American Revolution

"August 2002- Night Meeting"- Central Idea

In the touching "Night Meeting," a human and a Martian meet on a deserted road only to discover that each is a shadowy image, perhaps a ghost of one other. The story revolves around the concept of time and the idea of communication between a human and a Martian.

TomÐ"ÐŽs is a human who migrates to Mars from the planet earth. Stopping for gas on his way to a party, he meets another human, a gas station owner, who praises the unpredictable life on Mars and the peculiarity of time on it. As TomÐ"ÐŽs wonders about time and its existence, he comes across a Martian, who calls himself Muhe Ca. As the two individuals try to communicate, there is difficulty, since both are attempting to speak out loud. Through gestures, they introduce each other and finally learn to communicate telepathically and understand each other.

Having overcome, the communication crisis between the two, they realize that, they simply pass through one another, as if neither has a solid form. Following several attempts to touch the cup of coffee, offered by the human to the Martian and several other objects, the two comprehend they can see through each other. Each feels his own body and assures himself of being real and presumes the other to be dead. The two begin to discuss the invasion of Mars, and Muhe Ca states that Mars has not been invaded, and that the Martian race is not dead. TomÐ"ÐŽs attempts to explain the extinct of Martian species by talking about the development of human race on Mars. After making several attempts of persuading each other about the existence of their own worlds, they agree that time has something to do with their confusion and call each other a "figment of past" , a ghost perhaps, for each considers the other dead. Since time cannot be seen or felt, both men finally agree to disagree, and decide to move on. Finally, TomÐ"ÐŽs,