Pradeep Mohandas

Technical writer. Space enthusiast. Sci-fi writer.

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Red Mars, Grey Moon, Green Earth - Chapter 5

Meera was sitting in her room and thinking about the last few days. She had reached the Moon illegally. She had also boarded one of the cargo vessels supplying to the Moon. She had come from Earth. She was given a drug that allowed her body to survive the journey on board a cargo vessel. There were three days that she did not know what happened to her. When she woke up, Gafur was sitting by her. “...

Red Mars, Grey Moon, Green Earth - Chapter 4

Chintu was thinking back to the time since landing on the Moon. He had to make fast decisions. Not everything worked well for him.The cargo ship that Kavya and Chintu had traveled in from Mars had landed at the US base. Kavya had handed him to Gafur and asked him to take care of Chintu. Gafur was wearing his lunasuit despite being inside the base.  He grunted and nodded. Meera hugged Chintu and th...

Red Mars, Grey Moon, Green Earth - Chapter 3

Mars, 2098Kavya, Chintu’s mother, was looking out of the window. The red color stretched to the horizon. She had gotten used to the color by now. It was her last night on Mars. She saw a grid of robots mining for hematite, which gave Mars its red color. The ore was carried in concealed robotic vehicles to the factories to make steel. The steel would be used to make even more robots and the infrast...

Red Mars, Grey Moon, Green Earth - Chapter 2

Earth, 2098Mandakini was operating the handloom. She was using her hand. People on Earth had eschewed from getting daemons installed. She had woken up early. She had finished her morning work. She had prepared breakfast for her husband. She was operating the machine out of habit. She had forty years of experience. The sarees she designed were for her daughter and her extended family, and the exces...

Red Mars, Grey Moon, Green Earth: Chapter 1

[This is my entry for NaNoWriMo 2024 and No Break Novembers.] The Moon, 2098The surface of the Moon was desolate. One observation deck pierced through the surface on the rim of the crater. It seemed empty.She hid behind a rock so no one on the observation deck could see her. Her daemon confirmed what she saw. There was no one on the observation deck. A few moments later, she saw a signal from behi...

Write your own guidebook

Cal Newport, in his podcast \Deep Questions,\ introduces the concept of maintaining a document where one can record multi-scale planning, vision, and mission statements.Oliver Burkeman, in his book \Four Thousand Weeks,\ talks about the concept of finitude, which pertains to the intrinsic limitations or boundaries inherent in human existence. The certainty of mortality serves as the ultimate bound...

Chapter 2

Meera walked a step behind Rajeev. She was trying her best to keep up with him. She also held the hand of the boy who had opened the hatch of the pressure chambers. Rajeev walked into a pressure chamber. He waited for a while before the door opened to a room. All three walked into the room.“They destroyed the outpost and the instrumentation deck below it. We will have to replace it. This is Meera....

Chapter 1

The Moon, 2098.She was near the top of the crater rim overlooking the lunar base. The lunar base was inside one of the rare lunar lava tubes found on the far side of the Moon. She was wearing her lunasuit. This was a three-layer suit that was built by the early lunar settlers. It provided protection but not speed. That is why she chose the suit. She could not help but peek over the top of the crat...

Colonization behind the mask

I first walked up to the door,\r\nSaid I wanted to help,\r\nThey said they needed no help.\r\n\r\nI then walked up to the door,\r\nThe door of the King of the neighbourhood,\r\nHe said he needed no help.\r\n\r\nI then walked up to the door,\r\nThe door of the King,\r\nBut, I went with an army that defeated him.\r\n\r\nColonization comes at your door,\r\nMaking offers like e-commerce sites,\r\nAnd ...

Spill the tea, spoil the milk

They built a network,\r\nTo share what you're upto,\r\nAt first it was a fun place to be,\r\nYou met other people too.\r\n\r\nSoon the network was used,\r\nTo spill the tea,\r\nAnd other things too.\r\nMore abused than used.\r\n\r\nIt spoilt the milk for one and all,\r\nPeople left it despite FOMO,\r\nBut soon people learnt,\r\nThere was only joy, the JOMO.