Eternal Salmon Sunset

I've been human too long.

I fall back against the side of the 6 wheel drive Rover and reach out to try and drag Lazar’s lifeless body closer to me over the snow so that I can get to her knife. She caught a shot in the sternum and the shock and bleed-out killed her in moments.

I feel her death like it was a physical blow. I liked Lazar very much. I find myself thinking about it as I struggle to move her with one hand without exposing myself to harm. I think her name is… Maria? Everyone uses family names or nicknames out here so it's sometimes hard to remember. Yeah, pretty sure it's Maria…

Oh.

Was Maria. That uniquely human and poignant past tense.

I feel it in my gut.

Why am I wasting time thinking about this? My body is going into shock, and the timer pinging on my wrist is telling me we’ve been out here longer than the safe 15 mins. We are going to freeze to death quite quickly unless we get back inside. Where’s Lacy?

Having secured Lazar’s knife I push myself back in the snow into the space between the front wheels of the Rover to make myself as invisible as possible. I get my grip nice and tight on the knife with my rapidly numbing fingers and try to slow my breathing to minimise the fog coming out of my mouth. I stare out into the pitch blackness around us, lit intermittently by the lights in the sky. Above us, inspired by the red giant our world is in orbit around, a wave of aurora bursts and flows with intense flurries of lime green and red and even flashes of pink and white. I'd love to look at it but I need to pay attention. I scan the lit up rows of Rovers and also probe about with my mind. Can I sense him?

No.

I wait. Nothing is stirring. The wind is whistling through the support cables of the habs. My hearing is super sensitive and I listen hard. Yes, beneath all that chaos I can just hear a faint hoarse breathing. He’s still out there.

I know I've been human too long precisely because in this moment not only do I care way too much what Lazar’s name was, I also, to my surprise, fear for my life.

So begins the story of Mauvine Blue Martin, outwardly just another human colonist on the first mission to Proxima Centauri B. But Blue is not what she seems, and keeping that secret is about to get dangerously difficult.

Eternal Salmon Sunset is a thoughtful, character-driven 6,500 word science fiction tale about identity, empathy, and what it truly means to live and love in a mortal body. Expect quiet tension, mystery, and moments of strange wonder, all set beneath the endless salmon skies of an alien world...

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After years of trying the traditional publishing route, I’ve decided to do what indie game developers did in the 90s: release this story as shareware.

That means you’re free to read it, keep it and even share it, unchanged, with anyone you think might enjoy it. No upfront payment required. Of course if it gives you something, I dunno, insight, entertainment, well... perhaps joy is too much to hope for, but anyway you’re welcome to toss me a tip, that’s entirely up to you.

The important part is sharing. If you like the story, pass it on.

If this experiment works, I’ll re-release my 2022 novel A Mind For Mischief the same way.

Eternal Salmon Sunset is copyright 2025 Philip Why
Of course commercial resale or republishing without
written permission is not permitted, so "don't even".