Mars novels are in abundant supply - you can fill an entire bookshelf with fictional accounts of humanity’s first journeys to the Red Planet. Naturally, these books offer a ready supply of published first words composed by skilled authors (and otherwise) seeking to create a memorable impression on their readers.
The excerpts that follow are not intended as a comprehensive catalog of fictional first words. I don't claim to have included the best or even better examples of fictional first words, and the following selections have been made solely based on my personal idiosyncrasies and prejudices.
With that said, these excerpts are all from contemporary science fiction, books that have been published since 1990. I've limited my selections to so-called 'hard' science fiction, novels that omit fantastical Martian monsters, supernatural events and other plot devices that preclude any illusion of the story possibly taking place in real life. Perhaps it would be a worthwhile project to investigate the idea of first words spoken in the science fiction of an earlier era, or in works of fiction more properly assigned to the genre known as fantasy, or perhaps horror, but that would be another project altogether.
Kim Stanley Robinson
KSR’s Red Mars trilogy sets the gold standard for Mars related science fiction. These three novels combined credible science (meticulously researched and presented) with credible characters woven into a story that can provoke many rich and spirited discussions of larger philosophical issues. The trilogy is science fiction, yet ideas, issues and conundrums are presented which merit extended attention by anyone actually contemplating the settlement of Mars.
KSR gets the science mostly right, yet he is not satisfied with merely entertaining his readers with a bag of technological tricks. The fact that humans are on Mars and have brought with them all of the technology needed to support one hundred settlers simply sets the stage for the larger issues KSR intends for us to focus on. Thus, we encounter a delightful matter-of-factness in describing extraordinary events. Consider the following passage concerning the settlers’ efforts at sorting through their equipment:
"Hey I found those solar panels." "You think that is something, I just found the goddam nuclear reactor!" Yes, it was a great morning on Mars.
As for first words, Kim Stanley Robinson has himself graciously posted those on our website. "Well, here we are." Nothing could be more matter-of-fact than that!
Ben Bova
Ben Bova is widely acknowledged as a giant of contemporary science fiction. His Mars duet, Mars and Return to Mars, explore in great detail the conflict between those on Earth who have paid the bills to send humans to Mars and those who see Mars in the context of a larger moral and ethical constellation.
In Bova’s fiction, five astronauts face a television camera. Each is expected to recite lines written for them by a committee of speechwriters, media consultants and public relations gurus. This historic moment and the first words to be spoken have been carefully choreographed.
The Russian commander repeats his lines, first in Russian and then English:
"In the name of Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, of Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin, and of all the other pioneers and heroes of space, we come to Mars in peace for the advancement of all human peoples."
Then Pete Connors, the hot shot American pilot speaks:
"This is the greatest day in the history of human exploration, a proud day for all the people of the United States, the Russian Federation and the whole world."
He is followed by Joanna Brumado, who speaks first in Brazilian Portuguese and then English:
"May all the peoples of the Earth gain in wisdom from what we learn here on Mars."
Ilona Malater, in Hebrew and then English:
"We come to Mars to expand and exalt the human spirit."
Antony Reed, a most proper Brit, hams it up quite nicely:
"To his Majesty the King, to the people of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth and the entire world - today is your triumph. We deeply feel that we are merely your representatives on this distant world."
Last to speak is Bova’s protagonist, Jamie Waterman, an American who is half Anglo and half Navajo Indian. Having grown 'tired of the posturings and pomposities' he speaks from his heart having forgotten the words he was scripted to speak. Jamie utters a single Navajo word:
"Ya’aa’tey."
In Bova’s vision, Mars is portrayed as the American Southwest, a theme firmly embraced by many space advocates who view settling Mars as a variation of the Wild West frontier. However, in Bova’s version, it is the Indians who are the good guys.
Geoffrey Landis
Technically speaking, the astronauts of Mars Crossing do not speak the 'true' first words as they are the third human mission to the Red Planet. In the prologue, Landis has his characters discuss the reality of being the third crew to arrive on Mars.
"Should we say something for the history books?"
"Nah. I don’t think anybody is going to write down what gets said by the third expedition to Mars."
Nonetheless, Landis later gives us a single sentence that succinctly captures the irony and contradiction of speaking first words that were parsed out well in advance, but carefully scripted so as to appear spontaneous by teams of writers and media types.
[Radkowski] had his lines memorized, extemporaneous words to be remembered forever, written by a team of public relations experts: I take this step for all humankind. In the name of all the peoples of Earth, we return to Mars in the spirit of scientific endeavor, with the eternal courage of human adventure and bringing with us the voice of peace among men.
However, Landis has his commander land off balance, in a puff of red dust. Struggling to his feet,
"...John Radkowski uttered the immortal words of the third expedition to Mars. He said ‘Holy shit, I just can’t believe I am really here."
Robert Zubrin
The first words, - or more correctly, the first speech - found in Bob Zubrin’s First Landing also plays with the cognitive dissonance between dully reciting a scripted text and genuinely experiencing the reality of standing on another planet.
Zubrin’s first speechmaker starts out by droning on about pioneer settlers on the eastern seaboard of America, the American flag waving throughout hundreds of years of history, and then he suddenly gets it. The reality of where he is standing strikes home.
"My God! This is a whole new world we’re on now."
Rebecca murmured sotto voce to McGee, "About time he noticed."
Gregory Benford
While writing this article, I have often re-read the chapter of Gregory Benford’s The Martian Race where the astronauts land on Mars. Despite diligent searching, it appears Benford chose discretion over valor, and omitted fictionalized first words. Throughout the remainder of his book, however, Benford extensively discusses the commercial sponsorship and marketing potential of a Mars mission. Therefore, it is easy to imagine that Benford’s omission of first words was to avoid having to write text crafted to plug a soft drink or other popular consumer product and then present such advertising in the guise of first words.
On the subject of commercial sponsorship, I have long believed Nike would be the ideal marketing partner for sending humans to Mars. Their corporate slogan "Just Do It!" pretty much captures the message I would like to send to the United States Congress.
Stephen Baxter
In Stephen Baxter’s Voyage, Natalie York is one of several astronauts in the first spacecraft to land on Mars. She is not slated to be the first person to walk on Mars, however, the crew and Houston change plans and give her that honor.
After stepping foot on Mars, Natalie walks around for a while, observing, until she is reminded that she has not said anything. In Baxter’s narration, Natalie thinks the following line before she speaks her first words:
By God, she thought, We’re here. We came for all the wrong reasons, and by all the wrong methods, but we’re here, and that’s all that matters.
I wish to suggest Baxter intends that his readers hear these lines as first words, words which describe the moment with more truth than would be appropriate to broadcast to billions of viewers on Earth. Purely as a matter of personal taste, I have a hard time imagining anyone, anywhere, coming up with better first words. Let us set aside philosophy, and politics, and like the Nike ad says, I propose that it is time for humanity to "just do it."
We came for all the wrong reasons and by all the wrong methods, but we’re here and that’s all that matters.
By Bill White