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Rocket Summer
During an Ohio winter, a heat wave comes through town. Everyone reacts accordingly. Even the snow melts. People watch the sky with excitement and anticipation as the rocket launches. -
Ylla
Ylla has a dream about a man named Nathaniel York coming to Mars from Earth. Her husband Yll gets concerned as she begins singing strange songs in other languages and refuses to go on vacation. He gets angry at Ylla after she has a dream about kissing York that afternoon in the Green Valley. He keeps her inside all afternoon by promising a Dr. Nlle will come to visit. Later, Yll goes hunting and fires two shots. When he gets home, Ylla is very upset and has forgotten the strange songs. -
The Summer Night
The Martians are attending a concert during the summer. They are alarmed when the singer and musicians can't stop themselves from performing a strange song. The children even sing strange nursery rhymes in languages they don't know. The people become paranoid. Women wake up from dreams panicking about something coming. -
The Earth Men
Astronauts from Earth finally land on Mars and go to visit the Ttt household. Mr. Ttt sends them to Mr. Aaa. He is not happy to see them, and the humans are getting frustrated at the lack of recognition. They go to Mr. Iii, and he sends them to an insane asylum. Mr. Xxx, the psychologist, humors them by going out to see the rocket. He thinks their insanity is too bad to cure, so he shoots them. Yet he still sees the rocket, believes he caught their insanity, and shoots himself too. -
The Taxpayer
A man goes to the site of the rocket launch and insists on being allowed to go to Mars because he pays the taxes that funded the space program. They tell him he wouldn't want to go to Mars because the first two expeditions failed and the men died. He still insists, and sees the rocket launch as the police take him away. -
The Third Expedition
Sixteen men land on Mars to find a town ripped straight out of 1950s America on its surface. Three men go out to investigate. When they look at one of the houses, they discover that Lustig's grandparents are alive and well there after their death. All the other men, even the ones on the ship, see their dead loved ones too. They all go home with their families. Captain John Black begins to realize something is wrong in the night, then he is killed. The Martians hold a human funeral for them. -
And The Moon Be Still As Bright
The fourth expedition lands on Mars in an area without life.The men on the ship have a drunken party and go through one of the dead cities. Spender wanders off. He comes back and kills several members of the expedition early in the morning. The captain and the remaining men go hunting him down. Spender tells the Captain that he hates to see the Martians' history defiled like they had done. The Captain ends up killing him. Spender is buried in a Martian sarcophagus. -
The Settlers
Only a few people go to Mars at first, then more and more people join them over time. Those that go suffer the Lonliness from seeing Earth vanish, but this improves as more people settle on Mars. -
The Green Morning
Benjamin Driscoll plants trees on Mars, adventuring by himself to spread foliage far and wide. He is trying to put more oxygen in the air and thicken the atmosphere to help the new settlers acclimate faster. He fears the dry climate will kill his trees before they grow. The next night, it rains, and he celebrates. When he wakes up in the morning, all the trees he planted the previous day have become fully mature. -
The Locusts
The rockets come in large numbers. The first rockets contain men to build shelter on Mars for humans. The ones that follow contain women and families. Mars starts to look more like Earth. Within six months of colonization beginning, twelve small towns have been established on Mars. -
The Shore
The first wave of settlers are builders and laborers from the Great Plains, used to being alone on Earth. The second wave of settlers are from the towns and cities. So far, all the settlers are from America as underpinnigns of war brew on Earth. -
The Fire Balloons
Father Peregrine is chosen to lead a mission trip to Mars. Father Peregrine takes Father Stone to the hills. Father Stone doubts they have the ability to sin. Father Peregrine proves they have free will by repeatedly risking his life so they can save him. The missionaries build a church in the hills. The fire balloons inform the men that they have forsaken their physical forms to seek a life without sin in isolation. They send the ministers to the First City. -
Night Meeting
Tomas is driving to a party when he stops past some ruins to take a break. A Martian approaches him in its vehicle. They try to talk, but each only speaks their own language. Then they discover that each of them and their belongings seem transparent to the other. Tomas and the Martian argue about whose reality is real as the Martian claims the ruins are actually a vibrant city. Both then part ways to go to their parties. Then, they both wonder what just happened. -
Interim
More resources are imported to Mars to build more towns, which look like replicas of American towns on Earth. -
The Musicians
