The Prologue is a transcript of a report sent by Mars settlement’s Commander Sai Dexter to the US Terrestrial Command. It states that one of the cameras surveilling the settlement has been destroyed. Sai Dexter suspects it was done deliberately and asks for advice on how to proceed.

Note: Several communication transcripts are inserted between chapters throughout the book. They are mentioned at the end of each corresponding chapter summary.

Eleven-year-old Bell is trying to sleep in one of the children’s rooms of the US Mars settlement, but his bunkmate Albie’s snoring is keeping him awake. Bell eventually gives up on sleep and walks through the settlement to reach the communications and observations room (“COR”) above ground, where he falls asleep with his cat Leo.

The story is told in the first person by Bell, the youngest child of the first generation of settlers. Bell has never known Earth and is fascinated by what the adults have told him about it, though he is confused by some of their stories about their birth planet.

Bell’s tone is playful and light-hearted; he loves his home and the people he grew up with: Sai, Meems, Phinneus, Eliana, Darby, and Salty Bill (the adults), and

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