Pathway to Japanese Literature

A Splendid Plan Yamagi Ken and Kawai Jirou were counting down the days until summer vacation began. When summer vacation arrived, the two had planned to embark on a car trip around the Grand Canyon. Of course, the two would take turns driving the car. A five-week period had been allocated for the round trip. With this much time allocated, they should have been able to thoroughly enjoy camping life at their longed-for Grand Canyon.

The two were so thrilled about embarking on this grand trip that they had been telling all their neighborhood friends about it well in advance. Not a single one of their friends failed to envy them when they heard about it. And they were earnestly begged to take them along. However, the two continued to refuse. This was because there was a slight issue with the automobile the two were supposed to use. After all, since both were boys living apart from their parents, their allowances couldn’t be considered sufficient. Therefore, since they had saved up money earned by selling newspapers and chopping firewood during their free time from schoolwork to buy an automobile, they couldn’t get anything too impressive. The automobile they had arranged to use was a disused milk delivery truck from a ranch—and moreover, it was such a dreadful relic—its engine had stopped working and it had been left abandoned for a full year—that loading it with camping gear and food would already stretch their capacity to the limit.

However, they had not informed their friends that the automobile for this grand trip was such a dreadful vehicle, instead boasting that it was an enormous vehicle—a splendid thing where one could sleep, cook, and do everything from A to Z inside. As a result, they found themselves being pestered with pleas of “Take me too!” from all sides.

Among those friends, there were two who pleaded with particular persistence. One was a Chinese boy named Zhang, and the other was a Black boy named Ned. Yamagi and Kawai would have liked to take Zhang and Ned along, but considering the rickety state of their automobile, they had no choice but to steel their hearts and refuse. Even so, Zhang and Ned refused to give up and continued pestering Yamagi and Kawai in the schoolyard nearly every day.

One day, Ned followed Yamagi and Kawai when they went to the ranch’s auto shed for repairs and persistently pleaded to be taken along. They thought it would be disastrous if someone saw their jalopy and had to go to great pains to send Ned back midway down the road. “Yamagi and Kawai!” Ned stared at the two with uncharacteristic formality. “What is it, Ned?” The two stood blocking the middle of the road and glared at Ned’s stern face.

“Well, you see, Zhang’s really worried about something,” Ned said. “When you two set off on that car trip of yours, he says you’ll end up saddled with real trouble before two days pass.” “Hmph, quit trying to scare us,” they retorted. “It’s no trick!” Ned insisted. “Zhang prayed over that crystal ball his ancestors left him to check your journey’s safety. And just like I told you—he saw something bad happening within two days. That’s not all! He says the further you go, the more hardships’ll pile up until you won’t even know when you’ll make it back to this village!”

Yamagi and Kawai had long known that Zhang performed divinations with his crystal ball, so when told this, they grew anxious about their prospects, their faces clouding over. Seeing this, Ned seized the moment and pressed his advantage.

“Look. Since it’s an unpleasant matter, you should take Zhang and me along as a precaution, right? Then Zhang can tell fortunes with his crystal ball along the way and predict what dangers lie ahead. If you know that, you can avoid disaster, right?” “No way, even if you make it sound good… And first of all, even if we agree to take Zhang along, that doesn’t mean we have to take you too, does it?”

“I’m absolutely essential! When Zhang does his fortune-telling, if I don’t assist him, Buddha-sama won’t possess him!” “No way, no way! We’re not taking either of you no matter what! You’re just wasting your breath!” “...” “Guess you’ll have to wait until next time then.”

“So you really won’t take us this time after all, huh?” “That’s right. Make sure to tell Zhang properly too.” “...Then I won’t ask anymore.” Ned walked back along the country road toward the village, looking utterly dejected. Yamagi and Kawai, watching him go, weren’t feeling very good about it either. But given how much they had boasted up to this point, they couldn’t very well come clean now about the rattling old car.

Jovial Departure Ceremony

With their grand car trip departure scheduled for tomorrow, Yamagi and Kawai were on the verge of tears. This was because the car repairs weren’t making any progress. No—rather than progressing, the more they worked on repairs, the more things went wrong elsewhere; every time they fixed one spot, several others would start rattling. In this state, they couldn’t tell whether they were fixing the car or breaking it.

“This is a problem. At this rate, we won’t make it in time for tomorrow’s departure.”

Yamagi finally became pessimistic and threw down the spanner. "But if we don't depart tomorrow no matter what, the schedule will get messed up." "Moreover, since our friends are making such a big fuss about it, if our departure gets delayed, we'll have to endure terrible criticism again."

“I know that, but with things in this state…” “We shouldn’t have bought this car—we should’ve found a better one.” “It can’t be helped. Come on, cheer up—we’ve got to get these repairs done no matter what. We’ll have to work through the night.” “Yeah.”

Encouraged by Kawai, Yamagi took up the spanner again.

Truly, that night was spent on repairs. The two became covered in grease and welcomed dawn without a wink of sleep. However, the repairs still hadn't been completed. They had to fix the fender and replace the igniter. On top of that, they had planned to repaint the car body. The two hurried the work without even eating breakfast. Unaware of the two's feelings, their noisy group of friends had been gathering since early morning to see them off on this grand car trip and were making a huge commotion.

“They said they’d come through this crossroads, but they still haven’t shown up, have they?”

“There’s still one hour and nineteen minutes left. The departure is exactly at nine o’clock.” “If there’s that much time, wouldn’t it be more fun to go to their house?”

“Yeah, that’s a good plan.”

The whole group gathered together and trooped around to the back of the laundry shop where Yamagi and Kawai lived.

However, they soon discovered that the two weren’t there. And chattering noisily, they streamed toward the dilapidated hut on the ranch. Yamagi and Kawai were caught off guard. They pressed tightly against the hut’s door from inside, determined not to let anyone enter. “Show us already! We went through all this trouble coming to see you off...” “No way! Once departure time comes, we’ll throw open this door properly and make our grand exit.”

“Hmm, you’re really stringing this out. You’re sure about that departure time being exact, right?”

“It’s absolutely precise. It’s nine o’clock sharp.”

“Alright, everyone. It won’t be much longer now. Let’s wait.” Inside, the relieved sighs of the two could be heard. By then, they had finally fixed the fender, and the ignition seemed to be working properly. All that remained was repainting the car body. “Hey, these were still left. The headlights aren’t attached.” “Oh! You’re right.” The car just wouldn’t look right without headlights. Putting off painting the car body for later, the two set about attaching the unusually heavy headlights.

“Hey. “Hey, hey! It’s time!” “Can we open the door now?” “Not yet, not yet! Wait, wait!” “Just wait a little longer!” “You must be building some coronation car or something.” “Don’t show off some amazing car and make us all jealous!”

“We know, we know.” When the headlights were finally attached, only five minutes remained until departure time. “There’s no time for painting!” “This is terrible. We can’t go out looking like this.” “The whole side of the boxcar’s covered with those cow drawings.”

“But we can’t let the departure time get thrown off.” “This is a problem...” From outside came banging on the hut’s door. The sound grew increasingly violent—it seemed the door would break any moment now. “It can’t be helped.” “Let’s just go with this.”

“Huh, you’re really going through with that?” “Then we’ll need guts! Come on—quick, gather the repair tools and load them into the car!”

Finally, the long-awaited hut door was thrown open on both sides. The group of about twenty friends who had gathered in front let out a cheer in unison. The car emerged from inside the hut with a clattering noise. Kawai gripped the steering wheel, while Yamagi, in the seat next to him, desperately worked his charm and waved his hat in greeting.

“What’s this? Isn’t this the milk delivery truck that was broken down and left by the roadside until just the other day?”

“Whoa, that’s something. “You’re going to the Grand Canyon with such a big cow drawing on it?” “You’ll get barked at by every dog in sight, I tell ya!” “What a coronation chariot you’ve got here!” Yamagi and Kawai had turned as red as boiled crabs, barely enduring their embarrassment. This was what they meant by wanting to crawl into a hole if one existed. The farewell crowd of well-wishers and mischief-makers, having finished raising their raucous shouts and jeers, now gathered around the car and, with hands full of parting gifts, presented them to Yamagi and Kawai.

The two, their cheeks soaked with tears of gratitude, received more gifts than they could carry. “Hey, it’s time! Let’s go, come on!”

Urged on by the send-off group, the car finally began its departure. The road was bumpy, and when the car entered it, the vehicle let out an eerie screech. And since the vehicle was being shaken back and forth and side to side, the red-spotted cow with its large eyes glaring and long tongue hanging out while being milked looked as though it might leap right out of the painting at any moment. If the send-off group hadn’t pushed the car from behind for a while, it’s doubtful whether this vehicle could have smoothly completed its departure ceremony.

In any case, the car safely entered the highway's wheel tracks and, swaying the large box it carried on its back back and forth, began making its way toward Arizona. From behind it, their companions' raucous cheers continued unabated, startling the passersby nearby.

Disaster struck.

The village vanished from sight, and the church steeple disappeared into the shadow of the mountains. And the strange car carrying Yamagi and Kawai was running smoothly along the yellow road surface, heading steadily northward. Their feelings had finally settled down.

“Hey, Yamagi,” said Kawai, gripping the steering wheel. “What is it, Kawai?” “All our friends came to see us off earlier, but I don’t think Zhang and Ned were there. Don’t you agree?” “Zhang and Ned… now that you mention it, we didn’t see them around.” “Isn’t that strange? Even Zhang and Ned—who’re such close friends—didn’t come to send us off.” “Yeah, they must’ve gotten mad. We said some pretty harsh things and didn’t listen to what they wanted.”

“Hmm, do you really think they got angry?”

Kawai tilted his head. The two remained silent for a while, but then Yamagi called out to Kawai. “Hey, Kawai, do you think Zhang’s fortune-telling will actually come true?”

“Well, hard to say.” “They come true sometimes and miss other times.” “You remember what Ned said, right?” “Didn’t he say if we prayed to Zhang’s crystal ball for a reading, we’d hit disaster within two days of leaving?” “He said it, but that stuff never pans out.” “Who could make such a dead-on prophecy about two days anyway?”

Kawai trashed Zhang’s fortune-telling. “And then there was another unpleasant thing he said, wasn’t there? What was it again? ‘The further we go on this trip, the more hardships we’ll face, and who knows how many days it’ll take before we can return to the village?’ Didn’t he say that?” “Yeah, they said that to make us anxious. If we got anxious, they probably thought we’d end up taking Zhang and Ned along. Anyway, I don’t believe in fortune-telling or anything like that. That’s ridiculous.”

Yamagi did not seem particularly concerned, but Kawai utterly distrusted Zhang’s fortune-telling. If one tosses a silver coin into the air, when it lands there are only two possibilities—it will come up heads or tails. Thus, if you predict one of those outcomes, you should be right half the time. Kawai dismissed fortune-telling as nothing more than that sort of trickery. That night, the two set up camp for the first time in a roadside grove and drifted into sleep. Though it was an immensely joyful occasion, even after finishing their meal and laying out their bedding, they found themselves unable to doze off. There they built a bonfire to roast corn and unpacked the numerous farewell gifts from their friends, laughing and celebrating all the while.

Among the parting gifts were a few particularly peculiar ones: Tommy had given them a homemade camera clumsily crafted using lenses from his grandfather’s reading glasses, requesting they photograph any Arizona Indians with feathered headdresses if encountered. Many gifts came with specific instructions—Sally provided sewing needles with a note that any leftovers should be used to impale rare butterflies for specimens, while John-kun contributed a door handle along with an audacious plan: pressing it against gangsters’ backs while shouting “Hands up!” to make them surrender, then confiscating their pistols.

Now, the next day arrived, and the two welcomed the second day of their enjoyable car trip. The weather remained clear and cloudless, and it was hot since morning. If they hadn’t been riding in the car, the lack of wind would have made it unbearable.

Around four in the afternoon that day, as the car carrying the two traveled along a rural road by a river, another car behind them began blaring its horn insistently as it gradually caught up. Because the horn blared so relentlessly, Yamagi steered their car to the edge of the road to let the other vehicle pass. If only they could have seen behind them then—but with it being a large boxcar lacking a convex mirror, there was no visibility from the driver’s seat.

However, not long after that, the other car overtook Yamagi and the others' boxcar with tremendous force. When they looked, it was a small two-seater racing car. However, its body was oddly torn and dented in various places, with paint peeling off in patches, making it even more dilapidated than their own vehicle. “Ah! That’s Ned in there! Oh—Zhang’s there too!” “Huh? Ned and Zhang? Hah! They’ve finally overexerted themselves chasing after us from behind. Those hopeless guys.”

They were both surprised and a little delighted. And they called out in a loud voice to Zhang and Ned from behind. Zhang and Ned, whether they couldn’t hear it or not, clung to the car without looking away and sped up. And the exhaust at the rear spewed out smoke relentlessly. “Ah! That’s dangerous! “Even though it’s a winding road, they’re driving straight ahead!” “Ah! They went over the cliff…”

From below the cliff, white smoke billowed up thickly. However, neither Zhang nor Ned climbed back up to the cliff top. The two here, wanting to quickly rescue their companions, fully opened the valves of their rattling car’s engine and hurried toward the scene of the calamity.

At that moment, Yamagi suddenly shouted.

“Ah, so that’s it.” “Zhang’s fortune-telling actually came true.” “The hardships we were supposed to encounter within two days—this is it!” “What a mess we’re in.”

Kawai clicked his tongue.

Troublesome Casualties

The two boys, Yamagi and Kawai, stopped the boxcar at the curve and hurriedly jumped down from the driver’s seat. Then, gasping for breath, they peered down the cliff where the racing car had fallen earlier.

“Oh no, this is terrible!” “They’re both dead!” “Ah! If we leave them like this, both corpses will burn up! Let’s hurry down and put out the fire!” “This has turned into a real mess.”

The area below the cliff was part of a river, but the dry riverbed where lush green grass grew thickly was more than fortunate. The racing car seemed to have tumbled over and over multiple times after falling from the cliff and now lay upside down, nearly plunging into the stream. The two boys who had been riding in it—one lay immediately below the cliff, while the other had been thrown a full ten meters ahead.

Yamagi and Kawai climbed down along the cliff, sliding and scraping their way to the bottom.

“Oh, I knew it. Ned!” Kawai picked up the fallen boy, looked at his face, and shouted. “What? Ned? Poor thing… Is he not breathing anymore?” “Ah, his breath has stopped. He’s already dead… poor thing…” Yamagi and Kawai, unable to bear it any longer, let their tears fall drop by drop onto their black friend’s face. If they had known it would come to this, they regretted that they should have forced Ned and the others into the boxcar or another vehicle and towed them along.

At that moment, Ned's corpse let out a loud sneeze. Ned’s corpse shuddered violently in Yamagi and Kawai’s arms. Yamagi and Kawai, startled, hurled Ned’s corpse away.

“Aaaaaah!” “Have I really died?” “Aaaaaah! That’s just pathetic!” Ned cried out in a strange, trembling voice. And he blinked his eyes rapidly.

Yamagi and Kawai realized what was going on. Ned wasn’t dead. “Ned, wake up! It’s okay, wake up!”

“Will you take me along to the Grand Canyon? If you promise that, I might just come back to life.” Ned attempted a risky negotiation ploy. Yamagi and Kawai burst out laughing. “If you don’t want to revive, you can stay dead here forever.”

“Instead of that, let’s check on Zhang!” “Is Zhang also pretending to be dead?” Yamagi and Kawai ran over to Zhang. Zhang was lying on his back and stretched out.

“Ah, there’s blood.” “This is really serious!” “Hey! Zhang! Stay with us!” “Dragon King Cave Sage, it’d be a waste to die now!”

Ned also came over beside them before they knew it and called out to Zhang. “Ugh…” “It hurts…” The calls from everyone seemed to reach Zhang, for he let out a groan and grimaced. Zhang was not dead. The three boys were relieved and cheered up. When they examined Zhang’s injury, they found his left upper arm was badly torn by something. The wound was distressingly long—staring at it too long threatened to bring on dizziness. Kawai rushed back to the boxcar and brought back the first-aid kit. They hastily applied a bandage to Zhang’s arm to stop the bleeding, but it proved ineffective; the carefully wrapped bandage quickly turned bright red.

“Ugh… it hurts… it hurts…”

Zhang turned pale and complained of the pain. The three made troubled faces. There was no choice but to take him to a proper doctor. The three lifted Zhang up, climbed the cliff, opened the back of the boxcar, and laid Zhang down on the folded awning. They left Ned by his side, and Yamagi and Kawai got back into the driver’s seat and sped down the road at full speed. They had to quickly rush into some town, show Zhang to a proper doctor, and have him treated.

After traveling about four kilometers further, there was a small town with a clinic. They carried Zhang inside and had him treated. From his wound came seven large and small glass fragments. Once these were removed, Zhang felt relieved and stopped wailing as if he were dying. With a collective sense of relief, the three exchanged looks.

“Zhang, what are you going to do? With this injury being so serious, should we go back to the village? If you go back, you and Ned will take the bus home, right?”

Yamagi said that to Zhang.

Zhang did not reply immediately. Zhang plopped down in the clinic corridor, took out the crystal ball he cherished from the bag hanging at his waist, and began consulting it. The old doctor who had treated Zhang, seeing him plopped down in the corridor, thought Zhang had collapsed in shock and hurriedly rushed out from the back. But upon taking in this scene, he made a face as if to say "This feels ominous..." and shook his white-haired head from side to side.

“After all, the oracle says it’s better to continue the trip—” “Yamagi-kun! Kawai-kun!” “I’ll go with you.” Zhang said in a lively voice.

Yamagi and Kawai discussed the matter and decided to take Zhang and Ned to the Grand Canyon. Instead, being allowed to leisurely travel around for five weeks was no longer possible. Since their numbers had doubled, their food supplies would last only half as many days, and having paid the doctor’s fees, their remaining money had grown scarce. At any rate, unless they practiced strict economy going forward, they couldn’t feel assured whether they would actually reach their destination of the Grand Canyon. Unfazed by Yamagi and Kawai’s worries, Ned and Zhang were fooling around with boisterous energy. Those two were utterly mercenary. They had finally secured their Colorado-bound trip.

Economic Conference That night, they pitched the tent on the riverside and camped there.

When morning came, they finally extinguished the still-burning oil by covering it with sand, then attached a rope to the sports car, pulled it up the cliff, and placed it on the road. But this car’s engine wouldn’t start. They had no choice but to tie the rope to the back of the boxcar and set off towing it behind the boxcar itself. The sight of the flattened sports car being towed unsteadily by a rope behind the boxcar adorned with a large cow painting was truly bizarre, provoking uproarious laughter everywhere along the highway.

No matter how much they were laughed at, the four boys on the vehicle did not laugh. There were various things weighing on them, and they lacked the energy to laugh.

Apparently, the car Zhang and Ned had arrived in was borrowed from the Laundry Club, but its brakes seemed to be acting up—from the very moment they’d set out, there had been one dangerous situation after another. Ned’s brother-in-law was a member of that Laundry Club, which was how they’d managed to borrow it through his connections. Yet now that the car had been flattened into such a state, even Ned—normally such an optimist—peered out from behind the boxcar and sighed in despair, wondering how they could possibly apologize when returning it.

Even so， day by day，the journey progressed smoothly，gradually drawing closer to Arizona. That said，they had only just passed the halfway point.

Around that time, the stored food supplies had decreased to a disappointing degree. If things continued this way, they realized the four boys were in danger of starving to death in the Grand Canyon. Kawai, the food manager, widened his eyes like plates and consulted the group about how to handle this matter. “It’s all because Ned and I forced our way into joining you.” “Since the cause lies with us, let’s try to figure something out ourselves.”

Zhang said unapologetically. The sight was too pitiful, so Yamagi spoke up. “Hey, Zhang. Why don’t we ask your dear crystal ball to arrange a couple of cans of food for us?” “Don’t be ridiculous! The dear crystal ball doesn’t have such convenient power.”

Because Zhang had spoken honestly, everyone laughed in unison.

Then Ned said. “In that case, how about selling the crystal ball to someone and using that money to buy canned food?” “Y-you idiot!”

Zhang glared angrily at Ned, but the moment he tensed up, his wound began to throb. He gritted his teeth alone amidst the laughter of the three. “But if we don’t somehow get food, this trip can’t continue any longer.” “In other words, we have to decide whether to turn back here or somehow get food and continue the trip.”

A crucial economic conference was convened.

“I refuse to stop this trip! I won’t turn back until I see the Grand Canyon.”

Ned said whatever he wanted.

“So how do we handle the food problem?” “Why don’t we earn some money and get food? As long as we can get vegetables or canned food or whatever, it’d be fine……” “Ned, wait a second. You keep saying ‘earn, earn,’ but how are we supposed to earn anything? If we were in Glutton Village, there are people who know us, so they might let us work, but in a place like this on our journey, where everyone’s a stranger, who would give us work?” Kawai continued to lay out his pessimistic arguments.

