Astrid the Astronaut's Arc

Chapter 3 of 8

The buildings had been open for overnight stays for two weeks, and every room was booked solid. Astrid stood in the golden sun structure as the first evening guests arrived, watching families wheel suitcases through the door. She had installed beds, running water, heating systems. Each planet house became a place where people could sleep inside a simulation of another world. But the guests weren't getting it. They arrived after dark, stumbled to their assigned planet in the dim light, and collapsed into bed without looking around. In the morning they ate breakfast and left. A mother checked out of the Venus house and told Astrid it was nice but felt like any other cabin. Astrid realized her mistake: people couldn't see what made each building different. The planetary themes disappeared in darkness. She needed light that wouldn't ruin the effect. She mounted a luminous star above each entrance, suspended on posts tall enough to cast soft light across the entire row. The stars glowed against the black sky, bright enough to see by but dim enough to preserve the night. Inside each room, she hung a poster showing the solar system with every planet labeled and positioned to scale. Guests would see it first thing when they woke up, a reminder of where they'd spent the night. The next family to check into the Mars house arrived just after sunset. They walked slowly down the row, pausing at each glowing star to read the signs. Inside, the father noticed the red clay walls, the rust-colored bedding, the barren feel of the room. His son found the poster and traced his finger from the sun to the small red dot labeled Mars. "We're sleeping on Mars tonight," the boy said, his voice quiet with something like awe. Astrid watched through the window as he pressed his face against the glass, staring out at the darkness beyond. He understood. They all would now.