Elias realized then that the "HD" wasn't for him. It was to keep him focused on the screen so he wouldn't look at the walls. He stood up and walked to the maintenance hatch—the only part of the station not covered in the smooth, white HD polymer. He peeled back a corner of the aesthetic padding, revealing the raw, scarred titanium of the hull.

"Aria," he whispered, his own voice sounding like grating gravel in the quiet. "Turn off the Martian feed."

He reached for the emergency release. He didn't want to observe Mars anymore. He wanted to feel the vacuum.