“Nuh-uh, you’re wrong.” “We can do it if we try.” “In other words, there’s a special way to earn money in places like this. If you leave it to me, I’ll show you I can earn properly starting tomorrow.” “Huh, color me surprised.” “Is that really true?” “You bet it is!” “But if we have to work from morning till night every day just to earn money, who knows when we’ll ever reach the Grand Canyon.”

Yamagi cautioned.

“It’s fine. Two or three hours each evening should be enough. It’ll definitely make money!” Ned’s face gradually grew more confident.

“Ned. What exactly are you going to do?” “Well, I’ll keep that under wraps until tomorrow. But we’ll need a bit of stage setup.” “Huh? What did you say? Something about a stage?” “Ah, right. We can probably use the cloth and tools inside this boxcar. I’ll show you Zhang and I can make a good profit together. So lend me this boxcar for two or three hours each evening.”

“I wonder if it’ll be okay. We won’t fall off a cliff again like last time, will we? If that happens, the four of us will be bankrupt. We won’t even be able to return to the village.” “Oh well—just watch my skills!”

Ned was basking in self-satisfaction alone.

Peephole Yamagi and Kawai discussed how Ned intended to earn money, but they couldn’t figure it out. From morning until afternoon the following day, Ned and Zhang remained inside the moving boxcar, hardly ever coming out, seemingly engrossed in some kind of work.

Eventually, the promised four o'clock in the afternoon arrived. Ned knocked on the panel behind the driver's seat from inside the box and signaled to stop the car.

The car stopped.

Ned came out of the box. “I need to do a bit of construction work, so give me a hand.” Just as they were wondering where he would do the construction work, Ned placed a box beside the car, climbed onto it, and used a handball to bore a circular hole beneath the belly of the cow painting. After that, he struck the center with a hammer, and a window gaped open. “What are you doing, Ned?” Kawai was surprised and asked. “Alright, this time we’re going to build my seat up high!”

Ned had Yamagi and Kawai help him attach a perch resembling a monkey's seat sideways onto the rear part of the boxcar. And when they tried mounting it on top, "Step right up, step right up!" he shouted. "What is this, some kind of sideshow? "Ah, so you look inside through this hole here."

Yamagi pressed his eye to the hole and peered inside, but shuddered and jerked his body backward.

“Whoa, this is bad! There’s a weird horned animal inside here! When did it get in here?” “Huh… A weird animal with horns, you say…”

Kawai, startled, took Yamagi’s place and peered through the hole. “Oh, it’s just Zhang laughing.” “That’s not true!” “Come on, come on! We’re putting up this curtain, so everyone climb onto the boxcar’s roof and help out!”

Ned’s voice could be heard above their heads. He was holding a curtain with large characters written on it—though where he’d produced it from was unclear. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be their own tent, but the lettering appeared to be Ned’s handiwork. They stretched the curtain sideways over the boxcar just as Ned directed and stared in disbelief. ～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ “The world-renowned mystic, the Ox-Headed Immortal, has arrived here. Those who wish to know the future, come hither and inquire of the Ox-Headed Immortal. Immediately illuminated by the crystal ball, a clear answer shall be granted. No fees required whatsoever; however, hereafter you shall bring a single food item and present it to the Great Immortal.”

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ What an extravagant advertisement—it’s far too slick for something Ned wrote. Perhaps Ned had remembered an astrologer’s advertisement he’d read somewhere and put out a slightly altered version of it.

“I can’t believe it… You’re making Zhang play the Ox-Headed Immortal and do fortune-telling? So that’s why he was wearing that weird headpiece earlier.” “It explicitly says to bring one food item as an offering.” “Hey hey, quit marveling! We’ve still got work left. We’ll drill a hole under here and fix this bent megaphone—that way people can peer inside and hear Zhang… no, the Ox-Headed Immortal’s voice through this thing.”

Ned enthusiastically issued commands. Yamagi and Kawai were initially taken aback, but somehow finding it amusing, the two of them worked together to drill a hole at the udder of the painted cow and attached a curved horn (likely an old radio receiver horn—where on earth did they find such a thing?) there.

“Alright, that’s enough. Now you’ll drive all around that town over there and come back here.”

Ned shouted from atop the monkey-like perch. When Yamagi and Kawai looked up in that direction, Ned—who had somehow changed his outfit without them noticing—now had a red turban wrapped around his head and wore a long, draping curtain-like garment that trailed behind him, wearing an oddly composed expression. But as Yamagi and the others kept staring at him for so long, he grew embarrassed and finally burst out laughing. “Alright, quit dawdling! Get that Mystical Boxcar moving, get it moving as soon as possible!”

“Hey, you okay?”

Yamagi and Kawai jumped into the driver’s seat, promptly started the engine, and set the car in motion. The ones who were surprised were the people of Erisu Town. Whether it had fallen from the heavens or sprung from the earth, a bizarre boxcar came clattering into town, and an attendant—whose jet-black face made it impossible to tell if they were a child or an elderly person—proclaimed the Ox-Headed Immortal’s fortune-telling from atop a high perch, causing everyone to stare wide-eyed in astonishment. From Ned and his group’s perspective, this was a hundred percent effective advertisement.

Therefore, when this boxcar returned to the field on the outskirts of town, the town’s idlers trailed along behind it in a straggling line.

“Hmph, nailed it. “With this, we should be able to gather enough food for tomorrow.” On the monkey-like perch, Ned calculated his prospects and grinned sharply.

At last, the fortune-telling began. The hopefuls lined up in a row and waited for their turn. There were young men and women, and no shortage of elderly people. Inside the box, Zhang endured his wound’s pain while continuing to project his booming voice with full force. “O Ox-Headed Immortal.” “Where’s my hoe been hidin’ since it went missin’ t’other day?” “Return to thy house, enter through the back gate, and search well within thirty paces of that spot.” “Hehehe, much obliged.”

Instead of the young man, an elderly man with bad legs peered in. “I’d like to ask—this year, will my rheumatism affect my left leg or my right leg?” “This winter, it shall begin in your left leg, then shift to your right when thunder roars.” “Hehehe, I’m mighty impressed.” It was a scene of tremendous success. Laughter and groans mingled together, creating a commotion like no other. Both Zhang and Ned were drenched in sweat. Both Yamagi and Kawai were flushed and overheated, their faces bright red.

At that moment, a splendid automobile came speeding from the opposite direction and screeched to an abrupt halt, from which emerged an elderly gentleman. Judging by his attire and demeanor, he appeared to be a man of considerable learning. This was only natural—for this man was none other than Dr. Denny, president of the Mars Exploration Society. Then Dr. Denny strode briskly toward the crowd for reasons unknown.

The Doctor's Legend Dr. Denny wore a weary expression visible through his beard and whiskers. He hunched his tall, stooped frame, supporting his gait with a cane clutched in his right hand. This was the figure of Dr. Denny, the renowned president of the Mars Exploration Society. "Oh! That's Dr. Denny, the Mars Society president! Why would he come to a place like this?" A middle-aged townsman who had been observing the gaudily decorated boxcar housing the Ox-Headed Immortal from a distance raised his eyebrows and remarked.

Beside him stood Yamagi and Kawai. And they took notice of these words.

“What’s this ‘Mars Society president’? What does ‘Mars Society president’ mean?”

The man was named Jigsu, a master cobbler living in Erisu Town, who prided himself on knowing everything about such matters. “Don’t you know the Mars Society president? To be precise, the president of the Mars Exploration Society. Back when that feeble old man was as young as me—yes, thirty years ago now—that doctor has been obsessed with Mars, doing nothing but stoking his passion for Martian exploration.”

Jigsu, who had claimed to be "as young as me," was not actually that young and had gone bald at the crown of his head.

“Oh, really? So how many times has Dr. Denny been to Mars?”

Yamagi asked with a serious face. “Don’t be ridiculous—even a child should know…” Jigsu said with exasperation. “That feeble old doctor goes without saying, but there isn’t a single person on Earth, no matter how great, who’s ever traveled to Mars. Mars is even farther away than the Moon, you know. And there isn’t even a single person who’s been to the Moon!”

“I see, that’s how it was,” Yamagi said.

Yamagi scratched his head. Then Kawai took over and asked Jigsu.

“So, is Dr. Denny still working as the president of the Mars Exploration Society?” “He’s still at it, stubborn as ever,” Jigsu said, studying Kawai’s face. “Thirty years ago now, he built a tower in the neighboring village’s forest, turned it into a laboratory, and kept peering into the heavens.” "The tower had a round roof, and when they turned the machinery inside, a crack would form from which a huge telescope would slide right out." “However, that laboratory is now empty, you know.”

“Huh? What happened?”

“They moved out. Word has it their new place is somewhere in Arizona.” “Anyway, we’re lucky they moved out. Having some Mars-obsessed lunatic hanging around the neighborhood would’ve been nothing but trouble for the village.”

Jigsu shrugged his shoulders.

“Why did they move?”

“Well, you see, here’s the thing.” “In other words, Arizona has higher ground than here, so it’s that much closer to Mars—convenient, see?”

“Hahaha!”

“Who’s laughing? It’s the truth! After thirty years of use, that tower had gotten so old it was rattling like the Ox-Headed Immortal’s car. That’s why they built a new one in Arizona.”

“Do they really have that much money, to go rebuilding towers like that…” “That they do.” “Mars expeditions are such an unusual line of work, you know.” “Strangely enough, there are people who’ll put up money for that kind of unusual work, you know.”

“Is it true that Dr. Denny really intends to set out on a Mars expedition?”

“It seems he intends to go.” “But being that decrepit, he’ll likely kick the bucket before ever reaching Mars.” “After all, getting to Mars takes ten, twenty years minimum, y'know.”

“That’s probably right. So, what exactly is he going to ride there?” “That’s the part I don’t understand at all. So there are some who say Dr. Denny’s Mars expedition is just an act—that he’ll die before ever going, and the Society will disband—but I don’t think so.” “I think Dr. Denny has something well thought out—he’s probably prepared a secret vehicle while keeping it under wraps.” “The reason he doesn’t reveal it to everyone is because, after all, it’s a vehicle meant to reach Mars—I think he’s keeping it hidden so the secret doesn’t get out.”

“Mister, you’re quite the fan of the doctor, aren’t you?”

“A fan of the doctor?” “It’s not like that, but when you’ve been seeing that old man’s face with these two eyes for over thirty years, even if I badmouth him all day long, a bit of human warmth still sticks around here.” “And these past few years, watching more folks make those childish attacks against Dr. Denny—it gets even me boiling mad.” “If I had the power, I’d give the doc all my strength and launch him straight into a proper Mars expedition! But face it—he’s so shaky now, you could push him all day and it’d still go nowhere.”

Judging from such aspects, Jigsu seemed quite like one of Dr. Denny’s sympathizers.

“Oh! Dr. Denny’s consulting Zhang—no, the Ox-Headed Immortal—about something.”

Just then, Yamagi exclaimed in surprise.

That was exactly right. Dr. Denny pressed his face tightly against the boxcar’s peephole, appearing thoroughly engrossed in rapid-fire exchanges with the Ox-Headed Immortal. Each time Zhang’s raspy, affected voice emerged from the trumpet as garbled words, the gathered townspeople around them burst into roaring laughter. Only the doctor grew more absorbed, his bushy bearded face nearly pushing through the boxcar’s opening.

What a disaster.

Eventually, Dr. Denny pulled his face away from the boxcar.

Once again, laughter erupted from all around.

“Dr., didn’t you get told ‘You’ll be chased by coffee and suffer terrible burns’? Hahaha!”

“Hahaha.” “Moreover, weren’t you told that in your future, ‘even if you search to the ends of this world, you won’t be able to have a single bed, and not even a grave to bury your body will be prepared for you in this world’?” “Oh dear, how tragic!” “Hahaha!” “And on top of that, you’ve been told ‘You’ll have to stand for five thousand years with your heart frozen solid,’” “and ‘you can’t sit down even once,’ weren’t you told?” “How tragic!” “Ha ha ha ha!”

The origin of the laughter appeared to stem from an oracle given by the Ox-Headed Immortal to Dr. Denny. Then Dr. Denny had been told he would be chased by coffee, possess neither bed nor grave, and stand sentry for five thousand years. Dr. Denny emerged as though parting the gathered crowd. Both Yamagi and Kawai could see Dr. Denny's face clearly. Dr. Denny kept muttering something under his breath.

“Dr. Denny, how’s the Arizona plan coming along?”

Jigsu called out.

“Ah, uh, hmm. Jigsu, is it? The folks around here remain as sharp-tongued as ever.” Dr. Denny did not answer Jigsu’s question and instead let slip words of indignation.

“Sir.”

“Their mouths aren’t kind, but their hearts are in the right place, sir.” “Everyone’s praying you’ll blast off for Mars as soon as possible.” “I don’t share that view...” “Sir! When does your Mars departure happen?” “Is it imminent?”

“I can’t talk about that.” “Please tell me. I’ve got a bet going with my pals, you see.” “What kind of bet? Which side did you wager on?” “Who, me? Well now, I put my money on Dr. Denny departing Earth for Mars by December this year. Seems I’ve landed myself in quite the pickle with that bet.” “Heh heh heh. Not an unreasonable position.” “What’s that? Would you mind repeating that for me, sir?”

“Ah, heh heh heh. You should simply assume all wagers are destined to be lost. Do that, and unforeseen gains will come tumbling your way.”

“Say, sir. “What will you use as your vehicle for the Mars expedition?” “A rocket? Or a shell?”

“Heh heh heh. “An amateur wouldn’t understand.” “Though truthfully, even I haven’t had it clearly decided yet.” “What? You still haven’t decided on the vehicle? Then my bet is clearly lost.” “You shouldn’t be so hasty. “Whether it’s a Mars expedition or anything else, one mustn’t rush.” “You should keep a long temper and wait for good luck to come rolling your way.” “Now, you should keep waiting patiently.” “If you wait patiently, a splendid opportunity will surely come.” “Those who are hasty or half-hearted cannot seize such splendid opportunities.”

“Sir. “Your Mars expedition’s been waiting thirty years for its chance—that’s patience taken too far.” “There’s folks badmouthing you, saying ‘Dr. Denny’s just a swindler waving around impossible Mars plans to rake in cash!’” “Swindler? What vile nonsense—to think such vulgar minds exist!” “Mark my words!” “When fortune’s hour strikes, I shall vanish from this Earth and soar swift into heaven’s expanse…”

“Ah, there he is!” Amid Dr. Denny’s words, a scream came from the side. When they looked in that direction, a boy lay fallen on the ground. The boy was covering his face with both hands. His face and hands were covered in blood. That boy was Yamagi. “Oh, this is a blunder!” “I must have put too much force into it—it seems this cane struck your face.”

Dr. Denny lowered the cane he had raised and turned red in the face.

Kawai and Jigsu immediately rushed over and picked up Yamagi, who lay fallen. And they pressed his nose with a handkerchief. Yamagi had been hit on the nose by the doctor’s cane, resulting in a nosebleed. “Oh, young Japanese lad, I have wronged you.” “Please forgive me.” “It must be dreadfully painful.”

Dr. Denny also held Yamagi as if embracing him and apologized for his own mistake. “It’s fine. I’m alright now.”

Yamagi shook his head. Then another thick stream of nosebleed flowed out and stained his clothes. Around them, townspeople gathered like a dark mountain and started chattering noisily. Dr. Denny grew increasingly flustered. “Hey Jigsu, I’d like to take this boy to the doctor in my car—what do you think?” “No, really—I’m fine now. Please don’t make a fuss.” Yamagi said embarrassedly. Kawai rolled up some paper and plugged Yamagi’s nostrils. After completely wiping away the blood from his face, Yamagi looked lively again.

At that moment, Dr. Denny called Jigsu, took out an old-fashioned knife from his pocket, and handed it to him. “I wish to present this knife to the boy I injured as a token of apology, and I ask that you convey it on my behalf,” said Dr. Denny. And then Dr. Denny, leaving behind the sounds of people’s laughter and jeers, sneaked away furtively and hurried toward the national highway where his car was parked.

Lavish Lunch

The Ox-Headed Immortal fortune-telling act that Zhang and Ned had concocted proved an unexpectedly spectacular success. As evidence, when they left Ellis Town the next morning and headed north along the national highway, their boxcar overflowed with vegetables, fruit, canned goods, and bread. From amidst the provisions, Zhang and Ned kept laughing uncontrollably, their faces contorting like crushed cabbages. With this much food stockpiled, it seemed they wouldn’t need to worry about meals for the entire coming week. Both Zhang and Ned could now dine with their heads held high.

For the time being, that day’s lunch was a splendid one unlike any they’d had recently. Entering a pine grove by the roadside and sitting before a clear stream, the four boys stuffed their stomachs until they were about to burst. And after that came fragrant coffee and rich milk. “If we can make this much money, maybe we shouldn’t go back to school even after summer vacation ends and just travel around the country instead.” Ned, in a very good mood, said while pouring white milk into his black face.

“Nah, I’ll pass.” Zhang objected. “Huh? You’re the one who jumped for joy when we made all this money, and yet…”

“Because wearing that heavy Ox-Headed Immortal headpiece and having to mimic groaning and shouting nonstop for two or three hours is more than I can take.” “But you were happy to do it earlier, weren’t you?” Ned glared at Zhang, refusing to concede.

“Earlier, we were right on the edge of starving to death, so I toughed it out,” “But if I had to keep up that act alone every single day like you want, I’d get sick and die for sure.” “Quit being such a baby,” “Zhang.” “Anyway, we’re making bank—just suck it up and keep going.” “Making money’s fine, but if it’s just me doing all the work, I’m getting screwed over.” “I’d agree if we took turns being the Ox-Headed Immortal every day.”

“Take turns playing the Ox-Headed Immortal every day,” huh? “Huh? You think that’s actually possible?” “But staring at the crystal ball and figuring out how to come up with fortune-telling answers—there’s no way we can do that!” Yamagi interjected.

“Oh come on. If it’s about that fortune-telling business, there’s no need to worry so much.” “It’s something anyone can do.” “I mean, when you stare hard at the crystal ball, you suddenly feel like talking for some reason.” “When that happens, you just babble away.”

Zhang maintained a composed expression. “But that’s the hard part. Even if we stare at the crystal ball, we won’t get inspired as smoothly as you do.”

“It’s not like I always get divine inspiration either, you know.” “Then what do you do when that happens? If you stay quiet, customers’ll get mad!” “When that happens, just spout whatever nonsense comes to mind. Then they’ll twist it to fit whatever they wanna hear and leave happy. There’s not one customer who ever gets angry at fortune-telling answers.”

Zhang spoke in a tone brimming with confidence. "I can't believe this." "Then that's just a fake fortune-telling scam, isn't it?" Yamagi protested. "No, it's different. We may be spouting nonsense, but the customers interpret it however suits them through their own words and leave clutching their answers." "When you see them bringing in all those canned goods and vegetables like that, it means every prophecy's hitting the mark, you know." "So you see, even though what we say is just made-up nonsense, the customers still find something that resonates with them." "And through those words, they dispel their doubts and happily advance in a single direction." "So isn't that perfectly fine?" "There's nothing wrong with making a profit either."

Zhang the Immortal spouted his unique philosophy. To this, Yamagi found himself momentarily speechless.

“Well then, Zhang. That prophecy you gave earlier to Dr. Denny, the president of the Mars Exploration Society—was that the real deal, or was it just more of your made-up nonsense?”

It was Kawai, who had been silently sipping hot coffee until now, that posed this question.

“Ha ha ha ha, that one?” "You mean that bearded doctor, right?" “That’s the same kind of fortune-telling I had Ned deliver before we departed—you don’t even need a crystal ball to figure it out.”

Zhang continued to giggle softly. “Hmm… So that ‘Within two days, we’ll end up shouldering some trouble’ thing.” “That’s terrible!”

Kawai glared at Zhang. But recalling that incident, he found it so absurd that he burst out laughing.

“Ha ha ha ha, don’t be so angry. Anyway, that one didn’t require any divination—it just slipped smoothly out of my mouth without even consulting the crystal ball-sama. In such cases, they mysteriously tend to come true.” “Of course they come true. I already knew it would catch up within two days. You’re absolutely terrible.” “Hey, Zhang-kun. So what does that prophecy you gave Dr. Denny actually amount to? Did you know Dr. Denny’s future would turn out like this all along and spoke that way on purpose?”

This time, Yamagi asked. “Not quite,” “At first, I didn’t know that person was the president of the Mars Exploration Society.” “So there’s no way I could’ve known anything.” “But when Dr. Denny stuck his face out of the hole, all those answers were written right there on his face.” “All I did was read them and recite them in order.” “You’re lying!” “How could such things be written on Dr. Denny’s face?” “Just think about it!” “When it comes to Dr. Denny’s face, it’s so covered in beard that there’s less than a third of the space available compared to a normal person!” “If you wrote even five characters, there’d be no room left to write anything!”

