Emma stiffened as she finally caught sight of the descending spaceship in her binoculars. They looked to be right on course to land a mile upwind of her. Her first visitors in the ten years she'd been on Mars.

Putting the binoculars back in their cubbyhole, she turned on her Mars rover and began speeding across the rocky plain towards Arsia Mons, keeping an eye on the shiny newcomer.

A NASA engineer figured it out long ago that one-way was a lot easier than round trip. Most called it suicidal. Before Emma left, many called her crazy. Most of them never expected her to live this long or thrive on a barren world. Few had any idea why she went.

"Sun-spots," Emma smiled, shaking her head. The tiny ship hovered in front of her and finally inched its way to the surface. When she left, they were still arguing over global warming. Few suspected that instead of a warming planet they were about to slip into a new ice age, brought about by the Sun entering a quiet period. Instead of thinning polar ice and drowning cities, glaciers were now threatening Canada and the northern US states. The smart ones left early for warmer countries near the Equator. Who'd ever thought there would come a day Mexico would patrol the boarder to keep out illegal American immigrants?

Emma pulled to a stop just short of the squat lander and picked up the box she brought with her. "Hi!" she broadcasted. "Howdy neighbor! Welcome to Mars! Can I borrow a cup of sugar?"