“I was listenin' ta one o' them Terran religious broadcasts 'bout Mother Earth when they up an' says that global warmin' was all the fault o' mankind, an' they had ta make the non-believers see that all the drivin' they did, an' all the stuff they bought

The gargantuan monolith shot straight up like an erect phallus from the charred and barren plain. Towering over a cluster of squat and windowless concrete buildings; it pierced the sky and chuffed out thick plumes of murky, mustard-colored sulfurous smoke. I sat down…

Shouts from men working on the wall, the blast of the crane's diesel engine and staccato bursts from a jackhammer pounded his eardrums as he slogged uphill, work boots slipping and sliding in the mud. He looked forward to taking refuge in one of the portable privies…