When Yamagi said that, Kawai and Ned burst out laughing. They had probably recalled Dr. Denny’s endearingly bearded face. “Who cares about that anymore?”

With that, Zhang set down the empty can he’d been using as a coffee cup and flopped onto his back.

“But, Zhang.” “That’s a sin, you know.” “Dr. Denny probably still believes your prophecy is real and is greatly troubled by it, I imagine.” “Isn’t that pitiful?”

Yamagi said sympathetically. That was right—Dr. Denny, president of the Mars Exploration Society, had been deeply troubled of late. Having lost confidence in his own judgment, which he had previously trusted completely, he must have come rushing over upon hearing about the Ox-Headed Immortal’s crystal ball fortune-telling. So Dr. Denny was likely truly believing what Zhang had said by now. Surely that was the case. Then it would probably exert some significant influence on Dr. Denny’s Mars expedition plan going forward. This had turned into a disaster.

Red Triangle Research Group

The story now shifted at this point, and it became necessary to document what was called the Red Triangle Research Group.

The Red Triangle Research Group had a strange name. This was because its members wore red triangular emblems on the shoulders of their lab coats, hence the designation. Though the organization possessed a proper official name, since all locals customarily called them the Red Triangle Research Group, they would be recorded as such in this account for the time being.

Now, this Red Triangle Research Group was composed of energetic young men, and its headquarters lay in Arizona’s wasteland. From there stretched a distant view of the Grand Canyon’s peculiar landscape. The term “wasteland” meant desolate land—a place abundant with sand, pebbles, and assorted rocks where attempts at farming proved futile. Consequently few people lived there; weeds grew thickly while birds and beasts reigned as primary residents. The Red Triangle Research Group had established its headquarters in such terrain, yet outsiders found its building’s location undetectable. This was because their true facility lay deep underground, invisible from above. Only its access point took form as a small tower.

Though called a tower, it had only three floors, each with rooms roughly five meters square. The rooftop served as an observatory, where a flag bearing the familiar red triangle fluttered from a pillar. Amidst the undulating plain overgrown with weeds as far as the eye could see, the presence of this small tower with its fluttering flag made the surrounding landscape appear increasingly uncanny. Members of the Red Triangle Research Group would, for some reason, typically don what looked like gas masks and dash about this wasteland—conducting surveys, emitting smoke, then suddenly flying small aircraft, or at times lining up several cars that advanced while digging into the soil like agricultural tractors and racing them.

What on earth could the Red Triangle Research Group have been doing all this for?

Now around this time, the Red Triangle Research Group began another strange endeavor. They built cages of various sizes across different sections of that wasteland. And they placed various animals inside them. Not only horses, cows and sheep—there were net-covered cages holding birds like chickens and ducks alongside unsettling reptiles such as snakes, crocodiles and lizards. Anyone jumping to conclusions might have thought: “Ah! They’re building a zoo here.” But that wasn’t actually true. The quickest way to confirm this was to listen to the Research Group members clustered around the cages.

“How far along is it?” “Once we complete one more cage, that’ll finish everything.” “That’ll make all forty cages accounted for.”

“What kind of cage is the remaining one for?”

“Cage Number Nineteen.” “It’s a cage for chimpanzees (great apes).”

“Ah, so that’s it.” “Hey now—is the R Gas prepared?” “We’ve overprepared it—they’re all bored out of their minds. They’re saying we should start a baseball game this afternoon or something.” “Heh heh heh, you’ve managed things quite efficiently.” “Of course the R Gas tests are finished too, I take it?” “It’s definitely safe! In fact, they’re even saying we should envelop just the baseball field in R Gas and play a game inside it.” “No good—we mustn’t release the R Gas.” “The R Gas release is scheduled to begin today at 3:00 PM, so strictly adhere to the timetable.” “Because if we don’t, unforeseen incidents could occur, and we’d be held responsible.”

“But we’re all wearing masks, so it’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Ah, we’re fine, but there might still be villagers who haven’t evacuated yet.” “But we’ve repeatedly warned them through broadcasts—‘This area will conduct gas experiments and is prohibited from entry due to danger from today’s noon until tomorrow’s noon.’ We’ve given constant reminders.” “So there’s no one loitering around here anymore.” “But we must take every possible precaution.” “In any case, the R Gas release time is 3:00 PM.” “We won’t release it any earlier than that, so proceed accordingly…”

According to this conversation, it appeared R Gas would be dispersed across this entire area after 3:00 PM that day. As for R Gas—which had been mentioned in an academic journal—it was originally nonexistent on Earth; its manufacture here began for research purposes after astronomers first reported the existence of this so-called R Gas on Mars. What effects would R Gas have on Earth’s organisms? It was precisely this that the Red Triangle Research Group had now begun investigating. This time they limited their experiments to general animals and did not conduct them on humans. This was because they still did not understand how dangerous it would be to perform such tests on humans. Once these animal experiments concluded, they planned to make all necessary preparations next time and use humans as test subjects. According to results from indoor research conducted thus far, creatures like guinea pigs were said to suffer severe effects—contorting their faces and writhing in agony. They reportedly died within an hour. The gas had been made exceptionally heavy that day, with strict instructions to prevent it from spreading beyond the test area.

And so time continued to pass until at last it became 3:00 PM. By then, it had been thoroughly confirmed that there were no humans within this vast test area. The only ones present were masked members and the animals inside forty cages. The members had important tasks for that day once **the** R GAS was released—studying **the** animals’ behavior**,** as well as operating generators**,** starting engines**,** and activating pumps within **the** R GAS—and all **members** were **to participate** in these duties today.

“We’ll be releasing the R Gas soon, but keep a close watch on the highway,” said the senior researcher. “When a car comes, stop it immediately and redirect them to another route.” “Understood,” replied the junior member. Thick clouds of R Gas soon billowed from tanks loaded onto fifteen vehicles. The heavy yellow-tinged vapor spread silently across the grassland like a creeping tide. It enveloped the cages, swallowed the hill—then suddenly, from behind that very hill emerged a swaying milk delivery truck. Adorned with a picture of a milked cow and bold characters proclaiming “Ox-Headed Immortal,” this could only be the dilapidated vehicle carrying Yamagi, Kawai, Zhang, and Ned. Why had their car appeared now of all times? Oblivious to the danger, it plunged deeper into the yellow-hued gas cloud hanging like a shroud. Disaster had struck.

Gas poisoning. The fact that the radio receiver in the four boys' automobile was not functioning had been the cause of this mishap. If they had listened to the radio and heeded warnings, such a mistake would never have occurred. They had loaded one radio receiver aboard, but having repurposed it for use in the Ox-Headed Immortal's fortune-telling act, it was now rendered incapable of receiving broadcasts.

Moreover, when the four boys' automobile had finally reached a point where they could see the Grand Canyon in the distance around this area yesterday evening, they became overjoyed and drove their vehicle into this trackless wilderness. Then they found a large cave halfway up the hill, drove their car inside it, and spent the night there. They woke to that morning but could not depart immediately. That was because the engine was acting up. After all, it was an old dilapidated car; fixing the engine wasn’t going to be straightforward. The repairs took a great deal of effort, and their departure ended up being at 3:00 PM.

During this time, even the members of the Red Triangle Research Group had not entered this cave for inspection. No matter how curious they were, they never imagined that anyone would be hiding in such a deep place. The boys' car cruised leisurely through the yellow-tinged cloud of R Gas. With so many stones scattered about, the vehicle simply couldn't move quickly. It took about fifteen minutes for the research group members to find this milk delivery truck. Bill Merton, the member who discovered it, was shocked. He immediately notified headquarters, ordered five colleagues present at the scene to halt their work, loaded everyone into a car, and sped toward the location of that milk delivery truck.

When this car arrived at the scene, the milk delivery truck had driven its wheels onto a rock and was tilted to the left, remaining stationary. The truck stayed motionless like this, but the humans showed no such stillness. The four boys—Yamagi, Kawai, Zhang, and Ned—were tumbling and rolling across the rocky wasteland scattered with boulders, laughing uncontrollably with “Ha ha ha” and “Hee hee hee” as they thrashed about. What on earth could possibly be so funny?

Having arrived by car and gotten out, Bill Merton and the six members gazed at the four boys laughing and rolling across the weeds and rocks, then all stiffened their expressions and froze in place. After a moment, Merton shouted.

“Oh, this was a major oversight.” “These people have inhaled the dangerous R Gas.” “And as you can see, they’re suffering.” “They’re not suffering.” “They’re rolling around laughing like they can’t help finding everything hilarious.”

“No, that’s wrong.” “They aren’t laughing because they find it funny.” “They’re laughing even though there’s nothing funny.” “It’s R Gas poisoning—this violent laughing fit is…” “Let’s get these people into our car and take them to the hospital.” “If we don’t hurry, these good and unfortunate people will laugh themselves to exhaustion and die.” “Come on, lend me a hand!” “Alright.” “Then let’s hurry!” “Oh, these are children.” “They’re Asian.”

Thus, Yamagi and the others were carried away from the scene by Merton and his team. Even in the vehicle, Yamagi and the others writhed in laughter with gasps and wheezes, and Merton and his team’s efforts to restrain them—trying to prevent them from doing so—were nothing short of Herculean.

The four boys were temporarily housed in the infirmary located in the headquarters' basement, but the medical staff present there, upon seeing the four boys' condition,

“This is quite a serious condition.” “If we leave them here, we won’t be able to provide proper treatment, and they may fall into a critical condition.” “We absolutely must send them to Dr. Sumner’s main hospital building. Otherwise, we can’t rest assured.” Having said that, they made it clear that sufficient treatment could not be provided here. Thereupon, Merton and his team loaded the four boys, who were still laughing hysterically, back into the car and moved them to Dr. Sumner’s main hospital building.

The main hospital building was located approximately twenty-five kilometers to the northwest, on a hill with an excellent view overlooking the Grand Canyon. It formed a single gigantic tower. Moreover, the tower leaned considerably to the west, tilted not quite ten degrees but perhaps eight or nine. It looked exactly like a dud torpedo that had been driven straight into the ground without detonating. And small round windows were dotted here and there, but considering the tower’s overall size, these windows were extremely small, somewhat reminiscent of an eight-eyed eel’s eyes.

The top of the tower had a shape resembling an observatory’s dome, like a hemisphere placed atop it. Outside this, there were a boom suitable for hoisting flags and about three ultra-shortwave antennas, making the tower appear as if it had pinned a decorative hairpin into its structure. Merton and his group’s car vanished as though being swallowed into the tower. At that moment, the vehicle looked minuscule compared to the structure—like a bean rolling toward a crimson pillar. The tower stood immensely gigantic, its entire form painted bright red and leaning atop the hill in a manner both awe-inspiring and sinister. People said those unfamiliar with the area couldn’t bear to look at this tilted colossus for long.

What was this tower? It was known that there existed a hospital where Dr. Sumner worked, but this was not merely a hospital. The members called it the "main building," but simply calling it the main building failed to convey its true nature.

Now then, let us proceed to describe those details.

Gigantic Leaning Tower

At a dangerous moment, the four boys had preserved their lives. Had they been left in that dense R Gas for another two or three hours, they would have died. Dr. Sumner, being well-acquainted with this gas, skillfully treated the four boys. Even so, six full hours passed from when the boys were admitted there until their laughter subsided. The laughter had subsided, but the four boys’ health did not return to normal. They still suffered frequent convulsions. Though they no longer laughed aloud, when convulsions struck, their faces contorted and limbs twitched violently—leaving them unable to walk and confined to their beds.

Two weeks later, on a certain day, Dr. Sumner conducted his morning examination of the four boys in far greater detail than usual. After that, he said the following: “Based on today’s examination, I believe you have largely recovered from the poisoning.” “Starting today, you’re free to walk anywhere you like.” “However, even though you’re free to walk anywhere, you’re still not permitted to leave the main building.” “The reason is that since the effects of that gas are still not fully understood, there’s no telling when you might experience symptoms like before or fall into critical condition again.” “So if you just stay in this main building, then in an emergency, I can rush over immediately and provide treatment. That’s why I must ask you to remain here in the main building.” “Fortunately, the Grand Canyon—your original destination—can be seen as clearly as if you could reach out and grasp it from the main building’s rooftop. So for the time being, I must ask you to endure staying here in this main building.”

Dr. Sumner explained matters to the boys in a way that was thoroughly comprehensible, so they all understood perfectly well. And they consented to live within this building until Dr. Sumner should say they might depart.

From that day on, the four boys began timidly venturing out of the hospital room. And they walked through long corridors and winding staircases, entered recreation rooms and cafeterias, peeked into bustling laboratories hard at work, blinked their eyes in the engine room far below, with many instances of them being startled or delighted by various things. What delighted the four boys most of all was viewing the Grand Canyon—a landscape of supreme beauty—from atop the tower. They say it’s like a painting, but this was a landscape even more splendid than that. And within a single day, the Grand Canyon revealed many different faces. The crisp morning scene; the blazing midday vista where rocks seemed to burn with masculine intensity; the evening view where slanting sunlight cast sharp shadows across massive boulders as the sky purpled into dusk—each time they looked, the beauty transformed. The four boys, wordlessly overwhelmed by the Grand Canyon's beauty, stood motionless atop the tower, unaware of the passage of time.

A week passed like a dream. Eventually, the four boys began to grow bored with life inside the main building. They tentatively asked Dr. Sumner about it, but he didn’t seem likely to let them out anytime soon. It was a troubling situation. When they said they wanted to go home because there weren’t many days left of summer vacation, Dr. Sumner answered that he had already notified the school, so they could stay there until they were fully recovered. There was nothing they could do about it now.

One day, Ned returned to his friends with his face lit up. He had discovered that the milk delivery truck the four boys had arrived in had been properly stored in a certain room of this main building.

“Nice find!” “Let’s go check it out right away!” “We’d completely forgotten about that.”

The four boys, suddenly perking up, had Ned lead the way and went to check out the room. That place was one of the warehouses located on the seventh basement floor. Besides their car, there were also passenger cars and trucks stored there. The boys only glanced briefly in that direction before climbing onto their familiar boxcar and entering it, where many pickled jars still remained. While playing around their own rundown car like this, they strangely didn’t get bored. So they agreed to spend a certain number of hours each day playing there. However, since telling the nurses about it might get them scolded, they decided to keep their playing there a secret.

Such things would become the cause of the next major incident—a fact of which the four boys remained blissfully unaware.

Basement window

Whenever the four boys gathered in this seventh basement warehouse, it was their custom to discuss what would become of themselves going forward and ponder what this giant tower might be.

The mystery ran deep. Even though they debated it nearly every day, the mystery remained unsolved. Yamagi teased Zhang. “In that case, there’s no choice but to reverently heed the Ox-Headed Immortal’s prophecy. Hey there, Ox-Headed Immortal-chan! How about using that crystal ball of yours to give us a reading?” “No, no. I can’t do any fortune-telling at all.” Where had all his vigor gone from when he’d drawn crowds as the Ox-Headed Immortal? Now, Zhang turned bright red and curled up in a corner.

“There’s no reason you can’t do it. Then I’ll go get the crystal ball, so you do the fortune-telling.”

Ned stood up and entered the dust-covered box of the milk delivery truck nearby. “No, no. The truth is, I can’t actually do any fortune-telling at all.” “Heh heh heh, Zhang-kun has confessed the truth.” “Fortune-telling and prophecies—that’s all sheer nonsense.” “I knew it all along.” said the small-statured engineer Kawai.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Yamagi objected. “Fortune-telling is a kind of function of the soul.” “So someone who can solidify their soul into something like a small ping-pong ball is a person capable of fortune-telling.” “Zhang-kun can do that, I suppose.” “When you say that—I do recall something—sometimes my soul does solidify to about the size of a ping-pong ball.”

With a serious expression, Zhang leaned forward on his knees. “That’s right. If you do fortune-telling at such times, it’ll work properly. Exactly! That’s what we call mental concentration.” “That’s a lie—it can’t work!” Kawai remained stubbornly opposed. “Then let’s test whether it works right here! Here, I’ve brought the crystal ball!” Ned placed the crystal ball in front of Zhang. “So what exactly are you going to predict?” “Try divining what’s going to happen to us from now on.”

“Alright, let’s do this!” Zhang sat cross-legged before the crystal ball, stretched both hands toward it with force, and shut his eyes. Keeping that posture, he spent some time knitting his brows into deep furrows and making a strained face, before finally opening his eyes wide and glaring at the crystal ball as though trying to drill through it. Kawai—who had been watching this over-the-top performance—started snorting with suppressed laughter, but Yamagi spotted this and clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Quiet…”

At that moment, Zhang began speaking in a strange voice. “Oh dear, this is terrible! Big medals are hanging on the chests of the four of us…” “That’s nonsense! Quit your yapping!” Kawai called out from under Yamagi’s hand. “Can’t you shut up, you…?” Yamagi firmly pressed his hand over Kawai’s mouth. With that, Zhang, “Oh my, oh my, oh my! The scenery has completely changed.” “The four of us are riding on the back of a cow and passing through Broadway in New York City!”

“On the back of a cow…” Ned’s eyes went wide. “...Paper petals are falling like a blizzard.” “Five-colored streamers fly over our heads.” “What a splendid welcome…” “That’s a lie! Such nonsense.” “The four of us don’t stand a chance of seeing anything that grand.” “We’re just kids who scraped together allowance money for this car trip—that’s our station in life!” As Kawai shook off Yamagi’s hand and spoke, Yamagi too—

“Hmm, this story’s sounding a bit like a fairy tale, isn’t it?”

Seeming to now harbor doubts, he tilted his head.

Just then. Somewhere, a bell began ringing clamorously. Then came the sound of people shouting, followed by chaotic footsteps running down the hallway.

“What could that be…” “Could it be a fire?”

“It’s not a fire. Maybe the movie’s about to start.”

“Alright, let’s have Zhang-kun do a reading.” “Come on, Zhang-kun.” “Divine it!” “What was that bell sound? What happened?”

“Well now, this is troublesome...” “Come on! Hurry up!” Ned shoved the crystal ball toward Zhang. “Wait—we need to stay calmer...” “Let’s leave that for later! We should go out to the hallway and ask someone—”

With that, Kawai stood up and tried to open the door. No sooner had they heard an extremely loud *thud* than the room shook violently, as if about to collapse. Kawai was pressed against the floor while still gripping the door handle. The other three boys collapsed like flat spiders. And in the next instant, the entire room began spinning rapidly like a top with a whirring sound. The cars inside collided violently; drum cans overturned, and oil began oozing thickly. The cans clattered and rolled about; the boys scrambled to avoid being crushed beneath them—indeed, it turned into an utter uproar.

But the commotion ended after about two minutes, and afterward, things mostly settled down. Only the floor continuing to vibrate with fine tremors, the stretched rope swaying gently, and from time to time they felt the floor being lifted with a jolt—these were what now differed from how this room usually was. But what on earth were that earlier noise and tremors?

At that moment, Kawai finally succeeded in opening the door. He dashed out into the hallway. The three boys followed suit and dashed out. The hallway was deserted. Nor were there any voices. While it was quiet, something felt off about the situation. “Oh, there’s a window open here. There was never a window here before…”

As Kawai said this, he went to the strange window and looked outside. "Oh! This is bad. Everyone, come quick..." Kawai called out to his companions in a voice that could split his throat.

What on earth could have startled someone as composed as him? Through the window that had suddenly opened there, what could he have seen outside?

Flying Tower

Four boys pressed their faces against the windowpane, their complexions deathly pale, trembling violently without a word. Eight pairs of eyes were fixed far below. Below lay the beautiful full view of the Grand Canyon. It was strange. Were they dreaming? There was no way to look down on the full view of the Grand Canyon from a basement window. Yet there it was before their eyes. It wasn’t a painting. It wasn’t a movie. It wasn’t television either. They were seeing the actual scene. As proof—a village lay visible. A train spewing white smoke could be seen. Oh—they could even spot a four-engine passenger plane flying right outside the window—no—it had just passed by and vanished.

It was strange. We were flying through the air. That had to be it. As we looked out the window... But when had we switched to an airplane? That wasn't right—ah, of course. After all, we were clearly standing in the hallway—on the main building's hallway... Yet when looking out the window, we couldn't help but feel we were now inside an airplane. The Grand Canyon's scenery had grown much smaller compared to earlier. Instead, a vast landscape stretching far into the distance filled our view. Though utterly perplexing, our altitude seemed to have increased considerably compared to before.

“Hey, what’s going on?” “What’s going on?” “Have we gone crazy?” “Is there any chance that all four of us have gone crazy together?” “This is weird, weird, totally weird!”

