Deeper Into the Void

"I send this final plea back to Earth: do not send the second team. There is an unidentified malice that haunts us here. Neither want of reason nor any hope for solace will save the adverse mind here within this endless sea of sorrow."

Book Overview

The faint sun pierces the thick glass above and rests upon the perfect mirror surface of the pond within the glass dome. Years of abandonment have seen the dome withstand sands driven by relentless winds outside, and unchecked plant growth within its protective envelope.

A high-stakes wager, the attempt at colonizing and industrializing Mars, has been made. Painstaking details have been attended to; grotesque amounts of time and capitol have been invested. Autonomous machines have been dispatched to construct an enormous glass dome on the surface of Mars. The ice buried beneath the surface within, begins to melt and collect. Small buildings have been erected within the dome to provide shelter and basic needs to the brave people assigned to the first mission to inhabit and study the Mars.

The first mission, captained by Gregory Underwood, arrives and begins to cultivate the soil within, despite the difficulties in growing plants in barren soil. Encouraging reports have been relayed back to Badlands Defense Group, the corporation that has undertaken all risk, and which plans on capitalizing on the venture.  The second phase of the mission has begun, construction of further domes, to house mining and manufacturing efforts, has begun.

Months of discovery and advancement pass; until one day, when  communications cease, and all within the dome grows quiet. One final transmission was dispatched back to Badlands, no one fully understand what is meant by it, or what it will mean for the future of the project.

The second team is sent to finish the mission. Upon arrival, everything within the dome appears to be working normally. No sign of the first expedition is found, until a video log surfaces depicting some of the last days of the first team.

The second team challenges the elements, and every preconception that they have about the mission. As the days pass, the enigmatic malice laying dormant within begins to awaken. The question is, within what is the dormant element awakening?