Martian dust hung in the air like an invisible veil. Sora adjusted her transparent helmet and looked at Nicodemus, who was kneeling by the metal box, fascinated by the green light piercing through the cracks. Their third companion, Lena, was impatiently massaging the glass of the antique escape pod with her glove. - 'Whatever's in there, we need to check it out,' Sora said, feeling her heartbeat quicken. For children raised on the Redpoint orbital station, such a trip to the surface of Mars was a rare adventure, and this time it was accompanied by the promise of something more. For months there had been repeated mysterious disruptions in their communications. The adults treated it as a simple malfunction, but they suspected something else. Nicodemus stood up, wobbling slightly on his jumpsuit. - 'That looks like a combination lock. Old, but it still works. Give me a moment. Lena raised an eyebrow. - 'What if it's some kind of warning or... trap? - 'Stop it, there hasn't been a living ghost here for a hundred years,' Sora hissed, but her voice sounded less confident than she intended. Nicodemus flicked the buttons. Suddenly the box shook and a sound - metallic, frighteningly alien - came from within it. The signal repeated three tones and a pause, like a message. Lena recorded it on her communicator and tried to activate the translator. - 'This... doesn't look like a recording of any known language,' she whispered. At the same moment, the ground beneath their feet shook and a blue light flashed from under the capsule, drawing intricate patterns on the red sand. All three of them froze. - Sora, look! - cried Nicodemus. - It's moving! The blue lines began to swirl, forming a circle. A hologram floated in the middle: a map of the cosmos with an unknown, pulsating star. A voice, unlike any earthly one, suddenly sounded in their helmets: - You have arrived. You are ready to learn the truth.... And then...