“This isn’t just weird—it’s a full-blown crisis! We’ve been hurled into the air!” It was Kawai who declared this definitively. True to form, even amid the chaos, he retained the ability to piece together coherent thoughts. “What do you mean we’ve been hurled into the air?!” Yamagi, Zhang, and Ned all shouted in unison. “Look down there. What you see over there is the ground. The ground’s getting smaller and farther away…” “It’s true. So why have we been hurled into the air?” Yamagi pressed Kawai in a rapid-fire manner.

Yamagi asked Kawai in a rapid-fire manner. "Well, I don't know about that..." "Isn't it strange for an entire house to be hurled into the air?" "Airplanes fly through the sky, but I've never heard of a house flying through the sky." "Could it be a volcanic eruption?" Ned said, his lips trembling violently. "Eruption. "So it erupts—what's supposed to happen then?!" "There's a volcanic vein beneath this tower—it suddenly erupted." "That's why the tower was hurled into the air."

“That might be the case.” “This is a real mess.” “If that’s true, we’ll soon be plummeting toward the ground at a terrifying speed.” “And then we’ll get slammed into the earth and flattened like paper.” “I don’t wanna...” At this, the lanky Yamagi began to panic.

“I don’t want that either!” Ned shouted. “If humans get flattened like paper, we won’t be able to eat anything three-dimensional—like corn, apples, or walnuts.” “Not only that—the moment we’re slammed into the ground—splat! We’ll die!” “Are we going to die?! It’s true. So we’re going to die. Tch, Zhang’s fortune-telling isn’t coming true at all, is it? You said earlier that the four of us would parade down Broadway riding oxen with medals dangling on our chests and have paper wreaths and streamers raining down, but if we crash and die now, we won’t get to experience any of those nice things at all.”

“That’s why I kept telling you my fortune-telling wouldn’t come true!”

“Ahh, this is such a pain.”

Kawai alone had remained silent all this time, intently listening to the state of the world below and the mechanical sounds coming from nowhere in particular, when he suddenly let out a loud shout.

“That’s it! That must be it!”

The other three boys were startled.

“Hey, Kawai-kun. What’s going on?”

“I get it,” said Kawai Jirou. “We’re riding a rocket right now. We’re traveling through the air on a rocket!” “On a rocket?” Yamagi Ken replied. “But that’s strange. We don’t remember switching to a rocket. This is the main building.” “Yeah, this is the main building—that tilted giant tower,” Kawai continued. “It’s flying through the air right now.” “Th-that’s… such a ridiculous thing…” “No—that must be it. That giant tower was actually a rocket; half of it had been hidden underground, but now it’s flying through the air like this. That’s why we can see outside from the basement windows now.”

Kawai offered a bold interpretation. “Huh, so the building we were living in is a rocket.” “I didn’t notice that.” They all looked dumbfounded.

Unexpected Takeoff

Kawai’s bold interpretation had mostly hit the mark. About an hour later, the four boys encountered a young man named Bill Merton in the hallway and learned an unexpected truth. As they passed by the bench on the second-floor hallway where Merton—now referred to as Engineer Merton—lay covered in oil, the boys called out to him. With great effort, he raised his upper body. He looked completely exhausted.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Merton?”

And then, the boys surrounded him.

“Ah, you’re also the group that got left behind.” Merton said sympathetically. “Huh? We were left behind…?” “Oh, you didn’t know… This spaceship wasn’t supposed to depart yet. Due to an error that occurred in the engine room, we ended up taking off by mistake like this.” “Huh, so it was a mistake in the engine room?” “Yeah,” Merton replied. “Didn’t you hear the alarm bell ringing earlier? ‘All personnel evacuate!’ it kept blaring. When they heard that, most people rushed outside and made it to safety.”

Now that he mentioned it, the alarm bell had indeed been blaring. Then they heard clamoring voices and the sound of running footsteps—that had been the alarm ordering all personnel to evacuate. But by the time they realized it, it was already too late. “So… was it just you and us who got left behind?” Kawai asked.

“No, there are still a dozen or so people remaining. I could have fled if I wanted to, but I couldn’t bear to leave the spaceship we’d so painstakingly built. Even if this spaceship were to disintegrate into pieces wherever in the air…” “A spaceship?” “Disintegration midair! Will it really disintegrate midair?” In response to the boys’ rapid-fire questions, Merton the engineer spoke as follows.

This giant tower was a spaceship. A spaceship is, by definition, a vessel that travels through the cosmos. And this spaceship was indeed configured to fly via rocket, just as Kawai had said. However, unlike ordinary rockets, it was said to be powered by an exceptional atomic energy engine that could easily achieve speeds around 100,000 kilometers per hour.

Moreover, that tower was a rocket tower and was even now flying through the sky. They had gotten themselves into quite a predicament. As they wondered what would become of them now, a heavy lump of anxiety formed in the chests of the four boys.

“You all must have realized long ago that we’re members of the Mars Exploration Society.” “No. That’s not true at all.” “Is that so? For people claiming that, you’re all staying remarkably calm,” said Engineer Merton, sweeping his gaze across the four boys’ faces. “After all, you passed out from inhaling that R Gas not long ago. I thought that incident would have tipped you off.” “Ah, R Gas. Is that experiment really related to Mars exploration after all?”

“Exactly, it’s deeply connected.” “At that time, we gathered various animals into a cage we’d built in a field and exposed them to R Gas.” “As a result, almost all the animals that inhaled that Gas ended up dead.” “Even us humans would faint from it after all.”

“Exactly,” said Bill Merton. “However, among them, there were some creatures that remained relatively unaffected—the crocodile, lizard, and frog.” “So reptiles and amphibians,” one of the boys interjected. “Yes, and there was one more—the cows endured relatively well too. In the next experiment, we put masks on them. Then we discovered they could withstand it even better.” “What exactly is R Gas?” “R Gas is one of the gases that have settled on Mars’ surface—a type previously unknown on Earth.” “So it’s poisonous then.”

“For Earth’s creatures, it is quite toxic.” “But for Martian organisms, R Gas is harmless.” “In fact—for them—it’s an essential gas needed for survival… just like we require oxygen…”

While Engineer Merton was speaking these words, the door to another room opened and a different young man came rushing out. Upon seeing Merton, he let out a desperate cry. "We’ve finally failed." "This spaceship has had to abandon its return to Earth!" They had to abandon their return to Earth! Then what would become of them all? Would they wander aimlessly through space, or would they charge toward Mars or the Moon? Even so, space travel required an immense amount of time. Would the crew’s lives last until they completed it? What about food supplies? What about fuel?

Farewell, Earth.

“This is bad! Apparently we can’t return to the ground anymore.”

“This is bad,” said one of the researchers, his voice tight. “What’s going to happen to us now?” Ned scratched his head, pineapple crumbs still clinging to his shirt. “What’ll happen... Hmm, beats me.”

The people left behind in the giant tower flying through the sky looked down at the world below from the windows and turned completely pale. Even as they were saying this, the houses, forests, and rivers grew rapidly smaller. The giant tower flying through the sky—or rather, the gigantic spaceship—now rapidly increased its flight speed and gained altitude. “Well, anyway, if things keep going like this, we’ll just keep getting farther and farther from Earth. Before long, we’ll end up lost in space.”

“What? Lost in space?” “Oh no—if only there were police officers in space we could beg, ‘We’re lost! Please show us the way home!’ But...” “That won’t work.” “We’ll get lost in space and end up starving when our food runs out!”

“Starvation?” “This is terrible. This is really terrible.” “Since I’ve always been a big eater, if it comes to starvation, I’ll be the first to die.” “Isn’t there something we can do?”

“The engine’s gone bright red and keeps running on its own—apparently there’s no way to control it.” “They should at least be able to bend the rudder a bit...” “No good either. “Even when they try to turn it, they say it won’t listen at all.”

“Whoa, that’s hopeless!”

No matter how much they clamored, the spaceship showed no sign of returning to ground. Not only that—the atomic engine only grew more powerful, spewing gas from the ship’s rear with such tremendous force that the spaceship’s speed continued to climb. Two thousand kilometers per hour became three thousand, then four thousand, and was now about to surpass the four-thousand-five-hundred-kilometer-per-hour mark.

Driven solely by their desire to return to Earth, three people had even escaped outside the ship via parachute, despite knowing the danger.

The four boys were not as panicked as the adults. At first they were slightly startled, but soon became engrossed in the novel scenery of the world below visible outside the window, appearing to know neither fear nor anxiety.

“This is fun!” “Hey, that blue part must be the Pacific Ocean, right?” “The California coastline looks so beautiful from here.” Yamagi was the most energetic of all.

“I’d always wanted to ride in an airplane, but flying through the sky is such a wonderful thing.” Ned, leaning his cheek against the window frame, gazed endlessly at the green-tinged carpet-like world below. Zhang remained silent. Kawai was gripping a pencil and writing something diligently in the notebook. “Oh! Stars are visible over there… You can see stars even though it’s daytime!”

Yamagi was startled and stretched his finger high up. Kawai, who had been silent until now, looked up from his notebook and said, “Exactly. This area is the stratosphere. According to my calculations, we’ve already reached an altitude of about fifteen kilometers.”

“The stratosphere! I didn’t even notice when we entered the stratosphere!” “As the sky grows increasingly darker from now on, stars will become visible. The number of stars will gradually increase.” “Ah, a land of mystery!” Zhang exclaimed in admiration.

“Ah, the world below has gotten so hazy…” “Oh no—Earth’s disappearing!”

Ned’s voice broke into a cry.

However, Earth did not disappear. The boundaries between Earth's lands, rivers, and seas gradually blurred until the terrain became indistinguishable. Instead, the entire planet began glowing with a harsh silvery light. Now everyone clearly sensed they were at the very heart of the vast universe. The engine remained unrepaired. At that moment, Kawai spotted Bill Merton—the young engineer adored by the four boys—hurrying down the hallway toward them.

“Mr. Merton, has the engine been fixed properly?” “It’s no good, Kawai,” Merton said, shrugging his shoulders. “The engine is speeding up like a horse.” “If we continue at this rate, it will be difficult to stop the engine until all the raw materials in the First Warehouse are exhausted.” It was terrible. There was nothing to do but keep flying onward endlessly. Moreover, the rudder wasn’t working, and they couldn’t steer it in the desired direction. This was barreling forward in its truest form.

“So, in which direction is our spaceship flying now?” Kawai asked. “It’s flying due east,” “roughly aligned with the ecliptic plane,” “heading in the direction we had planned long ago.” “When you say ‘the direction we had prepared’…” “Where we can meet Mars,” “but we’re about three weeks too early,” Engineer Merton said nonchalantly.

“Oh, is that so? So this spaceship had indeed been prepared to go to Mars after all?”

Yamagi, too, was surprised even now. "That’s right," he said. "Dr. Denny was determined to carry it out this year of all years." "Of course, there were many opponents to this." "Anyway, Dr. Denny is a tragic figure." Engineer Merton said this in a somber tone. Judging from these words, Merton seemed to be a sympathizer of Dr. Denny. "Dr. Denny is aboard this spaceship, isn’t he?"

“That’s right,” Merton said. “When we had that emergency earlier—we went to Dr. Denny and urged him,‘Danger’s coming! Get out now!’—but he snapped,‘You kids run instead! I’m staying with my ship!’ Wouldn’t budge an inch.” “So he’s resolved to go down with the ship?” Kawai asked. “Built her over decades of sweat,” Merton continued.“Loves her like his own child.More than that—he knows every bolt and circuit.When crisis hits? Only he can fix her.That’s why he stays.”

Dr. Denny had a reputation as a senile old scholar—worse yet, one of those eccentric fraudsters who boasted about impossible Martian expeditions—but according to Engineer Merton’s account, that seemed to be a misunderstanding. “Then we should just keep flying all the way to Mars, right?” Yamagi said.

“It’s not that simple. We departed three weeks too early; our direction, though generally aligned with the ecliptic plane, still deviates slightly; and unless we properly control the engine and resolve the food supply issues—unless all these factors are adequately addressed—we won’t even reach Mars’ orbital path. We’re desperately striving to correct our course right now.”

On Engineer Merton’s face, an expression of anguish was clearly showing. “Is the food supply also low?” Ned asked worriedly. Because he was more prone to hunger than anyone else. “Ah, we’re running short. According to the recent report, there’s some concern whether we even have three months’ worth left.” “Only three months’ worth?” “Mr. Merton, how many days will it take to reach Mars?”

“According to the initial plan, if we departed at the optimal time, we were scheduled to reach Mars in approximately thirty days. To achieve that, we needed to reach a speed of 100,000 kilometers per hour. With Mars’ straight-line distance set at 55 million kilometers and our flight path curving beyond that, it was calculated to take around thirty days in total.”

“Let’s not just laze around—we should work alongside the adults.”

Kawai said.

“That’s right.” “That’s right.” “That’s a good idea.” “I’ll do anything.” “I’m confident when it comes to cooking.” Zhang leaned forward.

“What should I do?” “I’ll take over for the bellboy.” Hearing this, Engineer Merton was greatly delighted. With only about a dozen crew members aboard, they were truly struggling with a manpower shortage. Engineer Merton promptly took this matter to Captain Dr. Denny. The professor said he would leave it to him. After consulting various people, Merton assigned Zhang as cook, Ned as bellboy, Kawai to assist with engine maintenance alongside himself, and Yamagi to handle odd jobs for Captain Dr. Denny. So the four boys—

“Well then, let’s each do our best to be useful in our assigned positions.” “See you later.”

Exchanging farewells, they parted ways for the time being.

Now, all the while, the engine room remained the most critical area. Following Engineer Merton into the room, Kawai was met with a shock that nearly stopped his heart. The engine room was a chimney-like space spanning twelve floors from the second floor down to the tenth basement level. In the captain’s quarters, complex machinery rose in overlapping tiers; pipes of every size coiled like fish intestines, while violet discharge tubes, blazing mercury lamps, and groaning transformers seized both eyes and ears. Seven or eight people had gathered before the switchboard, staring intently at gauge faces. They cranked the resistance handle to its limit. Pop! Blue flames burst from behind the switchboard. The people who had been in front cried “Ah!” and leaped backward. Then the fire vanished. At once they crept toward the switchboard again. The deranged engine still refused correction.

Among the people mingled a particularly tall old man. This was none other than Dr. Denny, president of the Mars Exploration Society, whom Kawai recognized. Unlike his previous appearance in Ellis Town, Dr. Denny now had eyes gleaming sharply, cheeks glowing red, and an appearance of remarkable vigor. He had not left this room even once since the spaceship had lifted off from the ground, working desperately to fix the engine's condition. Despite Dr. Denny's tremendous efforts, the engine showed no signs of returning to proper working order.

"Hey, Kawai-kun," Engineer Merton said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Handling such a massive engine with only eight technicians—it’s rough work! If you’re willing to work with us, it’d be an enormous help."

“Absolutely, I’ll work! But what exactly am I supposed to do?” “That’s for Dr. Denny to command. Come on, let’s head to the switchboard together.” Led by Engineer Merton, Kawai joined the group of technicians gathered before the switchboard. Kawai, who loved machinery, waited for Dr. Denny’s orders, his heart pounding.

Gravity decreased. Restoring the malfunctioning engine to normal operation seemed nearly hopeless. Fourteen hours had already passed since liftoff, yet the engine kept operating autonomously. Still, Dr. Denny kept making successive adjustments to the engine. Blue sparks sprayed from between machinery, insulation materials burst into raging flames, and oil geysered naturally - creating a scene of frantic activity. Working alongside Engineer Merton, Kawai courageously plunged into the machinery during these crises to perform emergency repairs.

No one made any unnecessary remarks. For fourteen hours straight, the technicians were battling the engine without a single hitch.

At that moment, Dr. Denny swiftly turned around to face the group. He seemed to have something new to say. “Gentlemen, from now on, we will implement a two-shift system. The reason being—though the engine has gone haywire—we believe it won’t deteriorate further. Therefore, for the time being, I think we simply need to keep watch over the compromised engine. After all, once we’ve exhausted all materials in Warehouse One, the engine will naturally stop on its own. That will occur approximately four days from now. If that’s understood, there’s no need for everyone to stand watch together. Let’s form two groups—Group A and Group B—and operate on shifts.”

Kawai was assigned to Group B along with Engineer Merton. Dr.Denny was also in Group B. Group B would now take a three-hour rest while Group A continued maintaining strict surveillance over the engine and performing emergency repairs.

“Kawai-kun.” “You must be exhausted.” “You must be hungry too.” “Now go to the cafeteria and eat your fill.” Engineer Merton advised Kawai, the boy, to go to the cafeteria.

“Yes, thank you. Mr. Merton, aren’t you going to the cafeteria?” “I’ll come along later—I need to discuss something with Dr. Denny first—so you go ahead to the cafeteria without hesitation.”

Having been told this, Kawai, the boy, headed to the cafeteria a step ahead.

“Oh, Kawai-kun. What happened to you?”

Ned was the first to spot Kawai and came over to him. When he was told that, Kawai indeed noticed his clothes were covered in oil.

“I just helped out a bit, and look at the state I’m in. By the way, is Zhang-kun doing alright?” Kawai asked worriedly about Zhang, who had been assigned as cook. “Zhang-kun? He’s thrilled! Why? Because he’s buried in a pile of canned feasts! So what will you eat? I’ll bring you anything.” Ned asked, grinning. “Let’s see… Hot coffee and… And then something sweet. Shortcake or canned pineapple would be fine.”

“Alright, we’ve got everything here, so I’ll bring plenty over!” “But since there’s talk of food supplies being insufficient, you only need to bring a small amount.” “Nah, there’s plenty here—no problem!” Ned entered the kitchen with a knowing look. As Kawai waited, a loud scream came from the kitchen. As Kawai wondered what it could be, Ned soon approached him with a strange look on his face. He was holding a pie can in his left hand and a plate in his right, pressing down on the pie can from above with the plate.

“What’s wrong, Ned?” Kawai asked. “Well, there’s something weird going on. “I opened the pie can. “Then the pineapple slid right out from inside, you see. “It’s like I can only think this pineapple’s alive! “And then, the sweet syrup, you see—it also started rising from the can like steam and drifting waveringly all over the place. “That was shocking! “It’s like a haunted house in here!”

“Hmm, that’s strange.” “That’s why I’m pressing down on the can with a plate like this.” “You gotta be careful when you eat this.”

“I wonder what the reason for that is…”

Kawai took the can from Ned and set down the plate that was serving as a lid. Then, from inside the can, sweet syrup began to ooze out in wriggling tendrils like smoke. And from beneath it, a yellow piece of pineapple swayed and rose up.

“Ah, this is it. That’s weird…” “Hurry, if you don’t pin it down with a fork, the pineapple will get away! Earlier in the kitchen, we had a whole can’s worth escape on us.” “Ah, I see. This is bad. Pineapple, wait!” Kawai brandished his fork, swimming through the air as if in water, and stabbed the moving pineapple slice with a thunk.

What in the world was happening here? This was due to the reduced gravity from having moved quite far from Earth. When gravity decreases, all substances become lighter. Because of this, such strange phenomena occurred one after another, surprising and bewildering everyone.

The Prophecy Comes True

On this day, Dr. Denny was finally chased by coffee. It was truly an unprecedented and bizarre incident. And Yamagi, who had clearly witnessed this, rushed into the cafeteria where his fellow boys were gathered and recounted the whole incident.

“Ah, I’ve never been this shocked in my life! Because the coffee really did chase Dr. Denny around! And I—thinking to keep that steaming hot coffee from burning him—wrestled with it for all I was worth. And this—I ended up burning both my hands this badly.”

Yamagi said this and showed his hands—red and swollen from burns—to Kawai, Zhang, and Ned. “Oh wow—that’s one nasty burn!” “But I don’t really get what you’re saying—when you say the coffee chased Dr. Denny, what exactly do you mean?” Ned thrust his face forward. “The coffee chased Dr. Denny, you see.” “There’s no other way to put it.” Yamagi said this, but perhaps even he found it absurd, for he burst out laughing.

“I get it,” Kawai said. “Just now, when a piece of pineapple started swaying and swimming through the air, I chased it around with a fork.” “In Dr. Denny’s case, it must’ve been the coffee chasing him instead.” “That’s how it was.” “In Dr. Denny’s room, he was brewing coffee using an electric percolator.” “Then Dr. Denny yelled ‘Hot!’ and jumped up from his chair.” “When I looked, there was something like a rod stretching toward his back.” “And you know what? When I looked closer—it was coffee.” “It kept extending from the percolator’s spout like a rod.” “A brownish rod.” “So I grabbed that brownish rod right before it touched his back.” “But ‘Ow ow ow!’—see?” “Burned both hands with that coffee rod…” “Because the coffee was boiling hot!”

“Hmm, that must’ve been hot.” “But the coffee rod kept chasing after Dr. Denny wherever he fled, as if it were alive. I thought it would be terrible if Dr. Denny got burned, so I grabbed the coffee again. After that, I got burned many times. I wonder why... the coffee kept chasing only Dr. Denny.”

