Houses lined both sides of the road, structures that seemed so strange to Tatehan's eyes. But that wasn't stopping the excitement building inside of him.
He was finally at civilization.
He wondered why he was seeing a city, though. The Spaceship's AI, through the map, hadn't indicated they'd encounter anything like this.
The road was paved, just like on Earth, but with a more sophisticated material, some kind of processed Martian stone mixed with a polymer that gleamed faintly under the streetlights. Tatehan stared at the ground, then looked upward.
The buildings around him glowed with light, dressing the city in a cascade of colors that dazzled. Neon signs advertised shops and services in languages both familiar and alien. Holographic displays flickered above doorways, showing goods for sale or news feeds scrolling past. Windows were illuminated from within, revealing silhouettes of people moving about their lives.
