THE LOOP CONVEYED JAS to a bar within fifteen minutes. As she went in, she was relieved when no eyes turned toward her. If she’d done the same thing on Earth, she would have immediately become an object of attention. Here, she was just another lanky, red-haired Martian out for the evening.
The map the receptionist had sent her included seven or eight bars within the vicinity of the hotel. Drinking was a popular pastime on Mars. Buggy racing was another, Jas recalled. Out on the red, rocky, dusty plains, youths would ride their wide-wheeled buggies as far as battery life allowed, and sometimes farther, knowing they wouldn’t make it back. Like on most colony worlds, suicide rates among Martians were high, especially among adolescents whose parents couldn’t afford to send them to Earth for s