“That’s only natural.” “When Dr. Denny flees, a vacuum forms behind him.” “The formation of a vacuum means coffee gets sucked into that space.” “It’s exactly like rain clouds gathering toward the center of a low-pressure system.” Kawai gave this explanation.

“I see...” “But Zhang’s amazing.” “I mean, he did properly predict that Dr. Denny would end up being chased by coffee.” Yamagi turned toward Zhang, who had been smirking beside him all along.

“Heh heh heh.” “It’s terrifying... I...” “The fact that my prophecies are coming true is absolutely terrifying.” Zhang grinned with a twisted mouth, his expression a blend of pride and terror. “Zhang made three prophecies about Dr.Denny’s future right?” “Since one came true now,the remaining two will surely come true without doubt!”

Ned said, his eyes darting about. When talk turned to fortune-telling, he grew more earnest than anyone else. "What was it again...the remaining two prophecies..."

Yamagi tilted his head.

"The second was that he would no longer have a single bed or grave anywhere in the world." "The third was that Dr.Denny would freeze his heart and continue standing sentry for five thousand years."

Ned remembered clearly. “Was that how the prophecy went?”

Zhang said admiringly. The very Zhang who had performed the divination seemed to have completely forgotten such things. “It’s pitiful that Dr.Denny has neither a bed nor a grave.” “Then where on earth is Dr.Denny supposed to sleep?” “And where would he even have a grave?” “If that prophecy comes true, Dr.Denny wouldn’t be able to do anything about it, would he?”

“If that prophecy comes true, Dr. Denny wouldn’t be able to do anything about it, would he?” said Yamagi. He had recently been showing great interest in Zhang’s prophecies. “Well, I don’t know what will happen.”

Ned also shook his head from side to side. “Dr. Denny has to freeze his heart and stand sentry for five thousand years, they say.” “What a truly pitiful doctor he is.” "But why does he have to stand sentry for such a long time?" “Hey, Zhang.”

“What do I know?” Zhang shook his head vehemently. “Well, well, if the oracle himself doesn’t know, no one could possibly figure it out.” “When that time comes, everything will become clear.” “They say time solves everything, you know.”

Kawai Jirou, who had been silent, said this.

Expedition Resolve

With the artificial gravity device now operational, the spaceship no longer saw chaotic scenes like pineapple chunks swimming through the air or coffee chasing people around. This artificial gravity device was machinery that used human engineering to create a special gravitational field within the spacecraft. When activated, everything settled firmly into place just as it would on planetary surfaces. As they ventured further into space - moving ever farther from Earth - gravity would continue diminishing progressively. This made the device absolutely indispensable.

If this device had not existed, all objects inside the spacecraft would have broken free from desks and floors, mingled chaotically in midair, and caused tremendous disorder. On the fifth day after the artificial gravity device began operating, an extremely auspicious incident occurred aboard this vessel. This was when the engine—which had completely ignored all instructions since departing Earth—finally began obeying the crew's commands.

The speed had nearly reached dangerous levels, but on this day, Dr. Denny and his engineers succeeded in reducing it through a concerted effort. The rudder also began functioning properly. The ship's interior brightened as if brought back to life. Expressions of joy and relief could be seen on everyone’s faces. The four boys also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, thinking it was a relief. Flying through space while still malfunctioning had never been a good feeling.

That day, to honor the crew’s efforts since departing Earth, the cafeteria was decked out like Christmas and a lavish feast was served. And afterward, Dr. Denny and everyone else presented hidden talents as entertainment and burst into uproarious laughter.

The enjoyable time passed by.

When the gathering was finally nearing its end, elderly Dr. Denny stood up. And then he made a significant statement.

“Now，gentlemen．” “Thanks to your splendid cooperation and indomitable efforts，the malfunctions of this ship have finally been repaired．However，regarding what course we should choose henceforth，I wish to consult you all starting now．” “There are two options for that．” “One is to return to Earth；the other is to proceed all the way to Mars on this occasion．” “Which do you gentlemen wish to choose？”

With that, Dr. Denny swept his gaze around at everyone's faces. But no one said anything. "The current position of this ship has already passed approximately two-thirds of the route connecting Earth and Mars. In other words, once we navigate another third of the route, we will reach Mars. In any case, we have ample fuel. This is because we discovered that the main facility—no, rather, this ship—had stored more fuel than anticipated, so I believe there is no concern on this point. The food supplies are not as ample as the fuel and are barely sufficient. Therefore, if we proceed directly to Mars, I believe we will have to slightly reduce our food intake for the foreseeable future."

“Let’s go to Mars!”

“I concur—since we’ve come this far, I want us to go to Mars.”

“After all, we are members of the Mars Exploration Society—hardships on the way to Mars are what we’ve steeled ourselves for from the beginning.” “Let’s go to Mars.” All the crew members wanted to go to Mars. There wasn’t a single person who proposed returning to Earth.

Seeing this, elderly Dr. Denny was greatly satisfied. “Therefore, this ship has decided to proceed directly to Mars from this point onward.” “According to today’s observations, I think it will take another eleven days to reach Mars.” “In the meantime, I hope you gentlemen will make thorough preparations based on your prior research.” “Whether we can land on Mars is something I can’t yet determine until we get a bit further, but in any case, I will announce the post-landing assignments tomorrow.” “Given that we have a limited number of crew members, each of you will have to shoulder significantly heavy responsibilities.” “I ask that you be prepared for that.”

“We’ll do anything.” “Give us all the orders you need!” “That’s right. “I want us to succeed in fully applying the results of the research we’ve conducted thus far here and opening a route between Mars and Earth.” “Gentlemen, let’s give it our all!” “Ah, we’ll do it—we’ll do it! For the honor of Earth’s humanity, we’ll make this succeed!” “If we can be first to reach Mars, I won’t regret turning to dust upon its surface.” The crew members—all who had long yearned for Mars exploration and endured hardships until now—pledged their cooperation in response to elderly Dr. Denny. And they encouraged one another.

Since then, a spring-like brightness had flowed through the spaceship’s interior. Everyone’s resolve was set. They were now plunging headlong toward Mars exploration—that grand objective humanity had yet to achieve. The four boys felt similarly—no, far more intensely than the adults—rejoicing at the prospect of exploring Mars. That day, they pressed their faces against the observation deck window and gazed outward.

The visage of the great universe—a boundless darkness. What an immense space this was! In that void, stars sparkled like diamonds. To the west, Earth—over ten times larger than a full moon—glowed brilliantly. They must have departed from there, yet seeing it now made their journey feel unreal. In its shadow nestled the Moon, small and pale. What of Mars—could it be seen? They circled around the observation room to the opposite window. There it was—that crimson star. Already it appeared as large as a serving tray. That was Mars. What could possibly await them on that garishly colored world?

Martian Life Forms "The surface of Mars still looks so hazy," said Engineer Bill Merton—beloved by all four boys—who had quietly approached behind them and now gazed through the observation window alongside them. "Ah! Mr. Merton," Kawai blurted out first as always when curiosity struck him. "Why does Mars' surface stay so blurry like that?" Bill adjusted his glasses with an engineer's precision before explaining: "Well now... Let me break down why it appears hazy. First off—water vapor exists on Mars' surface too." He gestured toward Earth glowing faintly in another window pane. "Our own planet works similarly—water vapor forms clouds that obscure continental shapes even today." His finger traced imaginary coastlines through space haze before continuing: "Though Martian vapor measures just one-twentieth of Earth’s quantity." A dramatic pause followed as he tapped their window facing Mars' crimson disk: "But here’s another factor—that ruddy blur comes from something else entirely." His voice dropped conspiratorially: "An immense ring of cosmic dust encircles Mars itself." Finally fixing Ned with raised eyebrows he asked: "You do know what cosmic dust means?"

“What the heck are ‘Martians’?”

Ned rolled his big eyes. “Cosmic dust means space dust.” “In other words, cosmic dust consists of small star fragments.” “This completely encircles Mars.” “That’s why Mars’ surface is even harder to see, you see.”

Engineer Merton wore a worried look, unsure if the boys had understood his explanation. "Why is cosmic dust gathered around Mars?" A question shot out from Zhang, the boy. "It’s the question of why cosmic dust came to surround Mars." "Hmm, this is a difficult matter." "There are various hypotheses, but even astronomers don’t truly understand it yet." "Do even scholars have things they don’t understand?"

Zhang asked quizzically.

“Of course they do. There are many scholars in the world. But the mysteries of natural science that they’ve managed to unravel are still only a handful. Even if it takes hundreds of millions of years from now on, they’ll never manage to unravel them all. That’s how profoundly deep natural science’s mysteries are.” “Even if it takes that long, they still won’t understand?”

Kawai boy tilted his head slightly. “It’s strange how scholars are diligently working so hard right now on things that will remain unknown even after such an incredibly long time.” “The lifespan of a single scholar doesn’t even last a hundred years…”

Ned laughed. But Engineer Merton responded to this. “That’s not it. Because it’s a monumental task that cannot be understood without taking such an immensely long time， scholars bear an extremely heavy responsibility. And they are striving earnestly to unravel the mysteries of natural science even a day or an hour sooner. Truly， they must be called noble people.”

Engineer Merton said this and made a very serious face.

Starting from that day, the boys decided to enter the observation room once daily to peer into the vast universe. The cosmic expanse visible there remained perpetually dark, filled with countless twinkling stars that never saw dawn—a view scarce in variation. Yet without fail, the boys entered this room. What they sought was twofold: first, the dear Earth shrinking into the distance; second, Mars gradually drawing near.

“Kawai! In two more days, they say the ship will finally pass through the cosmic dust! When that happens, won’t we end up riddled with holes?” “Nah, it’ll be fine. Both Dr. Denny and Mr. Merton look perfectly calm about it.” “Hmm... And do you think humans live on Mars?” “Whether they’re human or not, I think there are living things there, Zhang.”

“Living things? When those living things see us, what do you think they’ll do?” “What do you mean by ‘do’? What exactly?” “In other words, when a Martian lion or gorilla sees our faces, they might think, ‘Oh, a rare feast has arrived! Let’s eat them right away!’ or something like that, don’t you think?” “Well, I don’t know about that—we’d have to ask Mr. Merton…” “Mr. Merton also answered that he didn’t really understand, and I’ve been thinking about that. When landing on Mars, I think we should prepare and bring lots of feast blocks.”

“Feast blocks.” “That’s right. These feast blocks aren’t for us to eat—we throw them in front of the Martian creatures when the time comes. Then those creatures will start munching away. That’s when I’ll make my escape.” “Ohh, so those feast blocks are basically our substitutes, then.” “It’s not for us—right now, it’s a plan to make substitutes just for me.” “Don’t say that—make my share too!” “Fine, I’ll prepare yours too—but what exactly do those Martian creatures eat? What do they like? Tell me that.” “......”

“Don’t say such things—make my share too!” “Alright, then I’ll make your share too—but what exactly do those Martian creatures eat? What do you think they like? Tell me that.” “……” Even Kawai Jirou was finally at a loss for a reply.

Now, the spaceship carrying everyone finally approached Mars and entered its gravitational sphere. That was all well and good, but the first critical challenge arrived. That referred to the cosmic dust zone. Would the ship indeed be able to safely pass through this danger zone? Given that this was an entirely unprecedented event for humanity, even elderly Dr. Denny was deeply concerned.

The entry into the fateful danger zone was now a mere five hours away.

Approaching Danger Zone

Mars, colored like a ripe apricot and looming like a small hill, floated in the dark void—a sight of terrifying grandeur. Ned grew increasingly despondent, speaking less and less with each passing day. Before long it wasn't just Ned; even Yamagi Ken had lost his vigor and begun wearing a perpetually startled expression. They would dart into the observation room with increasing frequency yet never linger more than moments before retreating again.

Kawai, concerned, spoke to Yamagi.

“Yamagi. Why have you become so listless…?” “Yeah, I’m just not feeling well physically. I don’t have a fever, but maybe it’s because of that.”

Yamagi jerked his chin and pointed outside the window. There, Mars loomed large, blocking their view.

“Ah, I see—you’ve developed cosmic neurosis too after all.”

“What? ‘Cosmic neurosis’?”

“That’s right. This illness occurs when our minds get severely oppressed by colliding with the vast universe’s overly mysterious and intense sights. You must be suffering from it too. As you can see, Mars hangs there monstrously large in the sky, blocking our path. That must be what’s making you feel unwell.” “Yeah, when you say it like that, maybe so. It’s true—when I look at Mars, I can’t help feeling like I’m going crazy. Why does that huge object just float there without falling? Ah, this is awful. It seems I’ve finally been beaten by Mars.”

Yamagi said this and covered his eyes with both hands. Kawai sympathized and did his utmost to encourage his friend. “Once a little more time passes, that awful feeling will go away.” “Right now is the worst part.” “In other words, because Mars appears as a huge sphere right now, you feel sick wondering why it doesn’t fall down, or perceive it as some monstrous version of the moon—it’s really not good at all.” “Once a little more time passes, Mars will spread out so large that it’ll be just like looking down at Earth from an airplane.” “Once that happens, it’ll all go away.”

Kawai comforted Yamagi with a clever explanation. But Kawai himself was by no means viewing this awe-inspiringly dreadful celestial spectacle with ease. He too was desperately trying to steel his spirit against being overwhelmed by the bizarre spectacle.

At 8:00 PM, the spaceship finally plunged into the problematic cosmic dust zone. In the control room, Captain Dr. Denny and several engineers crowded in, every nerve strained as they waited to see what would happen. In front of Dr. Denny, six square box-shaped photographs were arranged like flowers—four vertically and one on each side. Upon closer inspection, the photographs showed the surface of Mars and countless glittering stars. There was also something resembling a curved gunwale captured in the photographs, but they realized this was part of their own ship. The photographs emitted a beautiful fluorescence, and the screen appeared rather bright. And if one looked even more closely at these photographs, they would notice them moving gradually. This was none other than the television projection screens. The state outside their own ship was being projected onto the screens through television devices covering all six directions—front, back, up, down, left, and right.

Moreover, the images were much brighter than what could be seen with the naked eye, allowing for clear identification of objects. This was because the television system had been made highly sensitive to infrared rays. In other words, it was a television system like a cat’s eye that could see clearly even at night. Dr. Denny was constantly paying close attention to these six projection screens. “Doctor, can you see the cosmic dust…?” Young Merton called out to Dr. Denny. This young man was specially operating the helm today. The helm platform stood one level higher behind Dr. Denny, where he and the helm were contained within a sphere woven from iron pipes—this iron sphere itself being supported by two large iron rings. This was designed so that no matter which direction the spaceship tilted, the helmsman and helm would remain stationary in midair without shifting even slightly.

“Hmm, the swirl of cosmic dust looks like a black band, but the individual particles aren’t appearing yet.”

Dr. Denny responded and leaned his face even closer to the projection screens. “Since we’re still at the entrance of the cosmic dust zone, there probably aren’t many colliding dust masses yet.” “That’s right. For now, we’ll ride the cosmic dust flow and fly at the same speed.” “If we were to rush through this swirl of cosmic dust, our ship would collide with an enormous dust mass and burst into flames.” “We’ll just have to endure it for now.” Dr. Denny explained to Engineer Merton that the time for endurance had come.

And so, for about two hours, the spaceship spent its time without incident in utmost peace. During that time, the surface of Mars shifted slightly westward in its phase. The polar caps of Mars always dazzled, shining like the single glowing eye of a cyclops. The other areas appeared either white or black, but the black parts were likely land without snow. And these patches of land existed in scattered dots and appeared connected by straight lines like a spider’s web. What were called the canals of Mars were likely those features, but whether they were truly canals or not could not be known until much later.

“Ah, full rudder to the fourth quadrant!”

Suddenly, Dr. Denny shouted. At the same moment, a red warning light lit up before Engineer Merton at the helm, and beneath it, a column of numbers streamed by like an electric news ticker. “Aye, full rudder to the fourth quadrant!” With that, Engineer Merton yanked the rudder hard, then adjusted the helm according to the streaming numbers. These numbers indicated the safe course, measured and transmitted automatically by the aforementioned television system.

That was fortunate, but the next moment, the spaceship roared violently and shuddered.

“Stay calm, Merton. Full rudder to the fourth quadrant—harder!” “Aye, pulling harder, but this is as far as it goes.” “Ah! Danger!” Thud... boom. With an eerie noise, the spaceship lurched and tilted. They felt themselves being tossed into the air two or three times. Then the power went out. The room now relied solely on emergency lights, carving deep shadows across people’s anxiety-filled profiles. Kawai boy was among them. What could have happened?

Finally, complete chaos erupted. When everyone in the control room was plunged into the depths of anxiety, a terribly panicked voice resounded from the ceiling loudspeaker. “Captain. "It's a breach." "The third rudder has been blown off." “A large cosmic dust mass tore off that rudder in the blink of an eye.” “All hands are conducting emergency repairs, but the third rudder won’t be functional for the time being.” “Ah, understood. “Keep your spirits up and do your best to get it done as quickly as possible.”

The damage to the third rudder had been reported. Under these circumstances, controlling the ship would become difficult. But had this unsettling vibration ended with just the damage to the third rudder? In that case, they were still on the luckier side.

“Captain! A huge hole’s opened on Deck 8! A twenty-ton cosmic debris mass came crashing through! The crew’s unharmed, but we’ve lost a massive amount of fuel!” The urgent report burst from the loudspeaker. Fuel had been ripped away. A gaping breach now existed on Deck 8. Both disasters struck directly at the spaceship’s survival.

“Green!” shouted old Dr. Denny into the microphone. “Does this spaceship risk breaking apart midair?” “For now, it should be okay.” “Since that twenty-ton dust mass broke through the opposite hull and flew out, it’s… somewhat fortunate.” “What about the fuel?” “To what extent has the spaceship’s range decreased?” “Can we still make it to Mars like this?” Dr. Denny shouted without hiding his worry. “We should be able to make it to Mars.” “But…”

At that point, Green's voice cut off. “But… what’s wrong, Green? “Speak plainly!” “Yes,” Green raised his voice in a strangled tone, “However… we no longer have enough fuel to return to Earth.” “It is truly regrettable.” And Green delivered the sorrowful news. “What? We can’t return to Earth anymore?”

Even Dr. Denny was stunned. When they heard this, everyone in the control room felt their vision swim. At last, the worst possible outcome had arrived. To think we couldn't return to Earth—what a wretched situation this was. Yet there was no time for the crew to weep over this tragic turn of events. For merciless swarms of cosmic dust had immediately followed, launching a fierce assault against the spaceship.

The interior of the ship reached a state of utter chaos. Violent vibrations occurred in rapid succession. The spaceship was on the verge of breaking apart and scattering into pieces. Inside the ship, dust masses groaned with a whining sound as they flew about at tremendous speed. They proceeded to smash every last one of the ship’s vital instruments. The crew members could not even maintain their posts. Even Engineer Merton could no longer do anything. The emergency lights went out, and the iron pipe cage that had been protecting him was warped by the dust masses, rendering it unable to function any longer. Because of this, he, like the other crew members, was being flung about along with the wildly spinning spaceship.

Kawai was flung to the corner of the room and wedged between the frame of an instrument. Eventually, his head ended up below and his legs above, so he nearly slipped out of the frame. He clung to the frame in surprise. Then, racking his brains, he used the rope caught in his hand to tie his body to the frame.

When he let out a sigh of relief and checked on everyone’s condition, there was nothing but fierce roars and screams all around. Yet no human figures became distinctly visible anywhere. Instead, blue sparks would hiss and flash, or dust-mass-like objects would glow crimson and dart about the room like Chinese fireworks—each time stealing away what little composure he had left. He worried about how his three companions were doing. Seeing that no one was calling out to him or coming to check on him, he wondered if everyone had died. No—if even he couldn’t move from between the instrument frames, then his friends must each be clinging somewhere and trembling. In any case, pleading to somehow save the lives of Dr. Denny and the rest of them, even the usually patient Kawai finally invoked the name of God.

Whether because the boy Kawai’s prayer had reached God’s ears or not—even that great calamity finally subsided. The echoes of those deafening vibrations were now nowhere to be heard. The fiery dust masses that had been whistling through the air like monsters had vanished from sight. And so the spaceship returned to its former safe state.

“Hey! All survivors, gather over here!” “Yeah, I’m coming now!” The crew members’ voices began to be heard sporadically. It greatly encouraged everyone. Thinking that it was now safe, Kawai untied the rope that had been wrapped around his body and freed himself. It had been a while since he’d set foot on the floor, but his legs were unsteady, and he ended up falling on his butt right there. “Hey, Kawai! Get a hold of yourself!” Someone called out to him.

Whoever it was, he looked up toward the voice—it was Engineer Merton. He remained tilted to the side, gripping the helm, and was setting the spaceship’s course. “Ah, Mr. Merton. Were you unharmed?”

