2063: Mars invites Earth to its Independence Day; Lian and Taron meet and fall in love.
Earth/Mars relations seem to improve on the surface, and Mars invites Earth to a celebration of independence held on the red planet. For old time's sake, Zhen and Kurt attend with their children, who are now 17 years old. The children immediately dislike each other. Taron thinks Lian is arrogant and doesn't like the fact that her mother left his father back on the Moon. Lian thinks Taron is too traditional and brutish. Nevertheless, after a week of cajoling each other, they fall in love and have a brief but intense romance. They vow to meet again soon. After much persuasion, Zhen and Kurt petition the Mars colony to allow Taron to visit Mars as a potential immigrant.
