Time zone and seasons

On Mars there are also time zones these are shown on the map at the back of this book. A day on Mars takes 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds; a year on Mars takes 669.6 Mars days or 687 Earth days. There are seasons on Mars but these vary according to the day and hemisphere.

On Mars the four months take up more than one earth year so year 00 will represent the first year and year 01 will represent the second year, also the day of the month will be the day of that month on Earth not Mars: In the northern hemisphere spring begins on May 31 year 00, summer begins on December 16 year 00, autumn begins on June 12 year 01 and winter begins on November 2 year 01. In the southern hemisphere autumn begins on May 31 year 00, winter begins on December 16 year 00, spring begins on June 12 year 01 and summer begins on November 2 year 01.

Traffic

The main roads on Mars are the X1, Y1 and Z1. These get especially busy during 7AM-9AM and 5PM-8PM so it is advised to find alternative route if you are travelling at this time.

Language

LGM’s speak alienese the alienese alphabet is different to ours.

It is advised to buy an English-Alienese dictionary to help you speak alienese but this brief list of commonly used phrases may also help.

Hi = Huhui (hoo-hwee)

I am from Earth = Iek bein ven airde (eek bine ven i-rde )

My name is = Muin nsj ies (mween nsh ees)

Do you speak English = spraek jum engouls (sprayk joom engools)

Money

On Mars there are no coins or notes, there is simply a mars card. A Mars card is a bit like a credit card but there is no interest, you are paying from your own money and it can be used to receive as well as pay money. A Mars card can be obtained at any bureau de change in Europe, Africa, America, Australasia, Asia but has not yet become easily accessible in Antarctica.

Dangerous Plant and Animals

Plants

Name: Snaggberry plant

Appearance: Can grow as high as 1.5 metres has sharp leaves that can cut skin and silver berries.

Danger: Berries are poisonous and can cause severe fever and digestion problems. Don’t be fooled if you see LGM’s eating them as they are not poisonous to LGM’s but are to humans.

Name: Mars beast-trap

Appearance: Can grow up to 30 metres tall big leaves that grow across the ground and split into two leaves at the end. The leaves on the end contain hairs.

Danger: If one of the hairs is touched the two leaves on the end of a main leaf clamp together trapping whatever touched the hairs. It then releases an acid more acidic than battery acid and digests its prey.

Name: Aksjofh

Appearance: Can grow up to 50cm tall. It has a blue stem, red leaves and purple berries.

Danger: The juice in the berries is an alkali so strong it completely neutralises your stomach acid if you eat it, causing digestion problems. It does not cause problems for LGM’s as their digestive system uses an alkali to digest foods. The milk that can be found if you cut open the stem is called Plogg milk, it is so poisonous that even LGM’s cannot eat it.

Name: Blankog

Appearance: It can grow up to 1.2 metres tall. It has always has a flower on the top of the plant the petals of which can change colour. The berries are green.

Danger: The berries of this plant explode forcefully when they come in contact with an acid, if humans eat this they can be blown apart from the inside. LGM’s do not have this problem as their digestive system uses an alkali to digest their food.

Name: Olaf plant

Appearance: Can grow up to 1.8 metres high. Covered in thorns and the leaves cause a minor rash if touched.

Danger: If the leaves are touched too much the victim can lose consciousness, also if the stem of the plant is cut open milk oozes out. This milk is drunk by LGM’s who have adapted to the milk’s poison and enjoy the sweet taste but if this milk is drunk by humans it will send the human into a coma.

Animals

Name: Plogg

Appearance: Resembles a giant porcupine and can grow up to 1.3 metres tall.

Danger: If startled, the Plogg will curl up into a ball and shoot out its spikes, which will then inject powerful venom into anything it hits. The meat of a Plogg is also poisonous to humans.

Can be avoided by: Checking for Plogg quills on the ground. If you find any quills, leave out some milk from an Olaf plant.The Plogg will leave as it avoids Olaf plants to protect its young from the poison.

Name: Hundug

Appearance: A green, furless, reptile-like creature capable of shrinking and growing at will.

Danger: The Hundug catches its prey by shrinking, jumping onto its prey producing a powerful electric shock. The prey is then stunned while the Hundug grows and grows until it is big enough to swallow its prey whole.

Can be avoided by: applying Hundug repellent on your skin, this makes the Hundug drowsy and less likely to attack. You may also want to wear a space suit with an electrical insulator.

Name: Jabberwocky

Appearance: A huge reptile-like creature that can grow up to 50 metres tall it is often called a “Worm Dragon” by humans, it is long, green and has purple wings.

Danger: Sniffs out its prey and strikes from the air. Has a particular liking for humans.

Can be avoided by: making sure the spacesuit you are wearing is odour resistant and does not let any smell out. The Jabberwocky hasn’t got very good eyesight and can only sniff out humans.

Shopping

The Martian culture is very proud of their market. They have items made of materials that are rare on Earth they also sell things made especially for Humans. They are especially proud of the Gariidols, the Gariidols is the biggest shopping centre on Mars it sells everything you could want. It is located right in the centre of Mazrimè the capital city of Mars.