“Ah, I’m fine. How about it? Was it scary?” “Yes, it was really startling. So the spaceship seems pretty badly damaged—is it still flying safely?” “Hmm, how should I put this…” Merton tilted his head. “But for now, we’re still flying toward Mars like this. The damage might be lighter than expected. Dr. Denny is looking into it right now.”

Oh, Dr. Denny! Dr. Denny was safe—and was he already tackling critical work with such vigor? Realizing he couldn’t afford to dawdle either, Kawai steeled himself.

The Old Doctor's Lesson

Kawai left the control room to check on his companions' safety.

Everywhere he looked, everything was badly damaged. The ship's outer walls had been torn off in large sections, leaving corridors exposed in places.

“Ah! Dangerous! “Don’t go out there!” As Kawai peered into the corridor, someone grabbed his arm from behind and pulled him back. The boy turned around in surprise. The one standing there was Dr. Denny. “If you stick your body out there, you’ll be blown away and crash.” “Don’t go out there!” The elderly doctor reiterated his caution to Kawai. He felt happy and expressed heartfelt gratitude. The doctor nodded lightly.

Then,

“Ah, right. You boys were four.” “Yes, that’s right.”

“I see. Because you boys came aboard this vessel, I now feel greatly heartened. This is my way of thanking you.” “Huh? Why do you say that?” Kawai, unable to make sense of this, asked in return. “At my age, I don’t have much time left, but you boys still have fifty or sixty years ahead of you. The enterprise we failed to complete—I earnestly hope you four will take it up and see it through to success.”

The elderly doctor said in a solemn tone and patted Kawai’s shoulder.

“Yes.” “I’ll tell everyone that and work hard.” “But Doctor.” “Has this Mars expedition already been deemed a failure?”

Kawai asked. It was because the elderly doctor’s words had resonated in that way.

The doctor was silent for a while. Fine tremors ran through his white beard. At last, the doctor opened his mouth. “Not everything is clear yet, but listen, Kawai.” “Even if we successfully land on Mars, when returning from Mars to Earth next time, we will have to build a new spaceship.” “This is a tremendous undertaking.” “And your strength as boys will be absolutely essential.” “You will come to understand that in time.” “In case of emergency, I bequeath you the green trunk in my room—the one marked with numbers from No. 1 to No. 10—and ask that you treasure it.” “It will surely help you.”

“Huh? What’s inside that trunk?” “Well, that contains blueprints and such that I’ve painstakingly created over many years.” “You’ll understand when the time comes.” “Doctor. Does that mean this spaceship can no longer return to Earth?” “Probably not. The return fuel is almost gone, the ship has suffered severe damage as you can see, and I still have various concerns.” “Oh! Right.” “I can’t stay here—I’ll explain everything properly later, alright?”

Dr. Denny seemed to recall an urgent matter and hurried off in that direction.

Then Kawai went to the cafeteria.

There, his companions gathered. Yamagi was there. Zhang was there. Ned's face was there too. Everyone was safe. They were lucky. However, Zhang alone sustained a bruise on his right leg and limped. The boy Kawai relayed the story told by Dr. Denny to everyone there.

The news that they couldn’t return to Earth in this spaceship left everyone disappointed. Kawai had to encourage everyone. So as not to betray Dr. Denny’s trust and expectations, they had to study even harder from then on. He emphatically argued that this was absolutely necessary for Earth’s humanity’s glory and happiness, finally managing to lift the group’s spirits. Just then, Engineer Merton entered. He was also unharmed, but his clothes were completely soiled with oil. He must have struggled fiercely with the engine again.

“Oh, everyone’s safe! Did you see it? The surface of Mars? Since we’ve passed through the cosmic dust field, it’s completely clear now—you can see Mars’ surface perfectly. You know about the Canals of Mars, right? You can see those clearly too. Come on, hurry to the observation deck and take a look!”

Being told this, the four boys rushed out. And then they ran up to the observation deck. Oh, they could see it—they could see it clearly! The surface of Mars was clearly visible. It was daytime on Mars. It was already not much different from viewing Earth from above. Long green streaks ran like spiderwebs. That must be the Canals of Mars.

But that didn’t seem to be canals. It still wasn’t entirely clear, but somehow the forest appeared to stretch out in straight lines.

The land of Mars was brown. It seemed there was indeed soil. Something resembling a sea could also be seen. However, to eyes accustomed to Earth’s great oceans, it was a sea far too small. It looked just like a lake. Where exactly would this spaceship land? Had the Martian creatures already spotted it? Were there any flying Martians out of sight? The boys were giving free rein to their imaginations. Even Ned, who had been suffering from a nervous breakdown, was staring with an intense gaze, peering down at the world below.

But suddenly, an unexpected incident occurred.

“All hands, assemble in the engine room!”

A shrill alarm and anguished screams. Before that could subside, the spaceship began making a strange noise as if caught in a storm, and they could feel it rapidly descending downward.

“It’s a crash!” “Ah! It’s a fire!” “It’s trailing smoke from the tail section!” The spaceship had been proceeding safely through the sky until just moments before, but from an altitude of 20,000 meters above Mars, it suddenly began spinning like a drill and started to crash, trailing smoke. What would become of Dr. Denny and the others?

Mars Landing

The engine room’s condition was as ferocious as a battlefield.

Captain Dr. Denny stood up on an elevated command platform and issued command after command in a hoarse voice. His face was crimson red as though blood might drip from it, his gray hair stood on end like a field of withered pampas grass blown by the wind, and his eyes remained wide open like plates.

“Raise the field voltage to 600 volts. “…Let the generator break. “We just need to hold out for five more minutes. “…Raise the rotation of the third motor. “Raise the oil pressure to 3,800 rotations…” Dr. Denny’s voice rang out with youthful vigor. The four boys also ran here and there, lending their strength. Engineer Merton and Kawai ran toward the distribution panel with their bodies pressed together as if they were in a three-legged race.

Zhang was hanging from the handles of the field rheostat, flailing both legs. Poor Ned—he was drenched in black oil from head to toe.

Yamagi climbed onto a steel beam and clung to the large binoculars mounted there, peering outside.

“...13,000 meters left. The spaceship drifted slightly westward. ……It was a desert. A vast desert. A lake was visible. Several large rings were visible. I can't tell what it is...” Yamagi captured every last thing that came into the binoculars and converted them into words. “How much longer? How much longer, Engineer Merton?” Dr. Denny’s voice resounded like a blast. There was no answer.

“Engineer Merton.” “What’s wrong…” Then at last Merton’s right hand rose. Dr. Denny’s shoulders trembled violently.

“All gravity neutralizers. Turn on the switches!” “Heave-ho!”

With a grrroooan like an earthquake, the alarm began ringing piercingly.

“Ahh!” “Hmm…” Everyone in the engine room groaned as if electrocuted. And everyone closed their eyes and clenched their teeth with expressions of mortal agony. Ned had his face pressed unbearably into the sea of oil. Zhang was pressed against the distribution panel, sparks crackling at the seat of his pants. Kawai got his head stuck in Engineer Merton’s crotch. Yamagi was suddenly yanked backward and ended up dangling from a steel beam.

Though it was a mere forty seconds in time, the people felt it as long as a hundred years. During that time, people's breath stopped, and it even seemed as if their hearts had come to a sudden halt. “It worked! Gravity has decreased. The descent speed has dropped. W-we’ll make it... With this…”

The first to speak was Captain Dr. Denny. Dr. Denny’s final efforts had finally borne fruit. As if the storm had suddenly ceased, as if raging waves had quieted all at once, the crew’s mood turned abruptly lightened. Those who had been standing collapsed limply where they were, landing hard on their rear ends. Ned, who had lost consciousness in the oil sea, was helped up by Kawai. Engineer Merton rushed over and revived him with a resuscitation technique, allowing Ned to regain his breath. Both those rescued and their rescuers had faces completely blackened, oil dripping from their entire bodies like oil-soaked statues.

“...Altitude 500 meters, 600 meters. “It’s ascending slightly now.” When he had returned to the original binoculars, Yamagi shouted in a lively voice. Then Dr. Denny staggered unsteadily and, using the command platform’s handrail for support, stood up.

“Engineer Merton! Adjust the gravity neutralizer! Prepare for landing! Lower the rudder! Five degrees down! Then return to zero degrees…” Merton dashed out, oil splattering behind him. “...Massive jungle ahead! Jungle! Ah—the jungle splits! Now it’s sea! Sea… sea!”

Yamagi shouted.

“Turn right…” Dr. Denny’s voice.

“What—still no good? …Use the right row of thrusters! Hurry up!” Had Dr. Denny not spoken those words, the spaceship would have plunged headfirst into Mars’ sea and sunk tragically. In that case, Dr. Denny and his crew—who had protected the vessel this far—would have all drowned in that alien ocean the moment they heard “Mars landing.” His calm yet decisive action saved everyone at the critical moment.

“Desert!” “Desert!”

When two or three of the thrusters on the right side—though not all of them—spewed out fierce black gas, the spaceship swung its tail to the right, and in that instant, the sea vanished, revealing a white desert. Four or five seconds later, with a thunderous sound, the spaceship’s belly made contact with the sandy plain. This was the moment of Mars landing that deserved recording. “Release…” The engine had been removed. The elasticity still remained. The spaceship continued sliding through the desert’s heart, churning up billowing clouds of sand.

But you never know what will bring good fortune—thanks to this desert landing, the fire in the spaceship’s tail suddenly began to die down.

The Elated Crew

After sliding approximately three thousand meters, the spaceship finally came to a stop. Everyone jumped up and cheered. Tears of joy overflowed from all eyes, wetting cheeks. That was only natural. The grand expedition to Mars had finally been accomplished by their own hands. The crew—a small group of fewer than ten—had splendidly accomplished this difficult grand undertaking. They had faced life-threatening dangers multiple times. That they had survived these was nothing short of miraculous. No—this was none other than the result of every member helping one another, refraining from selfish acts, obeying their leader Dr. Denny's orders, and demonstrating the organization's utmost efficiency without disruption.

And in trying to save their friends, they had ended up saving themselves. It was a beautiful friendship. It was a triumph of love. Captain Dr. Denny’s joy was greater than anyone else’s. Since founding the Mars Exploration Society twenty-five years prior, he had finally succeeded in this grand undertaking. During that time, Dr. Denny had been derided as a fraud at times, and at other times, he had run out of funds and even had to sell off his knives and forks. But now, all of that could be completely forgotten.

However, Dr. Denny could not afford to indulge in this great jubilation—for the spaceship he had designed and built had only just landed on Mars. Their work had not ended there. No—rather, their true work now lay ahead. The landing site was not Earth. It was Mars—a world governed by unknown principles. It was Mars—a planet with an alien climate and environment. The air hung thin. The gravity stood vastly different. It was an inhospitable land where temperatures swung violently. Moreover, on Mars, there was no telling what life forms they might encounter. Would their minds truly commune with those of us Earth-born humans? Might their party face terrible persecution from Martian life forms? Just as our ancestors in prehistory—day and night—endured attacks from wild beasts and venomous serpents, making daily sacrifices through unrelenting struggle. Dr.Denny—setting aside his jubilation for now—had to immediately begin issuing a stream of precise commands. He must lead these subordinates bearing humanity’s highest honor; protect them; advance to initiate fraught negotiations with Martian life; resolve everything peacefully. The more one considered it, the responsibility weighing upon Dr.Denny grew immeasurably heavy and vast.

“Inspect all compartments for air leaks!”

The first command Dr. Denny issued was this. They were to check for any air leaks. Mars had scarce air. According to previous studies, the density of Mars' atmosphere was said to be even thinner than that at the summit of Mount Everest on Earth—the highest point at 8,882 meters above sea level. This atmospheric pressure equated to roughly one-third of Earth's, leading researchers to conclude that Mars' atmosphere likely measured one-fourth or less of Earth's.

Therefore, if the spaceship were to leave the air leak holes in each compartment unattended, the air inside would steadily escape outward, and the people within would inevitably suffer respiratory distress. Therefore, they had to check for air leak locations, and if any were found, it would be dangerous unless they sacrificed that room by lowering the airtight door at the boundary with the next compartment. Moreover, this task had to be carried out with great urgency.

Unfortunately, due to the previous arduous journey, various parts of the spaceship had been damaged. They had implemented emergency repairs each time, but with navigation duties taking priority, air leak prevention measures had not been adequately carried out. Dr. Denny’s decision to issue his first command addressing this situation proved correct.

The entire crew raced through every compartment, and though it pained them slightly, they swiftly abandoned rooms with leaks, lowering the airtight doors behind them as they went. Thanks to the efforts of all members, the task was largely completed in as little as five minutes. “Everyone, inspect your landing suits!” The second command issued from Dr.Denny’s lips. This time, it was the inspection of each crew member’s landing air suits. The term “landing” meant disembarking onto Mars—one could not exit the ship in ordinary clothing. First, to compensate for oxygen deficiency and other issues, they had to breathe air supplied from a specially designed tank filled with compressed air. To do this, they had to wear something resembling a diving suit, put on headgear akin to a diving helmet, and carry an air tank on the back. But that wasn’t all. Because it was believed Mars experienced extreme temperature fluctuations, these air suits had to be equipped with a single switch to warm them. These were what they called electrically heated suits.

With regular electrically heated suits, plugging the cord’s end attached to the suit into a socket connected to the ship’s power lines would allow current to flow and warm the garment—but this method wouldn’t work for landing air suits. Because they couldn’t walk around pulling a long cord from the spaceship. Therefore, a special electric heating system had been prepared. It was a power generation device directly connected to a very small atomic engine. This atomic power generator also served as the source for various other tasks.

The inspection of the landing air suits was completed. Each crew member prepared to don these suits at any time. Dr. Denny issued his third command. This required each crew member to assume their new assigned positions. The new assignments were work divisions essential for living on Mars. Kawai was assigned to work under Engineer Merton as part of the engine crew, Ned became the cafeteria server, and Zhang took on the role of cook—effectively returning to his previous duties. Yamagi was appointed lookout, formally securing a seat before the six-direction television—colloquially called the television monitor. Yamagi’s keen observational skills—or rather, his overly sensitive nerves—made him perfectly suited for this role.

Yamagi, immediately after Dr. Denny’s third command, faced the television monitor’s screen, focusing all his attention through his eyes as he kept watch in all directions—when suddenly he discovered something and, “Oh—” he groaned, grabbed the television monitor’s magnification handle, and hurriedly began turning it. Alien creatures. On the television screen, a vast desert and the jungle beyond it were displayed. As Yamagi turned the magnification handle, the jungle on the screen rapidly drew closer, and the image grew larger.

The trees forming the jungle were robust shrubs somewhat resembling pine. They were growing densely. The trees appeared to be about ten meters tall. They were quite tall trees. What surprised Yamagi was neither the height of the trees nor the grandeur of the jungle. Because he had spotted something moving in a certain part of that jungle. They were darting in and out among the trees of the jungle.

(They seem to be Martian animals.) Yamagi, attempting to get a clearer view of their forms, increased the magnification of the television monitor—and there, the things squirming among the trees gradually grew larger and clearer on the projection screen. Sure enough, they were animals. But what strangely shaped animals they were! To put it simply, they were something like a cross between an octopus and an insect. Namely, they had large heads, which their slender bodies laboriously lifted. Their heads had two large eyes. They had no noses; instead, a sharp protrusion resembling the mouthparts of octopuses as depicted in illustrations extended from above their jaws. Moreover, on both sides of their faces were ears that closely resembled those of a donkey. Moreover, in an extremely strange manner, two or three long antenna-like appendages—resembling those of a grub—protruded from the tops of their heads. These appeared highly flexible and were actively moving about atop their heads, almost as if dancing with their antennae.

When one looked at the animals from the neck down, they were pitifully emaciated. A small tumor-like torso; then three limp noodle-like arms; then three similarly flimsy legs—these legs unmistakably evoked octopus tentacles. What on earth were these enigmatic creatures…? Yamagi felt boundless fascination toward the animals’ bizarre forms and had nearly forgotten to report their discovery.

The strange animals were weaving through the trees, darting here and there as if in a great hurry. And some of them pressed tightly against the trunks, rolling their large eyes round and round while vigorously waving their antennae, appearing to stare intently at the spaceship.

“H-hey, I see some strange animals. In the dense jungle beyond the desert, straight ahead.” It was at this moment that Yamagi finally came back to himself and shouted his first report about discovering the Martian animals.

“What… strange animals…” Dr.Denny came up behind Yamagi. Yamagi pointed at the television monitor’s projection screen.

“Ah, this?” “There they are.” “So it was true after all.” “This is something we really can’t let our guard down around.” “They possess bodies far superior to ours...” Dr. Denny stared intently at the squirming creatures among the trees, his expression one of profound fascination. “Dr., what kind of animals are those?” “They look like octopuses, but it’d be strange for octopuses to be in a forest.”

As he said this, Yamagi turned toward Dr. Denny. “That is not an octopus. “That is probably what Martians are, I think.”

“What?! Martians,” Yamagi exclaimed. “Are those… the people of Mars?” “Yes,” Dr. Denny replied. “Undoubtedly that must be the case. From what I can observe here, their physical structure aligns perfectly with what I’ve researched and imagined all these years.” “Whoa…” Yamagi murmured. “If those are Martians… then Martians are downright creepy, aren’t they? I’d always thought there’d be people just like Earthlings living here…” “No, that couldn’t possibly be,” Dr. Denny countered. “The climate differs entirely—Mars’s origins and history are fundamentally distinct. Moreover, after tens of thousands of years undergoing evolution unique to Mars, it was inconceivable that beings shaped like Earth humans could inhabit this planet.”

While Dr. Denny and Yamagi were talking, the other crew members trooped over to the television monitor. Everyone had gathered out of interest upon hearing that Martians were visible. "They look disgusting." "They’d be rather troublesome to interact with." "Which ones are male and which are female?" "Well... I can’t tell which is which at all. Anyway, I’d heard stories like ‘There are many beautiful women on Mars,’ but now I see that was a complete lie."

“Oh dear, how pitiable…” A burst of laughter erupted. “Dr., there are an awful lot of Martians gathered in the forest.” “It’s kind of creepy.” “Don’t you think they might be heading this way?” Yamagi had discovered a massive horde of Martians deep in the jungle—crowded together with their eyes keenly focused—and reported this to Dr.Denny. Dr.Denny seemed to have already noticed that. “...I want to negotiate peacefully with the Martians.” “But we can’t let our guard down.” “We must also go fully armed.”

Dr. Denny seemed intent on proactively approaching the Martians. And it became clear that his intention was to settle matters peacefully. But at that moment, for reasons unknown, the Martians suddenly emerged from the jungle. And then they came charging across the vast desert toward us as if flying! Hundreds—no, thousands—no, even more than that. Like a massive swarm of red ants on the move, they formed orderly ranks and crossed the desert, charging toward the spaceship with terrifying momentum.

Ah, here comes the crisis!

On our side were barely ten Earth humans. The opposing force was an innumerable swarm of Martians—tens of thousands strong, no hundreds of thousands. Moreover, we stood upon the alien soil of Mars—a realm governed by entirely different rules. Dr. Denny’s group found itself in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position.

The Approaching Martians

The situation was extremely dangerous. The massive horde of Martians—resembling upright crimson ants with oversized heads—formed impeccable ranks and drew closer with each passing moment to the spaceship lying prone on the desert.

Dr. Denny, the elderly leader of our Mars expedition team, stood rigidly atop the command platform, staring fixedly at the six display screens of the television monitor without moving a muscle.

Ah, if things continued like this, the nine-member party would likely come under attack by the Martian horde and be trampled in an instant. Kawai was by Engineer Merton’s side at this time, but when the engineer asked him to bring back some food from the cafeteria, Kawai hurriedly ran off in that direction. When Kawai entered the cafeteria, he found Zhang and Ned pressing their faces against the organic glass round window, peering outside with such intensity that they didn’t seem to notice him come in.

“Hey, from Engineer Merton—sausages, asparagus, and coffee.” At Kawai’s voice, Zhang and Ned startled and spun around. “Huh?! This is no time to be eating!” Ned widened his eyes.

Ned’s eyes widened. Zhang replied, “Understood,” and dashed into the kitchen. “No—we can’t have empty stomachs. Mr. Merton says to stuff yourself with as much as you can eat now.”

“I’m so jealous. Even a glutton like me doesn’t feel like eating a single biscuit right now.” Zhang came running back from the kitchen. He handed Kawai the sausages, canned asparagus, and a magic bottle filled with coffee.

“Thanks, hey, Zhang. What on earth is going to happen from here?”

