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A Reality Soap Opera on Mars

February 24, 2012 ~ 30-Day Blogging Challenge prompt is "The Finch-Martins were a popular, ___________ family until they met the ______________(s)

The Alarcon’s were the most popular and weirdest family living in Mars Station. At least, that was what I had always believed and what the talk shows and news programs proved. That was one of the reasons I agreed to transfer to the Interplanetary News Bureau offices on Mars.

It seems everyone on Earth and the Moon wanted to know more about the Alarcon’s and their haunted Martian mansion. I had met and dated Gregor Alarcon at Lunar University or Lunatic U as it was known on Earth. My bosses thought that I had an inside track to the family, especially since Gregor and I continued to text each other on a regular basis, even after he met and married Alma.

Anyway, the higher ups tripled my salary and I transferred to the INB office in Mars City. I spent a week acclimatizing myself to Mars gravity before another pay raise and transfer to Mars Station as editor and staff of the new office there. I did not think it odd that INB did not hire a secretary for that office. After all, with what the Bureau paid me, I could afford to hire someone out my salary.

The odd thing about this entire situation was my exorbitant salary. The INB has a reputation for getting the highest quality news at the lowest price. All right, I should have asked more questions, but considering how deeply I was in debt the fewer questions I ask the better.

After I arrived in Mars Station, I found out that new family had just moved into the area. This new family, the McClain’s, were more popular and weirder then the Alarcon’s (if that is possible).

As I, sit in my office studying the bios of each family I realized that this story had the makings of one of those reality soap operas the people of Earth cannot stop watching. I never cared for them myself; however, the Bureau paid me good for this assignment plus a free trip to Mars. I had option of remaining on Mars permanently if I could find a suitable husband in the next two years.

That is the main advantage of an assignment to a colony planet. Single people can visit, but they cannot remain for more then two years. Because couples reproduce they build the colony and in the case of Mars there seemed to be more men then women. In addition, the Martian government set up strict codes against the use of artificial wombs and surrogates. The use of either was expensive and it was almost impossible to get permission. The Martian government wanted families and they did not seem to care much about individual rights if it interfered with building the Martian population.

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