, running in the streets there.
That’s where I’m going now, to the festival; we’ll float on the waters all night long; we’ll sing, we’ll drink, we’ll make love, Can’t you see it?”
“Mister, that city is dead as a dried lizard.
Ask any of our party.
Me, I’m on my way to Green City tonight; that’s the new colony we just raised over near Illinois Highway.
You’re mixed up.
We brought in a million board feet of Oregon lumber and a couple dozen tons of good steel nails and hammered together two of the nicest little villages you ever saw.
Tonight we’re warming one of them.
A couple rockets are coming in from Earth, bringing our wives and girl friends.
There’ll be barn dances and whisky — ”
The Martian was now disquieted.
“You say it is over that way?”
“There are the rockets.”
Tomas walked him to the edge of the hill and pointed down.
“See?”
“No.”
“Damn it, there they are!
Those long silver things.”