Some young boys hike into the dead ruins against their parents' wills. The boys treat the rib cages like xylophones, other bones like toys, and decayed flesh like autumn leaves. They want to play as much as they can before the firemen raze the ruins. The boys get punished when they go home. By the end of the year, the firemen have destroyed the town. -
The Wilderness
Janice and Lenora are preparing to go to Mars. Janice is scared, but she wants to be with Will. He built a replica of their house for them there. To reminisce, the friends rent anti-gravity belts and float over the town during their last night on Earth. When they get home, Will calls Janice. She tells him she is coming. He says "love". Janice wonders if women throughout history experienced her emotions when they as they prepared to go long distances to meet their husbands. -
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The Naming of Names
Many Martian landmarks are now named after the first explorers and expedition failures. The cities have human names now while the Martian names are nearly forgotten. Socialites begin coming to Mars for its exotic nature. More permanent governments are formed. The people who came to Mars to escape government regulations aren't pleased. -
Usher II
William Stendahl has a replica of the House of Usher constructed on Mars. Mr. Garrett comes to tell Stendahl to tear down the horrific house, but Stendahl kills him and sends a robot back in his place. Stendahl holds a costume party for the censors. The guests enjoy watching their robotic twins die. The first Garrett turns out to have been a robot. Stendahl kills the real Garrett with the method Montresor uses in The Cask of Amontillado. He killed all the other human guests too. -
The Old Ones
The elderly people come to Mars at last. -
The Martian
Mr. LaFarge thinks he hears something one night and looks outside. He sees a figure that looks like his son Tom. The next day, his wife acts as if Tom's presence is nothing strange. Anna decides they are going to town and forces Tom to go. Tom runs off and the couple goes to a movie. Tom does not rendezvous with them. LaFarge ends up chasing Tom across town with the other residents, who perceive him as someone they've always wanted to see again. Tom is killed when they smother him. -
The Luggage Store
The luggage store owner hears that there will be a war on Earth. He discusses it with Father Peregrine. They think that people will stop coming to Mars or even return to Earth en masse to protect their relatives. Father Peregrine buys a new valise. -
The Watchers
The people of Mars are watching the sky after hearing Earth was going to war. They see the explosion and the smoke clears, and Earth is still there. They camp out at night and see a Morse code message informing them of the extent of the destruction and telling them to come home. The luggage store owner sells all of his wares that night. -
The Silent Towns
Walter is all alone in Marlin City after everyone leaves for Earth. One day, he hears a phone ring and finds the other live person on the other end. Her name is Genevieve, and he drives to meet her in Texas City, but she's not there. He drives back and finds her eating chocolate in the street. She turns out to be ugly, demanding, and picky as they watch movies and eat dinner to get to know each other. She proposes marriage and Walter rejects her by running away and hiding in another city. -
The Off Season
Sam Parkhill is establishing the first hot dog stand on Mars with Elma. Before opening, they are visited by a Martian with a message, but when it plans to deliver the scroll, Sam thinks it has a weapon and shoots it. He tries to flee on a sand ship with Elma, but the Martians follow and project their images for him. They return to the hotdog stand and Sam is granted the land for half of Mars. Just as he expects to get an influx of customers, he sees Earth explode. -
The Long Years
Hathaway and his family believe they are the last people on Earth. Hathaway sees a rocket coming. They prepare for visitors. It's Captain Wilder and his crew, back from Jupiter. Hathaway invites them in. Wilder finds the family suspicious and sends a subordinate out to investigate. Hathaway dies during the meal. He created a robotic family for himself so he wouldn't get lonely. They bury him out with his real family. Wilder and his crew can't bring themselves to destroy the robots. -
There Will Come Soft Rains
An abandoned, automated house on Earth goes through its daily routine. Machines shout out the time, cook meals, clean, prepare card games, and read poetry. A dog wanders into the house and dies. Its body is cleared away by robotic mice. That night, a storm and a downed tree start a fire and the house doesn't have enough resources to put it out. The house burns and the machines go haywire. -
The Million-Year Picnic
Timothy's family goes to Mars for a fishing trip. Once they are far away, Dad blows up their rocket so no one will find them. Even their radio falls silent. Dad tells them they are living on Mars, and they pick a ruined city to live in. Dad lights a fire of documents from Earth and tells the children about their new life. A few more families will join them later so they can start a new society. Finally, he shows them Martians in the canal. When the children look, they see their own faces.
