Martian Masquerade: Revolution comes in Code

Today was the day.

My name is Abed and I am a secret rebel on Mars. Today, we were finally going to act on our plan to destroy the corrupt government that has plagued our planet for too long. My wife, Julia, had been working non-stop over the last few months to make this moment happen. We had been waiting for the right time, but today was it. The Martians had no idea what was about to hit them.

Julia and I met in our late teens when I started working at Blue Sun Works - a job that my father recommended me for. At first, I didn't really like her much. She was smart and beautiful, sure, but she also could be really mean... especially to me. "You're such an idiot," she used to tell me all the time. It made me feel bad at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly. I liked her spunk, even though it scared me sometimes.

When we got married, things changed a little. We still bickered back and forth with each other endlessly, but now we also talked about our plans for the future of Mars - especially when we were flying over to Earth every so often for a nice little vacation. That's when things got serious between us. Julia wanted change on Mars more than anything else in the world, and if she couldn't do it any other way, she'd take matters into her own hands... just like her parents did before they died fighting against the government here on Mars.

Poor Julia never knew her mother or father very well because they both died when she was only a year old from injuries sustained during a raid against the government. Before they went out that day, Julia's parents gave her to my family for safekeeping until such time as she was ready... which meant that she grew up with us instead of them.

Once upon a time, my parents and Julia's parents were close friends and business partners - even before Julia's birth. They did all kinds of work together on Mars - building houses, buying and selling property... everything you could imagine! Eventually, their friendship turned sour over disagreements about how certain projects should be run. That's when things became ugly between them... so much so that when Julia's parents tried to fix things by asking my parents to help them on one project together, they refused! That's when everything fell apart between them and they decided to go their separate ways.

That was when things got dangerous for everyone involved... including Julia and myself! My family lived near the border of Martian territory where we would often travel back and forth between the two planets easily without any issues whatsoever... until then! One day while I was home alone with my dad after school one afternoon, he received a package from none other than Julia's parents! It was a bomb! When we opened it up, it exploded instantly killing my dad instantly! All I remember is seeing him on fire and then waking up in the hospital days later in excruciating pain! Since then, doctors have told me that my memory has been damaged by the explosion - meaning there's no way I'll ever remember what happened or how my dad died or anything! It's painful thinking about it sometimes because I still have feelings for him despite not knowing who he really was or what kind of person he really was like! All that's left are these strange dreams that haunt me from time to time....

Before he died however, my dad managed to get word out to some people he trusted around town - people who thought like him more than anything else in the world! They came running as fast as they could right away because they understood why this had happened - what he died protecting: ME! His last action before he passed away was telling these special people that he wanted his son kept safe at all costs because he believed he would become important one day. They agreed wholeheartedly with him because they knew exactly what he meant... especially given his profession at Blue Sun Works!

The news spread like wildfire throughout town! People were talking everywhere about what happened... including at Blue Sun Works itself where Julia's family heard about it too - just like everyone else in town! Unfortunately for me though, no one from Blue Sun Works bothered to let me know anything about what happened or why someone might want me dead in the first place - especially since I worked there as well!