The flickering light of the oil lamp cast a faint glow upon the corner of the wall in the darkness. Days of continuous rain had filled the wooden cabin with a damp atmosphere. She rolled over, the light illuminating the outline of her body. She didn't look like Ruth. Who was she? Lübeck pondered. They seemed to be husband and wife, yet she wasn't the woman he knew.
He rose and left the room. Outside, the night was a deep blue. A cool breeze brushed against his skin, bringing a refreshing chill. But in the darkness, he couldn't see far ahead on the narrow path. Fields stretched along the roadside beneath his feet. After wandering aimlessly for a while, Lübeck looked back at the path he had come. Yet in the night's mist, he could no longer see the way he had traveled. The ground beneath his feet had somehow transformed into flat land. He tried jogging back in the direction he'd come, but it felt like he'd entered a completely different space. He couldn't find his way home.
In his panic, he quickened his pace. But no matter how fast he ran, it felt like he should have covered the distance he'd just walked, yet all around him remained empty, shrouded in dark mist.
Lübeck began frantically searching the area, but suddenly stumbled into thin air. He jolted awake, his eyes flying open—it had all been a dream.
Brittany lay sleeping beside him, yet Lübeck recalled the dream's scene—the woman had not been her. It was strange, incomprehensible, and utterly meaningless. Seeing it was still early, Lübeck placed his hand on Brittany's hip, trying to clear the chaos from his mind and fall back asleep.
“Wake up, wake up, time to get up,”
he opened his eyes to find Brittany shaking him. Seeing her face first thing in the morning—those large brown-green eyes, her golden hair still loose and falling softly over her cheeks— and Lübeck felt a surge of inexplicable joy. It was as if her youthful vitality had infected him, or perhaps it was the presence of a beloved companion, or finally having someone to entrust his lonely heart to. It was her, pulling him out of endless longing. But what about Ruth? Where was she at this very moment? His desire to care for her felt so powerless. A 25-year-old body bore the bitterness of a life lived beyond 52. Perhaps this was why some chose to reverse their age while simultaneously erasing their memories.
The military department operated like a wound-up clockwork mechanism: wake up, wash up, then to the mess hall, before each heading to their respective posts. Once again at the mess hall entrance, just as they were about to part ways, Lübeck suddenly felt an indescribable dread at the thought of separation. He grabbed Brittany's hand as she was about to walk away.
Brittany turned back, smiling at Lübeck. Her figure was so light and graceful. The distance between them closed once more. Only after a kiss and an embrace did they reluctantly bid farewell and part ways.
The Mars Base served as a crucial outpost for the U.S.-led secret space program, operating with support from trans-epochal technologies of unknown origin. Lübeck had once speculated about the origins of technologies like the spacetime stargate and starship antigravity engines. Though rumors of extraterrestrial origins circulated, he lacked access to more detailed information.
The base primarily housed orbital space carriers and their fighter squadrons, with corresponding pilots and crews stationed or rotating through training here. New crew members especially required an adaptation period to familiarize themselves with the latest carrier models, while Lübeck himself needed time to recuperate before setting sail again.
In his past life, Lübeck served solely in the U.S. Navy, commanding surface vessels through maritime operations spanning the Iron Curtain era to the Cold War. Reflecting on those years, Lübeck could never forget how Ruth had managed to bring him to America before WWII, sparing him from the war on home soil. His German heritage had not hindered his service in the Pacific theater against Japan, and his promotions progressed smoothly both during and after the war.
The care of his childhood, the immigration, the military academy—whenever Lübecke recalled all that Ruth had done to pave his path in life, he was filled with gratitude, always feeling he could never repay her. He longed to reunite in the next life and continue his aspirations. But,
Senior officers gathered to plan and execute training exercises and maneuvers, maintaining troop readiness and discipline. Beyond routine operations, Lübeck most enjoyed conversing with technical officers aboard the carrier—particularly electronic warfare specialists and intelligence officers—as these exchanges offered insights into technological advancements.
The multi-headed exchange and synchronization of information was always time-consuming, and soon the morning hours slipped away. Brittany and Lübeck had agreed to accompany each other to meals, so they took turns joining one another in their respective dining halls. Today at noon, Brittany once again took Lübeck's hand and led him into the soldiers' mess hall.
Their entrance caused quite a stir once again. Brittany clearly relished the attention, something Lübeck had long noticed. Now he found himself wondering: Was she genuinely interested in him, or did she simply crave this kind of spotlight?
Faced with the enthusiastic soldiers and staff, Lübeck could only engage them with greetings. Not long after they sat down to eat, a soldier who recognized Brittany approached, holding up a new smartphone to show her.
“Look, you're in the recruitment ads!”
Lübeck leaned in to see. It turned out that the moment he and Brittany had embraced and kissed outside the officers' mess had been captured and featured in a recruitment advertisement—though it wasn't clear whether it was for the entire Navy or the secret space force.
The tagline read: “Here lies your love, here lies your dream, here lies a life unlike any other.” Lübeck smiled at the sight. Clearly, this had been done without the subjects' consent, but what truly belonged to a soldier anyway?
Space was limited on base, with crowded public areas. After lunch, they settled for a random corridor with an outdoor view—relatively quiet. Seeing no one nearby, Lübeck leaned close to Brittany's ear and whispered,
“Maybe we should tone it down a bit. I worry someone might get jealous and hurt you. Just in case.”
“Oh,” Brittany replied, glancing at Lübeck with a hint of reluctance or confusion.
Lübeck smiled gently and continued,
“I don't want you to take even the slightest risk. I don't want you to suffer even the tiniest harm, okay?”
“Okay,” Brittany smiled, seemingly satisfied with this explanation, and leaned happily against Lübeck.
Lübeck transferred her hand from his left to his right, freeing his left arm to wrap around her waist. The midday sunlight on Mars, a dull orange-red, felt almost imperceptible through the glass window. Yet that warm hue draped over them, spread beneath their feet, seemed like a witness to time itself—accompanying them step by step as they walked through every window’s glow, every shadow between the panes, deep into the corridor of years.
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