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Mars is the fourth planet from the sun.
Its surface is red due to the high iron content of its soil. It appears to glow red when viewed through telescopes, but it is simply reflecting the light of the distant sun.
People used to think there were canals filled with water on Mars, and vast cities built by an advanced alien civilization. We know better now.
~o~
Veronica Mars is about to enter her fourth year of high school.
Her surface is smooth, a tough-as-iron façade that can sometimes fool even those closest to her. It appears to glow with wit and charm, strength and tenacity, when viewed through a telescopic lens, but it is simply the mask she presents to the prying world.
People used to think many things about Veronica; that she was a boyfriend-stealing slut, that she betrayed her friends, that she had dirt on everyone and everything. People read the tabloids, look at the pictures, the in-depth-profiles of the teen-aged sleuth, and they think they know better now.
~*~
Mars was named for the Roman God of War.
Some stories make him out to be an unthinking brute, crashing into armies, wielding his god-powers with reckless abandon. Other stories point to his affair with Venus, proof that he could love beauty and proof that he did not respect the bonds of marriage.
Mars was father of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome. His children’s children held the world in their sway for hundreds of years.
~o~
Keith Mars was named for his father, a high school English teacher from Boise.
Some news stories made him out to be an unthinking clod for the way he handled the Lilly Kane case. Later stories claimed that he was a brilliant investigator, seeing the beautiful simplicity of means, motive, and opportunity inside the jumbled horror of a crime scene. Keith was only happy that no one had discovered the depth of his knowledge of Lianne’s affair with Jake Kane.
Keith was father to Veronica, a relationship founded the day he held her in his arms and she opened her trusting eyes to him and cooed. He would do anything for his daughter; lie, cheat, or steal, and give her the world if he could.
~*~
Mars is a lifeless rock that continues to fascinate.
Complicated robots comb its surface as scientist pour over their data and confer. They’ve learned few things about its history as they examine evidence of meteorites and volcanoes; map weather patterns and geology. Manned missions to Mars are dreamed of each night somewhere on the globe.
All signs point to continued exploration.
~o~
Lianne Mars is a lifeless corpse found floating in Neptune Bay.
Complicated test procedures are run as knives cut into her surface and criminologists pour over her data and confer. They’ve learned a few things about her death as they examine evidence of bullet wounds and trajectory; map family connections and local history. Suspect interviews are scheduled for tomorrow morning.
All signs point to Jake Kane.