Donald of Mars Episode 31-35

A story on building a new colony on Mars and what it will take to live there

Chapter 31: Design Changes

Vikrant Negi sitting at his desk once more at Schmidt and Stein, brought a smile to Donald’s face. He was just the person he wanted to see.

“You have a design console open, and can I still get the discounted rate to use it?”

“Sure. There are three open. Since it is still your first project, and you haven’t used up your first project discount, you can still get it.”

“Thanks. This revision would be too much to do on my tablet or home screen.”

“I thought you were just down to polishing. How much is this going to affect your order?”

“With you, or Mars Brick, almost none. The only one affecting the structure is a minor change to the stairs and plumbing locations, passing through the floors.”

“You be damn careful with those. A moved stair has created instability in more than one floor requiring a rebuild.”

“That is one reason why I need a design terminal. My system would take days to do a design comparison while your system does it in seconds. If the change doesn’t come back green, I won’t use it. I should get green right off. At least ten percent of the dome my size has the stair where I am moving it structurally. Most of my changes are not to the structure but to how I am laying it out. I’ve decided not to live in it. I had included things to my personal taste that will not be needed by my caretaker and take up space that the business could better use.”

Vikrant gave him a hard look. “You are not planning to hire William Casting, so he doesn’t get sent home, are you? I heard he asked you.”

“What? No,” he said in surprised. Then he continued, “Miray is going to be my caretaker. Though in truth William would not be that bad of a choice. Working in a gym would be just the thing to keep him motivated to stay healthy.”