The
Long Years (April 2026/2057). First
published as "Dwellers in Silence"
in Maclean's,
September 15, 1948.
Hathaway
(the physician/archaeologist from the Fourth Expedition), now
retired, is living on Mars with his wife and children in the hills
above an old, abandoned settlement, vacated many years ago when
everyone returned to Earth at the beginning of the war there. A
gifted inventor and tinkerer, he has wired the old ghost town in the
valley below so that he can make it come alive at night with lights
and sounds as if it were still inhabited. One night, he sees a rocket
approaching Mars and sets fire to the old town to attract the
attention of those on board.
On
board the rocket is his old commander, Captain Wilder, (also from the
earlier stories about the Fourth Expedition) returning to Mars after
twenty years exploring the outer solar system. He and his crew land
and are met by Hathaway, now old and suffering from heart disease.
Hathaway brings the crew to his house for breakfast and introduces
them to his family. Wilder, who remembers meeting Hathaway's wife
many years earlier, remarks that she looks remarkably young, while
Hathaway has aged considerably. Wilder pales when he and one of his
crew realize that Hathaway's son, who gives his age as 23, must be at
least in his forties. Wilder sends the crewmember off to the local
cemetery to check the headstones. He returns to report that he has
found the graves of every member of the family but Hathaway.
Wilder
offers to take Hathaway back to Earth, but he declines. In the next
moment, Hathaway has a heart attack and dies, begging Wilder not to
call his family to his side because they "would not understand".
Wilder then confirms that Hathaway's wife and children are
actually android,
created by Hathaway after his wife and children died years ago.
As
Wilder prepares to depart, one of the crew returns to the house with
a pistol, thinking to put an end to the androids, whose existence
seems pointless now that Hathaway is gone, but he returns shortly,
having been unable to bring himself to kill the robotic family even
knowing that they are not truly human. The rocket departs, and the
android family continues on with its meaningless routine.
The
Martian Chronicles
Ray
Bradbury
New York:
Doubleday, 1950
traducida
ao galego por María
Magdalena Fernández Pérez e publicada como
Crónicas
marcianas
Vigo: Editorial
“Xerais” de Galicia, 2004
Os
largos anos (abril 2026/2057). Publicado
primeiro como "Habitantes en silencio" en Maclean, 15 de
setembro de 1948.
Hathaway
(o médico/arqueólogo da cuarta expedición), agora retirado, vive
en Marte coa súa muller e fillos nas colinas sobre un asentamento
antigo, abandoado, desocupado fai moitos anos cando todos regresaron
á Terra ó principio da guerra alí. Un talentoso inventor e
tinkerer, conectou coa vella cidade fantasma abaixo no val para que
el poidera facer cobrar vida na noite con luces e sons como se aínda
o habitaran. Unha noite, el ve un cohete a Marte e fogo establece no
casco antigo para atraer a atención das persoas a bordo.
A
bordo do cohete é o seu antigo comandante, capitán Wilder, (tamén
das historias anteriores sobre a cuarta expedición) volver a Marte
despois de vinte anos de explorar o sistema solar exterior. El e o
seu equipo de Terra cumplen Hathaway, agora vello e sufre
enfermidades do corazón. Hathaway trae o equipo á súa casa para o
xaxún e presentallle a súa familia. Wilder, quen se acorda da
reunión da muller de Hathaway moitos anos antes, comenta que se vé
moi xoven, mentres que Hathaway envexeceu considerablemente. Wilder
palidece cando el e un dos seus tripulantes se dan conta do fillo de
Hathaway, quen lle dá a súa idade: 23 anos, debe ser ó menos un
cuarentón. Wilder envía o tripulante ó cemiterio local para
comprobar as lápidas. El volve a informar de que encontrou as tumbas
de todos os membros da familia.
Hathaway
novamente na Terra, dalle un ataque ó corazón e morre, Wilder non
chama
á súa familia porque non o entenderían. Wilder confirma entón que
a muller e os fillos de Hathaway son realmente androides, creados por
Hathaway despois de que a súa muller e fillos morreron hai dous
anos.
Como
Wilder preparase para saír, un da tripulación que volve á casa
cunha pistola, pensando en acabar cos androides, cuxa existencia
parece inútil agora que Hathaway se foi, pero regresa pronto,
despois de haber sido incapaz matar á familia robótica aínda
sabendo que non son verdadeiramente humanos.O cohete sae e a familia
androide continúa coa súa rutina sen sentido.
