Episode 3, 29 January 1980
As established at the end of the second episode, Mars was evacuated
shortly before a worldwide nuclear war terminated all life on Earth.
Wilder travels back to Earth in November 2006 in the hope he can
rescue his brother and his family. He returns to the Zeus project
mission control facility but discovers a video recording the deaths of
everyone, including his brother, when enemy neutron bombs detonated
nearby.
Only a few scattered humans remain on Mars. One of them is Benjamin
Driscoll, the lone inhabitant of First Town. One day, as he wanders
around the abandoned settlement, he hears a telephone ringing.
Initially confused, he soon realizes it is an opportunity for
companionship. After breaking into a home just in time to miss another
call, Driscoll sits down with a phone book of Mars and starts dialing
at A. After days of no answers, he changes his strategy and starts
calling hotels; then, guessing where he thinks a woman would most
likely spend her time, he calls the biggest beauty salon on Mars, in
New Texas City. When a woman answers, he flies 1,500 miles to New
Texas City to meet her.
Genevieve Selsor turns out to be thoroughly narcissistic and entirely
obsessed with her own good looks. Driscoll asks her out on a date,
during which she reveals that she decided to stay behind simply
because "they wouldn't let me take all my clothes with me back to
Earth." She enjoys having access to all the clothes, makeup, footwear,
and so forth in New Texas City without having to pay for anything. At
the same time, she laments that she has to do all the cooking and
technical maintenance herself. She rejects Driscoll's advances but
still expects him to make a nice breakfast while repairing her sauna.
This is a significant departure from the original 1950 short story,
"Silent Towns", in which Selsor is not self-absorbed and expectant of
Driscoll's labor; instead, she is overweight, sticky with chocolate
and desires to watch movies. The male character (named Walter Gripp in
the original) finds her too expectant and clingy, as she shows Gripp
her ideal wedding dress. In both versions of the story, Gripp/Driscoll
decides that solitude is preferable to her continued company and
abandons her.
Meanwhile, Peter Hathaway has retired on Mars with his wife, Alice,
and daughter, Margarite. A mechanical tinkerer, Hathaway has wired an
abandoned town below his house to sound alive at night with noise and
phone calls. One night, Hathaway sights a rocket in orbit and puts on
a laser light show to signal the rocket. At first he thinks his
attempt has failed, but then the rocket returns to land. It carries
Father Stone and Colonel Wilder, who have returned from Earth. They
reunite with Hathaway, who is troubled by his heart when they break
the news of Earth's nuclear destruction, but brings the crew to his
house for breakfast. Wilder remarks that Alice looks just as she was
as when he last saw her, at their wedding. After breakfast, Wilder
explores the surrounding area, particularly some headstones he saw
earlier. He returns, pale, having learned that Hathaway's wife and
daughter died in July 2000 from an unknown virus.
As the Hathaways toast their guests, Peter Hathaway's heart finally
fails. As he dies, he begs Wilder not to call his family because they
"would not understand." Wilder then confirms that Alice and Margarite
are robots built by Hathaway to replace the dead originals. Wilder and
Stone depart, and the robots continue with their meaningless daily
rituals until the chance arrival of Ben Driscoll. The Hathaway robots
appear relieved when Driscoll decides to stay with them.