Kawai asked Zhang. “How should I know something like that?” “Why don’t you consult the crystal ball using the Ox-Headed Immortal’s power?” “I already had Zhang-kun do that earlier.” Ned interjected from the side. “Hey, Zhang. Go ahead and tell Kawai-kun about that.” “That kind of prophecy is no good,” Zhang said. “I’m not confident. But Ned kept insisting I do it, so…” “If the Ox-Headed Immortal doesn’t even know his own power, that’s a problem.” “Anyway, go ahead and tell Kawai-kun.”

Because Ned was insisting so earnestly, Zhang began to speak with apparent embarrassment. "...You see, when I stared into the crystal ball, I felt like I saw this scene." "The four of us..." "We were up on that milk truck dancing the tanuki dance like we were having fun."

“Huh, the tanuki dance?” “Look, Yamagi-kun taught it to us once, didn’t he? It’s the raccoon dog festival dance from some temple. The one where you dangle a thick tail and dance in a strange pose.” “Ah, that one.” “The Tanuki Festival Song from Shōjō-ji Temple!” “Yeah, that’s the one.” “And then, while we were dancing on top of the car, scattered red things came raining down like a shower.” “And then the vision vanished.” “The end.”

“What are those red things that came down scattered like...” “I don’t know what that is. They’re bigger than sparks. They’re red things about the size of torn cotton tufts.” “So does that mean incendiary bombs are going to rain down from above?” “There’s no way we’d dance under falling incendiary bombs!” With that, Ned objected. “So I think that fortune-telling is an omen that something good will happen soon.” “You’re such an optimist—I envy you. Anyway, we’ll soon find out if it’s true or a lie. See ya.”

With that, Kawai readjusted his grip on the groceries and ran back to Engineer Merton.

While Kawai was briefly away, the situation outside the spacecraft had grown increasingly dire. When viewed through the television monitor, the spaceship was now completely surrounded by a swarm of Martians. And the eerie creatures, jostling each other, were gradually and steadily closing in on the spacecraft, tightening their ring of encirclement. Suddenly, above their heads, something like blue fireworks exploded with a series of pops. As if this were their signal, the swarm of Martians surged forward like raging waves crashing upon a shore, leaping into motion, and with tremendous speed, they came charging at the spacecraft from all directions with a roar.

The moment when fate reached its extremity finally arrived. Now this small crew's spacecraft stood on the very brink of being trampled by them!

“Release the F Gas!” Dr. Denny’s command resounded through the vessel. The order was relayed in rapid succession. Machinery roared awake. The spaceship—as if roused from slumber—began to tremble. Then billowing brown gas erupted from multiple vents along its belly. The gas—seeming equal in weight to Mars’ atmosphere or perhaps slightly denser—rose just above the hull without climbing higher, swiftly engulfing the entire craft in moments.

On the monitor screen, the spreading gas could be seen as vividly as if it were within reach. Now completely enveloped by this brown gas, the screen nevertheless continued to display the surrounding scenery clearly through the F Gas—a testament to the television monitor’s unique capability to penetrate even nocturnal darkness. Indeed. The Martian swarm’s earlier ferocious momentum had vanished entirely. Colliding with the gas, they fell into utter disarray—ranks breaking, bodies tumbling, scrambling en masse to flee into the distance—their chaotic retreat rendered with such clarity it bordered on absurdity.

“The Martians must have been thoroughly startled,” said Dr. Denny. “Total retreat. Now they won’t dare pull such reckless stunts again.”

Dr. Denny had a relieved look. “What kind of poison gas was that F Gas just now?” With that, Kawai asked Engineer Merton. “Oh, that? “F Gas isn’t exactly what you’d call poison gas—it just causes a slight tingling sensation on soft skin. “But it seems that was enough to startle them.”

Engineer Merton smiled with that.

Earth in Uproar The release of F Gas continued unceasingly thereafter. The thick wall of gas completely enveloped the broken spaceship, safely protecting it from the Martians’ attacks.

Since the crisis had passed for the time being, Dr. Denny ordered the crew members to sleep in shifts. However, Dr. Denny did not take rest and began a meeting with the executive members about how to proceed with negotiations with the Martians.

About an hour later, cheers erupted inside the spacecraft.

“The radio’s working!” “We’ve established radio contact with Earth!” Huh? The radio’s reaching Earth now? Hearing this, the crew members hurriedly gathered in the radio room. Those who had just gone to bed also sprang up from their bunks and rushed to the radio room. “Hello, is this KGO Station? ... That’s correct. We narrowly avoided crashing and have landed.” “…Apparently, everyone is shocked.” “Apparently, calls are pouring into the station.” “Some are arriving by car.” “That’s delightful.” “……Are you asking for our crew members’ names?” “First, Captain Dr. Denny, and then……”

On Earth, this news had already been reported worldwide through radio waves and seemed to have become a maelstrom of great excitement. Dr. Denny, who had been in a meeting, was finally hauled before the microphone.

“I, as President of the Mars Exploration Society, hereby express my heartfelt gratitude for the enduring support extended to us over many years by the entire American populace.” “We, as Earth’s humanity, have now set foot upon Mars—yet for this glory’s sake, we have in an instant forgotten all struggles endured until today.” “Nevertheless, our mission remains grave and monumental, for negotiations with the Martians now stand before us.” “We shall preserve Earth’s glory and honor untarnished as we devote our utmost efforts to this new undertaking.” “Our present concerns lie solely with the spaceship’s severe damage and loss of most fuel—matters for which we are currently considering the best remedial course.” “Finally, I place profound expectations upon you citizens of America—nay, all people of Earth—praying this Martian venture may guide all living beings toward happiness and glory.” “Thank you.”

Dr. Denny’s address appeared to have stirred profound emotion among Earth’s populace.

After that, the radio room became frantically busy. In the intervals between official communications, special transmission requests from various news agencies flooded in, and they found themselves at a loss as to how to respond to each one. After all, we had only just restored a single radio device; there was simply no way to keep up with the flood of transmission requests pouring in from Earth. Had Dr. Denny not stood before the microphone again and honestly informed them that although we had now landed on Mars, we remained exposed to grave dangers and currently lacked the capacity to send detailed reports about our Martian expedition, the spaceship’s radio device—so painstakingly restored—would likely have broken down shortly thereafter from overuse. Finally, the situation became clear even on Earth, and by order, the government decided that for the time being, communications with the spaceship would be limited to official bulletins, while on the other hand, they resolved to spare no support in response to Dr. Denny’s requests and stand by to fulfill his proposals.

Thus, the uproar over communications between Earth and the spaceship subsided for the time being, and the radio operators also found relief.

Dr. Denny returned to the meeting. And then, for two hours, a relatively quiet time passed. “What on earth is the time now?”

With that, one of the crew members asked a colleague.

“It’s probably around noon.” “Look, the sun is shining right overhead.”

He pointed upward through the round window. "But that's weird. Even though four hours have already passed since we landed on Mars, the sun's been shining almost the same way overhead from the start." "There's no way something that absurd could happen!"

"But it's true, so there's nothing we can do about it." "It's like this, you see," Engineer Merton said with a laugh as he passed by.

“On Mars, a day lasts forty-eight hours, you see.” “In other words, since Mars rotates at about half Earth’s speed, it needs twice as long to complete one full rotation.” “Heh heh, that’s just brutal.” “If we don’t double each of our three meals, we’ll starve ourselves dizzy!”

“Oh well, we’ll just eat six times a day then.”

“Nah, it’s not that simple,” said Engineer Merton with a laugh as he passed by. “The night lasts twenty-four hours straight. Could you survive twenty-four hours without eating anything?” “Well, that does sound rough,” another crew member replied. “So we’d have to wake up once midway to eat, then go back to sleep again—I guess that’s how it’d work.”

“I can’t make heads or tails of this anymore.” “What a troublesome place we’ve ended up in.” “Ha ha ha!”

The group exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

Another attack? Yamagi’s report that a massive horde of Martians had once again begun assembling in front of the spaceship once more clouded the crew members’ faces with unease.

The Martians, who had once retreated like the ebbing tide, were now surging back toward the spaceship with even greater momentum than before. Not only had the Martians increased in number, but now each one held a bizarre rod in hand.

They were like clubs with bulbous, rounded tips. But that wasn’t all. They were pulling something like a tall siege tower behind them. It stood four or five stories tall, with the unsettling faces of Martians clustered densely on every floor like tomatoes lined up at a market stall. Such things gradually emerged from the dense jungle, their numbers swelling as they came. (What could they possibly be planning?)

Siege towers, clubs, and a vast swarm of Martians! They had been driven back by F Gas and retreated en masse earlier, but there was no doubt they had now devised a countermeasure and were advancing once more. An emergency stations order was issued within the ship, and Dr. Denny once again stood atop the command platform, fixing a piercing gaze upon the television monitor. Then, the Martians raised the club-like objects in their hands high into the air in unison.

Then, strangely enough, the wind began to whistle fiercely. Desert sand and dust whirled up. Then, the curtain of F Gas enveloping the spaceship was blown away, rapidly thinning out. The Martians seemed to roar with laughter. The Martians mounted on the siege towers vigorously swung their rods in circles above their heads. The wind grew fiercer, and the spaceship began swaying unsteadily like a tiny star amidst the raging storm.

“This is a real mess!” The crew members, trying not to be thrown off their feet, clung desperately to whatever was nearby. “Activate the gravity device!” Dr. Denny barked the order. With a groan, the gravity device activated. The spaceship clung tightly to the ground. It stopped moving completely. The wind sent by the Martians grew fiercer still. But the spaceship didn’t budge an inch. Yet the F Gas became useless—blown away the moment it sprayed from the ports.

And then, the wind came to an abrupt halt. The Martians all lowered their clubs at once. Just as they thought they were saved, large blue rock-like objects began flying out from among them and being hurled one after another toward the spaceship. “Ah! Grenades? Bombs?” The crew paled, but these didn’t seem to be explosives—there was no blast sound, only the faint sensation of dull thuds reverberating through the ship. However, they gradually increased in number, and hundreds and thousands came raining down on the ship.

“The gas emission ports have been blocked.” A troubling report came in. “What? So the gas isn’t coming out anymore?”

“That’s correct. With the holes blocked, there’s nothing we can do now.”

Around that time, the Martians appeared to be in high spirits again, laughing. “There’s no helping it. All we can do now is keep them from getting inside the ship for as long as possible. All hands, don airsuits! Because there’s no telling when the hull might rupture and the air could thin out.”

Finally confronting the worst-case scenario，Dr.Denny’s expression grew graver.

The crew members hurriedly began putting on airsuits. Large boots; ill-fitting armor-like leggings, torsos, and arms; round helmets resembling octopus heads; air tanks; atomic engine generators. Their appearances completely transformed. "It's relatively light." "Doesn't it feel off?" “On Mars, the gravity is about half that of Earth’s, so they feel much lighter than when we wore them back home.” “Is that so? “With this, we’ve started to look a bit more like Martians. I wonder if those bastards are wearing airsuits too.”

“No way.” At that moment, the crew members saw the four boys lined up before Dr. Denny. What could be the reason for this? All four boys had large tails hanging from their buttocks. The four boys kept saying something to Dr. Denny. Dr. Denny raised his hand in a gesture of acknowledgment, repeating, “Understood, understood.” Before long, he shook each boy’s hand one by one. Then they moved away from Dr. Denny and left the room. What on earth was happening?

“Gentlemen, I have something to inform you.”

Dr. Denny addressed the crew members through the loudspeaker attached to his air helmet. "As you have just witnessed, Kawai, Yamagi, Zhang, and Ned—the four boys—came to inform us that they wish to go to the Martians as our envoys." “That’s dangerous.” “We have to stop them!” And then someone shouted. “Of course I myself tried repeatedly to stop them.” “But the boys’ resolve was rock-hard.” “They insist we permit them to attempt opening peaceful negotiations with the Martians through diplomatic means.” “I have finally realized I must accept these four boys’ perilous proposal—that I must embrace their goodwill.” “In truth, if we persist down this path, we’ll be forced into single combat with the Martians...”

Dr. Denny halted his speech. This time, no one interrupted.

“We shall remain aboard this ship and pray to God for the four boys’ success.” “If this endeavor ends in failure, we must prepare ourselves for our fate.” “……Now, you shall gather before the television monitors.” “You shall gaze out from that window there.” “……Ah, that sound—Engineer Merton is opening the ship’s hatch for the four boys.” “Soon they will exit the ship and show themselves.” Almost immediately after Dr. Denny finished speaking, the entire crew let out a resounding cheer.

“Oh, here they go! Our boys’ brigade!” “Our boys' brigade!”

“Hmm, I did consider it.” “To think they’d ride in something like that...”

What came rolling out from the ship was that rickety, oversized milk delivery truck. It was that dilapidated boxy automobile with a large cow painted on its side panel. On top of it stood three boys wearing airsuits and sporting thick tails. The fourth must have been in the driver’s seat. It was no wonder the crew members who saw this all raised a cheer of jubilation at once. But next, they began shedding tears in streams. Their great tears of gratitude!

The four boys—what would they do next? What would become of their fate?

High Leaps The boxy automobile advanced, kicking up desert sand. The four boys fixed their eyes intently on the crowd of Martians, their faces stiff with tension.

The horde of Martians, each raising club-like objects high above their heads, came surging toward them like a raging tide.

The boxy automobile charged straight into their midst like an arrow.

“Hey, you should slow down more. If you don’t, we might end up running over Martians.” Yamagi called out a warning to the driver’s seat.

“It’s no use—this is the lowest speed.”

"That can’t be right." “No, it really is. On Mars, the gravity’s only about one-third of Earth’s. With just one-third the friction, we end up going at an incredible speed.” “Hmm… I see. Does that even make sense?” Yamagi found it puzzling. At that moment, Kawai cried out. The car shook violently and stopped with a loud clunk. “Whoa!”

Zhang and Ned, who had been riding atop the boxy automobile, were suddenly hurled into the air and slammed into the sand before they could even gasp. It was fortunate it was sand. Had it been rock, their heads would have been smashed to pieces. From the Martian crowd rose strange, shrill cackling laughter. A cunning pitfall had been dug in the desert. Unaware of this trap, Kawai had sped forward in the boxy automobile and plunged into the hole.

The situation suddenly turned unfavorable. Fortunately, both Kawai and Yamagi had only formed lumps on their foreheads with no life-threatening injuries, while Zhang and Ned had quickly crawled out of the sand. But everyone's faces had completely changed. If the boxy automobile they were relying on had fallen into the pit, they would have no choice but to trudge along on foot from now on. That was a rather disheartening prospect. "What should we do now?"

“This is bad.” Zhang and Ned exchanged glances, looking as if they were about to burst into tears. “Hey, Kawai, what should we do?”

Having been called by Yamagi, Kawai crawled into the pitfall and was inspecting the vehicle body.

“Hey everyone, don’t worry. The car’s fine!” “But Kawai, even if the car’s okay, it’s useless stuck in this pit! It won’t help us at all!” “No, it’s fine. Everyone—give me a hand! We just need to pull the car up from this pit.” “What?! Pull the car up from the pit? How could we possibly do that? We’re just kids and the car’s heavy—there’s no way!”

Ned said this and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’ll come up—no problem. Quit dawdling and get down here—all of you! Lend a hand! Hurry up! Now!” Though Zhang, Ned, and Yamagi struggled to believe Kawai’s claims, his persistent urging finally made them climb reluctantly into the pit. “Push from this side! One... Two... Three! Heave-ho!” “Heave-h—whoa...”

“Heave-ho! Heave-ho!” Surprisingly, the boxy automobile began to move and was pushed up the slope of the hole, swaying unsteadily as it went. Eventually, the car made it safely back up to the desert surface.

“It’s strange,” “This car feels so light now!” “That’s precisely why,” “I told you earlier.” “On Mars, gravity is about one-third of Earth’s.” “So everything feels one-third its normal weight.”

“Huh, is that right?” The other three stared wide-eyed. “If you still don’t believe me, try kicking off the ground and jumping up a few times.” “You’ll be shocked how high you can go.” When Kawai said this, Ned—always the biggest show-off—immediately gave a bounce. To their astonishment, Ned’s body rose as lightly as cardboard tossed skyward, soaring well above the heads of the three boys.

“Whoa, he jumped up that high!” “It’s like he’s some kind of tengu!” “Whoa, this is fun! I’ll fly even higher!” Ned, thoroughly enjoying himself, sprang up once, then again, floated lightly into the air, and kept repeating this. Each time he jumped, the thick tanuki tail attached to his rear swayed comically through the air—so uproariously funny that everyone forgot the peril of facing a Martian horde and doubled over laughing. Ned, getting more and more carried away, sprang up and proceeded to strike a silly pose.

“Hey, Ned. “Cut it out already. “And everyone, get in the car quickly!” Kawai said this and shouted from the driver’s seat. Finally, the other three also came to their senses and climbed into the car. The car started running across the desert once again.

The Charm of Music

From that point on, the boys suddenly seemed to regain their energy. As for why this had happened, it was probably because Ned—who until now had been the most dejected—had unexpectedly brightened up. He began jumping around, and because he could leap up so effortlessly, he seemed to have become thoroughly delighted. Ned proposed trying out the electric phonograph that had been loaded in the car. Kawai agreed to this as well but worried whether the phonograph was broken. However, when they tried it, the device started spinning properly, and that cheerful *The Tanuki Song of Shōjō-ji* flowed out loudly from the loudspeaker.

“Oh, this is perfect! Let’s all do the Tanuki dance on top of the car!” “Alright, I’ll join in too!” Even the usually quiet Zhang got swept up by Ned and started to revel. With Yamagi joining them, the three of them began that cheerful Tanuki dance atop the boxy automobile. And the automobile steadily approached the crowd of Martians. The Martian crowd that had been seething with rage. The massive horde that had been steadily closing in while brandishing their sticks high. —At that very moment, they came to an abrupt halt. Then the club-like objects that had been raised high began to be gradually lowered.

But that wasn’t all. Before long, the Martians began swaying their bodies from side to side.

Keeping in time with the rhythm of *The Tanuki Song of Shōjō-ji*... “Yes! The Martians understand music!” Kawai in the driver’s seat was so overjoyed he could have leapt for joy. He slowed the car’s speed as much as possible. And twisting the knob on the electric phonograph’s amplifier, he turned up the volume another notch.

The boxy automobile finally plunged into the midst of the Martian crowd. The Martians with their strangely shaped, ominous faces no longer showed any sign of attacking them and cleared a path for the boxy automobile.

Kawai, mustering his resolve, brought the boxy automobile to a perfect stop right in their midst.

The Martians formed a large circle around the boxy automobile. They swayed their bodies even more vigorously from side to side as if delighting in the rhythm. Before long, they began shaking their large heads, waving their octopus-like hands as they danced, and eventually started spinning around. It seemed they were imitating the Tanuki dance of the three boys who were dancing earnestly atop the boxy automobile.

“This is working!” “If we play two or three records，the Martians will surely become friends with us.” “Hey，everyone! Put your backs into dancing!”

Kawai called up to the boxy automobile’s roof from below. However, his voice didn’t seem to reach them above. But the three boys were dancing absorbedly. Kawai thought it was fine as long as they kept dancing.

The record suddenly stopped. Kawai, entranced by the Martians' dancing, hadn't noticed the record had ended. Then the Martians abruptly stopped dancing, began murmuring restlessly once more, and signs of danger appeared. "This is bad!" Kawai hurriedly put on a new record.

It was Beethoven’s *Moonlight Sonata*. As this quiet piece began to resonate, the restless Martians abruptly fell silent. “Hmm, as I thought—Martians really do love music.” Kawai muttered. However, the Martians did not dance any longer. And they stiffened their bodies like stone, fixed their large eyes intently this way, and then began to emit strange voices. It seemed as though they were sobbing, captivated by the famous piece.

“Hey, Kawai!” “Quit that record!” “We can’t dance to Beethoven!”

From atop the boxy automobile, Yamagi shouted. “Play a livelier song we can dance to. Look at that, the Martians are howling! They’ll come leaping at us any second now!” Ned sent a protesting voice down. “Ah, right—you were dancing.” “I’ll change the song now.” Kawai hurriedly switched the record again. The one that came to his hand was *Echigo Jishi* (Echigo Lion Dance). This one would definitely make things lively—no mistake about that.

A lively East-West ensemble piece began to play.

Then, its effect manifested immediately. The Martian crowd, which had been as hard as tombstones, burst into cheerful motion. Waving their hands, lifting their legs, and moving their heavy-looking heads, they began an incredibly lively dance—as if tossing locusts into a cauldron. “Hey, that song ain’t workin’!”

From above, Yamagi shouted. "But it's lively and good enough, ain't it?"

“No—that won’t work! “It’s too lively—we can’t keep up with the dancing! “Poor Ned’s dancing so earnestly that his legs are all wobbly.”

