First Steps

THE LANDING

As the lander hit, Maria drew a jagged breath, and her chest muscles clenched tight with anxiety. Captain Curran, the group leader, turned around and smiled at Maria and her five friends.

“All right,” he said with forced joviality. “Who wants to be the first of the generations born in space to set foot on a real planet?”

Maria waited for someone else to speak or raise their hand. Next to her, Allen just stared at the floor of the lander muttering, “Not me, not me.”

She glanced at Lily, who Maria had always known to be fearless, but Lily bit her lip and turned away. Javier looked positively gray, and the twins buried their faces in their hands. Someone would have to be first. Maria closed her eyes and took a few meditative breaths, waiting for someone else to volunteer, but the lander was silent.

FINDING COURAGE

The radio crackled to life. “Lander one, this is Mothership, do you copy?”

“Yes,” Captain Curran answered. “We’ve landed safely and are waiting to exit the lander, but there’s just a little…disagreement…over which pioneer wants to be the first to set foot on our new home.”

“Tell them there’s plenty for everyone to see, and they’re going to love it out there,” the voice on the radio responded. “I wish it were me instead of you; I miss the feel of real air on my face.”

Captain Curran flipped off the microphone. “You six have lived your entire lives in space, and it’s a great privilege to be the first of your generation to see a new planet. The others are watching; if you’re afraid, they’ll be afraid. Can’t any of you find the courage to set an example?”

Maria shifted uncomfortably in her seat and thought of her parents; they had traveled across the galaxy to find their family a new home, with clean air and good soil, and she knew this planet was for them. “I’ll do it, Captain,” she mumbled as she slipped out of her harness and rose out of her seat. Maria couldn’t shake the feeling of trepidation as she stood and watched the doors of the lander slide open.

A NEW WORLD

A burst of air hit Maria in the face. She scrunched up her nose as an unfamiliar assortment of odors hit her nostrils. Some smelled sweet, some disgusting, and some were just strange. There were never strange smells on the ship; everything was always the same there. What was it going to be like to live where things changed? The rest of the children gathered around the opening as she climbed down the ladder, and Maria tried to smile as she met their worried eyes. Then, suddenly, something crunched underneath her boots; she was standing on the surface of the planet, and it felt nothing like the smooth metallic halls that she’d known all her life.

Without letting go of the ladder, she turned around to look at the world around the lander. The soil was full of shapes and textures; there were some small, grainy pieces, then larger clumps that she could break with the toe of her boot. One piece was hard and smooth, and she let go of the ladder to pick it up. “Captain,” she called, “I think I’ve found a rock!”

The air was moving, and long, thin, green things bowed and danced. “Grasses,” Maria whispered to herself, remembering the videos in her science lessons. She let go of the ladder and took soft, slow steps and realized her arms and legs felt like they were full of lead. “Natural gravity,” she whispered to herself. She started to walk a little more quickly, getting used to the new sensation. She was doing what others had previously thought impossible—taking steps on a new world.

A creature with gossamer wings landed on her nose, and she crossed her eyes trying to get a good look at it. Something small and furry scurried across her feet as she spun in a slow circle. Inspired, she ran as fast as she could across the foreign soil; she’d never seen somewhere so big, and it was thrilling. Suddenly, a deep, low sound echoed around her.

“That’s the call of a hornbeast,” Captain Curran shouted from the bottom of the ladder. Maria glanced back and saw that he was helping her friends take tentative first steps in the new world. “Walk to your left a little, and there should be a stream—flowing water on the ground; they often go there to drink, the explorers say.”

She started to run in that direction and then paused. “Hurry up!” she yelled, unable to contain her enthusiasm. “Our new home is extraordinary!”

In “First Steps,” which theme is developed by Maria’s volunteering to leave the lander?

Great tasks can be accomplished by working as a team.

Taking unnecessary risks is foolish.

It takes courage to be the first to try something new.

Some things cannot be learned in school.