Tetsuro and Maetel are on board the 999. Tetsuro is wondering where their next stop is... Maetel informs him that they will be stopping on Mars... and goes on to explain that the 999 will stop on all planets for one day worth of the time on that planet... i.e. one cycle of sunrise and sunset...
Meanwhile a strange man can be seen seated in a bar on Mars... he seems to have been awaiting the arrival of the 999... He pays the bartender and prepares to leave... he shares an intense moment with a woman seated by the doorway... and tells the bartender that if he were to die... he would not be needing a grave... He looks at the red wind and states that he would be fine as long as the red wind continued to blow...
While pulling into the station (called Styris Major) on Mars... Maetel tells Tetsuro that Mars had been terraformed such that the atmosphere could support human life... but even so... almost all of the inhabitants of Mars had mechanical bodies... the town of Styris Major itself appears to be a dilapidated frontier type of town styled in a manner similar to the American Wild West...
After arriving on Mars, Maetel asks Tetsuro whether he wanted to go and explore the town. Tetsuro said that they should... given that they came all this way... Maetel then hands Tetsuro a bag of gold... Tetsuro was amazed by the bag of coins, and asked if it was really all right for him to keep them... Maetel told him that it was money which was given to all passengers on the 999... and said that it was all right even if he lost the money... but that he should never let go of his pass... since that was the only way he could board the 999...
The scene moves back to the bar... where the old man is talking to the woman... it becomes apparent that the woman is his daughter and the strange man earlier was her lover... a man named Geronimo... The old man expressed his doubts about Geronimo actually coming back for her if he ever got a hold of a Galaxy Express pass... The woman replied that she was fine and he would surely return...
When exploring the Martian town... Tetsuro noted the loose soil and how it could probably not support any crops... The bartender notices Tetsuro and invites him in.... Tetsuro orders a drink and pays for it with his gold... The man is amazed to see Tetsuros gold and they have a conversation about Tetsuros plans... upon learning that Tetsuro was looking to get a mechanical body for himself, the old man shows him his leg... it was mechanical... he remarked that he was never able to afford a full mechanical body... and had contented himself with his legs... He suggested that Tetsuro take a tour of the towns sights with his daughter as a guide... Tetsuro offered him all of his gold as payment so that the old man could buy himself a mechanical body... but the man declined and said that Tetsuro should take good care of the money and that he would surely need it during his journey...
We learn that the woman goes by the name of Verme... the old man tells her to show Tetsuro around... Tetsuro gets into the carriage and they drive off...
Tetsuro sees the deserted town and learns from Verme that all the rich folk had moved away to other planets since Mars did not have any 'novelty'... they pause in front of a massive graveyard which Verme tells him was the grave of the initial settlers of Mars who had labored to make the planet habitable...
Suddenly Geronimo accosts Tetsuro with his gun drawn and demands that Tetsuro hand over his pass for the 999... Tetsuro realizes that Verme had betrayed him..... Tetsuro refuses to hand over his pass and is shot by Geronimo.... Geronimo takes his pass and tells the dying Tetsuro that survival of the fittest was the rule on this planet...
Geronimo asks Verme to take him to the 999, but she refuses... she tells him that he should wait for her to get a pass as well if he truly loved her... He tells her that she should understand... and that he would surely return for her...
Verme picks up Tetsuros gun and tries to threaten Geronimo... he refuses to stop and she shoots... he dodges and shoots her in turn... fatally wounding her... appalled at his folly... he rushes to her aid... but it was too late... Verme claims to be happy not to have met her end alone...
Just then Tetsuro gets up... the impact of the shot had been absorbed by the bag of coins... Geronimo lays Verme down gently and prepares to draw his weapon... Tetsuro shoots... but Geronimo does nothing... he takes the shot in his chest... and falls....
Tetsuro yells and asks him why he didnt shoot... and Geronimo replies that it was because he saw Tetsuro bleeding... he tells him to cherish his real body and reveals that both he and Verme had been converted to mechanical bodies long ago... Tetsuro is shocked to learn this and wonders what more they had wanted even though they already had eternal life... He hurries back to the station even as the dust starts to cover Verme and Geronimo...
As the 999 prepares to depart... Maetel is worried since Tetsuro still hasnt shown up... and the old man is shown sitting outside his bar... smoking his pipe... probably already aware of the fate that had befallen his daughter... Tetsuro boards the express just in time... and they depart... as the 999 leaves Mars... the Old man can be seen remarking that one day the red sand would bury him too and he would sleep... and that he felt sorry for a man who couldnt die when his time came....
Next Episode: Titans Sleeping Warrior!
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