“This is tricky... Should I play *Shōjō-ji*?” “Yeah, instead of that, we should play a lively waltz. And once the Martians have settled down a bit, we’ll start diplomatic negotiations. I think it’s about the right time now.” “Right, then what should we play?” “That’s it—let’s play *The Waves of the Danube*!” As the lively rhythm of *The Waves of the Danube* began to resonate from the loudspeaker, the Martians all fell silent at once. And gradually swaying their bodies side to side, they began to repeat a motion like waves lapping.

Yamagi came down. Following that, Zhang and Ned came down.

“Well then, shall the three of us go and try? “You stay here and keep the music going.” Yamagi said to Kawai.

“Are you sure? Isn’t it too soon?” “No—now is precisely the time.” With apparent confidence, Yamagi said this, beckoned to Zhang and Ned, then boldly stomped across the sand and approached the crowd of Martians. All three wore those large round helmets, with thick tails dangling from the rear of their airsuits...

Now, what would happen? Would the Martian crowd truly welcome Yamagi and his group without resistance? Or would their heads be smashed apart in one strike? Kawai was busy comparing his friends' departing figures with the Martians' movements while managing the records.

First Meeting

The three boy ambassadors eventually went as far as they could and came to a halt before the crowd of Martians. According to Yamagi’s later account of his impressions, he had seen so many bizarre Martians right before his eyes that his mind went haywire and he nearly fainted. According to Zhang’s impressions, upon seeing the Martians’ physiques, he had thought that if they were boiled whole in soup, they would surely be delicious.

What was Ned thinking? He had apparently thought that if he could somehow bring back a Martian as a souvenir to Earth and exhibit it, he would surely make a fortune. Be that as it may, Yamagi wanted to salute the Martians there to show his goodwill, but he agonized over what gesture to make so they would recognize it as a salute.

However, he could not afford to keep agonizing forever. Thereupon, he resolutely clasped his hands over his chest, bent his upper body forward, and spoke in English.

“Fellow Martians, good day.” “How are you all doing?” “We have come all the way from Earth.” While Yamagi was speaking, Zhang and Ned also greeted them in the same manner.

Then, suddenly, a strange voice rose from among the Martians.

“Welcome,” said Gine. “Fellow Earthlings. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” The American English was remarkably fluent. “Oh! Thank you! Thank you!” Yamagi extended both hands forward in gratitude, his surprise and joy intermingling. Yet doubt lingered—how could Martians know Earth’s language? How could they speak it? The Martian crowd parted before the three boys like a living sea. From beyond emerged seven new figures, thick scarves coiled beneath their bulbous heads where necks might be. The leader wore white; others trailed in green, yellow, purple. The white-scarved Martian carried himself like royalty.

“Interesting music, interesting dance. “You let us hear and see that right before our eyes—it was most delightful. “Everyone is delighted.”

As he spoke, the white-mufflered Martian came to a stop before Yamagi and the others and extended one whip-like hand forward. It seemed to be requesting a handshake, so Yamagi felt slightly uneasy, but mustering his resolve, he extended his own hand and firmly grasped and shook the Martian’s. The texture was quite cool, but he could still tell it had body heat. “Since you kindly speak Earth’s language, I can understand everything very well.” “And I am happy.” “My name is Yamagi.” “Please treat me well.”

“Oh, you kindly say that—I’m delighted too,” “I am Gine, serving as the representative of this Mikasa Group. Please treat me well.” The Martian Gine, wearing a white muffler around his neck, said this and bowed politely. Yamagi, growing increasingly delighted, introduced Zhang and Ned, whereupon Gine presented the six occupational representatives waiting behind him. A friendly atmosphere spread through the gathering.

“Ah, you’re Mr. Gine, I believe?”

Yamagi called.

“Yes, I am Gine.” The white-mufflered representative of the Mikasa Group answered. “Well, um... that is... we were very rude earlier. We spewed unpleasant gas that caused you all distress, and since we had just arrived on Mars and were in a panic, when unfamiliar people like yourselves came pressing in, we misunderstood it as a serious situation.” “Oh, such matters are nothing of consequence. Our side also had those who misunderstood and started the commotion. Anyway, please come over there so we can have a leisurely talk. And please let us hear plenty more of that interesting music and such.”

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

“But before that—might I ask—what exactly was your purpose in coming to our place?”

Gine suddenly posed a grave question.

Yamagi flinched. However, realizing that panicking here would spell disaster, he steadied himself, “Ah, that matter?” “We Earthlings have, in fact, known of Mars’s existence for thousands of years.” “Moreover, we believed that there must indeed be living beings on Mars—in other words, people like yourselves residing here—and we had been wanting to become acquainted as soon as possible.” “However, traveling through space was no easy feat, and it was only after Dr. Denny’s spaceship was finally completed that we were able to make this journey.”

“Hmph. Was it just to see us? Is that all? Do you have no other objectives?” Gine’s words had changed slightly from before and somehow seemed tinged with suspicion. “As for the details, I believe Dr. Denny will explain them later. In any case, our purpose in visiting Mars is this: to join hands with the Martians closest to Earth, send from Earth what Mars lacks, and through this mutual effort become happier together—that is why we have come here.”

“I see. Coexistence and mutual prosperity, is it? That’s all well and good. We all must help each other. However—is your purpose for coming truly limited to just that?” Gine rolled his large eyes and asked persistently. The six other representatives behind Gine also assumed defensive postures, their attention sharply focused on what Yamagi would answer.

Finally overwhelmed by the pressure, Yamagi couldn't answer right away.

“Well, Mr. Yamagi.” “In truth, we have received a certain warning advising us to be cautious about Earth people.” “Depending on your answer, we must make a grave decision.”

With those words, the seven Martian representatives formed a complete circle around the three boys.

Compared to the initial favorable momentum, this crisis had taken on an air of hostility from midway onward. What would become of the boy ambassadors' fate?

The situation turned critical.

No sooner had one crisis passed than another began!

Just when they thought they had managed to appease the Martians and breathed a sigh of relief, in that brief moment, the Martians suddenly erupted in intense anger. Many eerie faces closed in on Yamagi, Zhang, and Ned. Ned’s face turned a frog-like blue and trembled slightly. Yamagi, on the other hand, flushed bright red. Only Zhang remained perfectly composed, his unflinching gaze fixed on Gine from within his air helmet.

“Who said such a thing?” Yamagi shouted, his face turning even redder as he struck his airsuit.

“Who leaked information telling you to be wary of those coming from Earth? As you can see, we have no weapons. Nor have we ever willingly rebelled against you even once...” “Didn’t you just release poison gas on us and make us suffer terribly?” shouted one of the representatives beside Gine. This was Bubun, a Martian who stood taller than any of the others.

“That’s different! We are only a dozen or so people. Moreover, we were merely surviving inside a broken spaceship and were at a loss as to how to ensure the safety of our lives from then on. Then you all came in great numbers—that enormous crowd, that fierce momentum! If you were to board the spaceship like that, the little remaining air would all escape, and we wouldn’t be able to breathe. What’s more, if our important equipment and materials were destroyed, we would lose all hope. That’s why we used the gas. That gas wasn’t really what you’d call poison gas—it was more like a defensive net we set up to protect the spaceship. Now do you understand? We simply had no choice but to take such measures to protect ourselves from your attack. We didn’t attack you first from our side. Please understand.”

Yamagi laid bare his thoughts without reservation. “Hmm, I’m not so sure about that,” said Bubun, still not easing his suspicious look. “We’ve heard such things.” “On Earth, while the population keeps increasing, resources are becoming scarce, causing great hardship.” “And isn’t it true you’ve spent years preparing an invasion war against Mars for that very reason?” “Earthlings are completely untrustworthy!” “That too is your misunderstanding.” “It’s true that Earth’s population is large.” “Also, there have been frequent wars on Earth until now.” “However, wars of aggression have now been eradicated.” “The reason is that we came to understand how the calamities of war befall not only the people of defeated nations but also those of victorious ones, and we fully realized that war brings great misfortune to all people on Earth.” “That’s why they’ve learned their lesson about war, and every country has declared they will no longer start wars.” “Thus, eternal peace has come to Earth.” “This eternal peace must not be limited to Earth alone—it must also be promised between planets.” “No—all living beings in the universe must get along well, help one another, and advance along the path of happiness.” “I firmly believe that if only a spirit of mutual love and cooperation arises, all matters can be smoothly resolved through peaceful discussion—without resorting to such wretched means as war.” “Overpopulation issues and resource scarcity problems—if only there is a spirit of mutual aid, they can certainly be resolved.” “I firmly believe that.”

Yamagi, his face growing even redder, stated his convictions emphatically. “Then I’ll ask—why did you all invade Mars without permission? If you were going to come, you should have asked about our circumstances in advance and waited for a favorable response before coming, shouldn’t you? Coming here without permission like that—I can only think you really are invaders after all.”

Representative Bubun did not yield an inch. Indeed, since Dr. Denny’s spaceship had landed on Mars without permission, there remained no path for explanation when confronted with that fact.

But Yamagi said. “That’s impossible.” “Because we had absolutely no idea what language the Martians used.” “How were we to know that? Since there was no way to find out, we had no choice but to land our spaceship on Mars without warning.” “First of all, we didn’t even know whether people like you existed on Mars in the first place, you see.”

“Ha ha ha!” Bubun leaned back and laughed mockingly.

“What barbarism is this—invading without even studying our language first! We know your Earthling tongue perfectly well—that’s why we’re talking to you like this. Ah ha ha ha! How about that? Do you get it now? This proves you Earthlings are far beneath us Martians in cultural development…” Faced with this argument, Yamagi found himself at a loss for words. It was undeniably true—not a single Earthling knew Martian or had studied it. Even Dr. Denny remained ignorant. Yet here were Martians skillfully speaking Earth’s language. When confronted with this evidence of Martian superiority, there could be no rebuttal.

But how on earth had the Martians learned Earth’s language?

Final Effort The boys' situation took a turn for the worse.

Yamagi was left speechless, effectively defeated by Bubun. Bubun’s large eyeballs swiveled restlessly, and the antennae growing from his head writhed snakelike in an unsettling manner. Ned, overwhelmed with worry, felt his breath nearly stop as he clung to Zhang.

“Hey Zhang, what on earth is going to happen to us?” Zhang, who had been standing statue-like, gently stroked Ned’s hand. And then he said.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry.” “Everything will work out smoothly before long.”

“Really? But they’re looking pretty fierce, man. Should we run back?”

“Wait—you shouldn’t move around.” “Just stay calm like I am.” “No way! I can’t stay calm!”

“Ned.” “What is it, Zhang?” “Have you forgotten about the Ox-Headed Immortal?” “Ah, the Ox-Headed Immortal... that’s you.” “That’s right.” “You’ve always believed in the Great Immortal.” “That Great Immortal had been secretly stroking that crystal with renewed spiritual power and had been divining.” “Look, the crystal is right here in the bag hanging from my waist.” “When I performed the divination, the oracle clearly stated that we’ll safely get through this immediate crisis.” “Stay calm.”

“Oh, the oracle has spoken?” “Oh, right.” “In that case, I’m relieved.”

Ned suddenly perked up. He wondered how this difficult situation would be resolved smoothly. Bubun continued to shout loudly. At that very moment, music began to play. In the driver’s seat of the milk delivery truck where he had been waiting alone, Kawai started playing the electric phonograph. The piece was Träumerei. A dreamy piece that made you sleepy as you listened was played by a cello. Bubun’s voice came to an abrupt halt. His antennae, which had been puffed up triumphantly, drooped limply, and soon they began to writhe little by little in time with the melody of the music.

Strangely enough, the Martians were vulnerable to music. The Martian representative Gine, who had been silent until now, tapped Bubun on the shoulder and said something. Then Bubun jumped up. He seemed surprised by something. He came toward Yamagi and the others,

"Huh? Are you Earthling boys? I thought you were adult Earthlings, but..." "That's correct—we four are boys." "Four? I can only see three of you though..." "The fourth one is inside that car."

“So that’s what’s producing that beautiful sound?” “That’s correct.” “Hmm. This is unexpected. I was speaking under the assumption that you were adult Earthlings, but I didn’t realize you were still boys not even of age. Since even boys have thoughts like that, adult Earthlings must be quite remarkable.” “They certainly are. All the adults are staying in the spaceship. Please be sure to meet them calmly.”

“Alright, let’s do that. “Ah, if Gine had told me earlier that you were boys, I wouldn’t have nagged so much. “After all, Gine has been to Earth—he’s the most knowledgeable among us Martians.” “Huh? Mr. Gine has been to Earth?” “He went two or three times. “Right, Gine?” “Yes. I went three times. “And I’ve been researching Earth people. “But it seems Earth people never noticed my activities.”

“Huh, that’s surprising. Why did you go? What did you ride—” “Hahaha, I’d rather not say. The reason we can speak American English is because I have been researching it. However, my research on Earth was still ongoing. Therefore, we on Mars hadn’t made any preparations to welcome Earth people. So no matter how much I tried to calm them, everyone refused to listen and ended up rushing toward the spaceship containing the Earth people. I had intended to first inform everyone of Earth people’s merits and culture, and then formally establish friendly relations with Earth. However, because you all came to Mars too quickly, my plans became completely disrupted.”

Gine was indeed a quick-understanding and composed Martian, an ideal representative. Yamagi, Zhang, and Ned all let out sighs of relief. The music of *Träumerei* transitioned into a lighthearted waltz.

“Let’s dance! “It’s our job.” Ned pulled Zhang out and started dancing. Then Bubun, who had grown completely gentle by now, also began imitating them and dancing. The large crowd of Martians who had been standing behind them also began dancing together in time with the waltz music. It was extremely fortunate that Kawai, concerned about the tense situation here, had boldly started the music again.

Between Yamagi and Gine, coordination progressed rapidly, and an arrangement was made for Gine and his group to calmly visit Dr. Denny. To the music, the Martians' dance gradually grew livelier, their voices ringing out as they danced about—a picture of pure, childlike exuberance. The camaraderie between the four boys and the Martians grew increasingly lively, and soon a crowd of Martians had gathered around the milk delivery truck. And pointing at the picture of a cow painted on its side, they amused themselves with fascinated curiosity. Cows did not live on Mars. No—it wasn’t just cows. They had never seen horses, sheep, or deer either.

As for large animals on Mars, there were only creatures somewhat resembling frogs. However, this strange beast(?) was about the size of a cat...

When the four boys let the Martians ride in the milk delivery truck, the Martians became even more cheerful. They clustered densely on top of the cargo box, shrieking strange cries and calling out in delight to their fellow Martians watching from the surroundings. Among them mingled many Martian children, their bodies much smaller—about the size of puppies. Yet with their large heads swiveling big eyes and short tentacles flailing about, they appeared no different from adult Martians. The peculiar difference lay in their disproportionately short bodies below the neck, making them resemble monstrous hōzuki lanterns.

Grand Finale

Now, this story too had to reach its conclusion here.

The meeting between Dr. Denny, leader of the Mars expedition team, and the Martians proceeded very successfully and peacefully, thanks to the groundwork laid by the four boys. A provisional agreement was reached regarding three matters: establishing regular air routes between Mars and Earth, mutually exchanging resources each party lacked, and implementing cultural and academic exchanges between both parties. This was an unexpectedly great achievement even for Dr. Denny. Not only had he succeeded in creating the Mars air route—a remarkable feat in itself—but he had now added this accomplishment on top of it.

Then Dr. Denny embarked on his next task. That was to establish wireless communication with Earth and investigate whether the damaged spaceship could be repaired.

Communication with Earth became successful. There was sufficient fuel to operate the generator, and they had managed to gather all the parts needed to assemble a new transceiver. The other task—whether the damaged spaceship could be repaired—was a critical matter that would determine the group's fate. This investigation took one week. The result made it clear that it simply couldn't be done. Before their eyes, everything suddenly darkened. First, they were critically short on equipment, their machinery was inadequate, and above all, they faced an absolute fuel shortage. Dr. Denny boldly redesigned the spaceship into a smaller model and considered constructing it from their limited machinery, but even this approach faced insurmountable difficulties, making success seem nearly impossible. If they installed the engine as it was, the craft would become too heavy to take off, and yet reducing the engine's size was technically impossible under these conditions. They could disassemble the engine and reduce it to half or a quarter of its original size, but installing the quarter-sized engine was what perfectly suited the small model Dr. Denny had envisioned. Therefore, this initially seemed feasible, but when they actually calculated the horsepower and speed, they found that due to the engine's severe inefficiency, it would take five years to reach Earth after departing Mars. Moreover, the fuel required to operate the engine for five years was enormous—far beyond what they could possibly prepare. Such being the case, it became clear that the group could not prepare any means of transportation to return to Earth. The group's disappointment and despair were almost too pitiable to describe here.

“Mr. Merton, can’t we request help from Earth? In other words, couldn’t we have them send another spaceship here to Mars?”

Kawai said to Engineer Merton.

“Well, I don’t think that’s possible. After all, the only factory with the organizational capacity to build a spaceship powerful enough to reach Mars is our Dr. Denny’s Mars Exploration Society.”

“When it comes to spaceships, can they really not be made anywhere else at all?” “What’s currently being made—excluding ours—are vessels that can barely reach the Moon at best. And even if they do make it to the Moon, returning would be difficult.” “This is quite a problem.” “Ah, this is completely hopeless.” Engineer Merton, who was always energetic and never gave up hope until the end, now sank into an abyss of pessimism like a different person.

“Oh, that’s it!” Kawai shouted. “Mr. Merton, isn’t there still something we can try?” “Still something to try? What is that...” “We’ve realized there’s nothing more we can do on our own, but this is Mars. “Martian wisdom, Martian resources, the Martian labor force—aren’t there plenty of those here? “Furthermore, I hear that Martian named Gine has secretly made three round trips to Earth already. If we ask him, he might lend us a powerful engine we don’t know about. “And if we borrow a large number of Martian workers, wouldn’t we be able to easily and swiftly construct even the most enormous spaceship?”

"Oh, that's a brilliant idea!" "That's right—we'd been trying to solve everything through our own power alone, so we had no choice but to conclude rebuilding the spaceship was impossible." "Let's ask the Martians for help!" "Of course! That's how it should be." "There is indeed such a path." Young Kawai's idea was immediately relayed by Engineer Merton to Dr. Denny. Dr. Denny rejoiced upon hearing it. And so they resolved to follow this course toward solving their problem.

From then on, everything progressed without a hitch. Thanks to Gine’s goodwill, the Martian government agreed to lend the engines and even provided a technical team to accompany them all the way to Earth. However, this came with one condition—the engine’s secret would remain undisclosed to Earthlings for the foreseeable future… Half a year later, the new spaceship—a joint creation of Earthlings and Martians—was triumphantly completed. This vessel was christened “Child of the Sun.” The name embodied the idea that both Mars and Earth are children of our star, infused with a peaceful spirit urging harmony between fellow solar siblings.

The test run also succeeded through Earthling-Martian cooperation. One month later, with all preparations for returning to Earth complete, the “Child of the Sun” finally embarked on its magnificent maiden voyage. Martians on the ground gave an enthusiastic send-off while those aboard—Dr.Denny’s party, Earth-bound Martian envoys, and technicians—shook hands and exchanged greetings through tentacle movements. Thus began this auspicious collaborative space voyage between Earthlings and Martians.

Following the space route surveyed and charted by Dr. Denny, the "Child of the Sun" selected the most favorable course and approached Earth. In just fifteen days, it traversed that route. When the "Child of the Sun" safely landed at the new "Mars" airfield in New York's suburbs, Earth—no, the entire world—was swept into a whirlpool of joy and excitement. Dr. Denny and his crew were welcomed by the President and received honorable commendations. Furthermore, the otherworldly envoy delegation from Mars was welcomed with a grand reception.

Dr. Denny rode in the President’s car and made a splendid entrance into New York. Above the procession, seven-colored paper fell like flowers, and the citizens—having completely emptied their homes—gathered along the roadside and showered them with cheers.

Yamagi, Kawai, Zhang, and Ned—the four boys—rode in that milk delivery truck and joined the procession. This was met with tremendous cheers once again—the milk delivery truck was piled mountain-high with bouquets, and beautiful red, blue, and white ribbons were tied around the neck of the painted cow.—Zhang’s prophecy had indeed come true.

It goes without saying how lavish a welcome Dr. Denny received thereafter. However, since Dr. Denny had important work to do, he worked tirelessly day after day as the intermediary between the Martian delegation and Earth’s representatives. However, thanks to those efforts, a broad cooperative treaty was established between both parties, and it was decided that Earth and Mars would jointly operate regular space routes. And taking yet another step forward, the planets of our solar system agreed to establish a peaceful planetary coalition.

Dr. Denny eventually came to reside permanently on Mars. Dr. Denny was appointed Earth Ambassador to Mars. Bronze statues of Dr. Denny were erected in two locations: New York and Arizona, where Denny Tower stood.

The four boys were able to buy a splendid car and airplane with the reward money and are driving them around. On that car and airplane was painted that familiar large cow.