Total Recall (30 page)

They recovered some of their strength and sat up. They became aware of the chill of the air. It had burst from the mountain warm, but as it expanded it cooled. Snowflakes were falling on them. But the ground itself was warming now, as the heat of the nuclear reactor spread out, so they were merely cold, not freezing.

They noticed the snowflakes on each other’s hair. They touched them and licked them off each other’s faces.

They looked around again, awed. The sky was blue, but it was snowing more heavily now.

They clung to each other, for warmth, but they also kissed. Life was wonderful!

That thought was echoed in the shouts and cheers that rang through Venusville.

All of the domes on Mars had collapsed when the reactor kicked in. Deprived of their protection, people fell where they stood, in an agony of depressurization. The wealthy tourists writhed in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel, and the miners still at work in the great mining hub had dropped their tools and stumbled to their knees.

For the rebels, the shattered dome was almost a welcome sight. Depressurization was a horrible way to die, but it would at least put a quick end to their slow death by suffocation. In The Last Resort, Tony had just enough strength left to shake a weak fist at the sky and then—

A miracle occurred. Thumbelina stirred on the floor and then sat up. The bartender raised his head from his chest and inhaled. Tony stared at them, stunned. He took a deep breath, and then another. There was air! There shouldn’t be—the great fans hadn’t started up again—but there was! He gulped in great lungfuls and laughed out loud. There was air!

In a moment, they were all laughing. Soon they were up and dancing a jig of joy. They danced out into the street and were joined by others—men, women, and children—who joined in their crazy conga line as it wound its way around the Venusville Plaza and through the streets. There was air! The tyranny of the Cohaagen monopoly on air was broken!

It did seem like a miracle.

Quaid and Melina looked down at their feet. The snow was melting as it landed, and the ground was wet and spongy. Water was trickling over the parched soil. There would be some erosion—but already the No’ui plants were landing. They would be rooting quickly, taking hold of the dirt, anchoring it, turning it into humus. Red Mars would become green!

Melina nestled up to him. “Well, Mr. Quaid, I hope you’ve enjoyed your trip to our lovely planet.”

“ ‘Enjoy’ is not the word,” he replied somewhat gruffly. They had won the right to move on, as people and as a species, but the horrible cost remained too fresh in his mind.

“Come on. Didn’t you see the sights, kill the bad guys, and save the planet?” She smiled seductively at him. “You even got the girl of your dreams.”

She was teasing him, but her familiar words chilled him. “I had a terrible thought,” he said. “What if this really
is
just a dream?”

“Then kiss me quick,” she said seriously. “Before you wake up.”

Quaid cast the specter away. He took Melina in his arms and kissed her robustly. He was through with dreaming; reality was much better.