Huey
       It was not easy being one third of a triplet, especially when you had a complete jerk for a brother like Dewey. When we were little, he was always taking my stuff. Every time I caught him, I beat him up and took my stuff back. That didn't stop him. He just started breaking my stuff as soon as he stole it. So, I had to find ways to keep my stuff where he wouldn't find it.
       Mom and Dad were no help. They shrugged helplessly and said we should all get along and learn to play nicely. Probably having triplets burned out their parenting skills.
       We each had our own rooms, so I learned to set traps. Locks didn't stop Dewey, but he ended up covered with all kinds of substances every time he tried to break into my room. At first, Mom complained about the mess, but I said if Dewey stayed out of my room, there would be no mess.
       It wasn't fair; I never touched his stuff. I just wanted him to leave me alone.
       We fought all the way through preschool and school. Everyone always let Dewey get away with things because he was so outgoing. Outgoing? He just took advantage of stupid people and tricked them into doing his work for them.
       Dewey always needed to show me up. If I got an A on a test and Dewey only got an A-, he showed me up by babbling on and on about how much he had learned from the test and how excellent the teacher was. If I managed to get a hit in Little League and Dewey struck out, he spent the next inning cheering on the team and praising the other batters. If I made a free throw, he passed the ball every time so that someone else made a basket one second before the game ended. No matter what I did, Dewey managed to emerge as the real hero.
       Everyone said the three of us looked identical, but Dewey was the most photogenic. Dewey had the nicest smile. Dewey, Dewey, Dewey.
       There was also our third triplet, Lloyd. I never had any problem with him. He was just there and never bothered me or, strangely enough, Dewey. Somehow Lloyd could always figure out the right thing to say to each of us.
       Lloyd suggested that we each go to a different college. I thought this was a great idea -- I was horrified at the prospect of Dewey showing me up for another four years -- and was amazed that Dewey agreed. I ended up at Georgia Tech, Dewey at MIT, and Lloyd at Stanford. But Dewey and I continued to fight as always whenever we were both home.
       Strangely enough, all three of us majored in engineering, maybe because Mom and Dad were engineers. I went into chemical engineering because I wanted to learn how to make things that would last. Dewey, of course, was a mechanical engineer who was always tearing things apart and breaking them. Lloyd went into structural engineering, but if he told me why I don't remember what he said.
       After we graduated, I had trouble getting a job. Everything always went great up until the interview. So, I went back to graduate school. Dewey, of course, had to beat off headhunters from the time he was a sophomore. Lloyd started working for a little company in California that had various defense department contracts.
       When I heard about the colony on Mars, I suddenly had just one thought, roads. A whole planet and people were going to live there? They were going to need roads, a way to get from point A to point B any time they wanted to. And I was the one who could get those roads constructed. Suddenly I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to build roads on Mars.
       I did the research. You could produce a pretty good concrete on Mars using molten sulfur instead of water. You just had to make sure that you mixed it with crushed surface rocks, none of which could be larger than one millimeter in diameter. That gave you a strong, smooth surface that any vehicle could drive on. So, for construction, you needed sulfur-seeking robots, rock-crushing robots, concrete-mixing robots, and road surface-laying robots.
       My road surfaces would even be suitable for runways for spaceports, which Mars would need more than one of as time went by.
       I submitted the monetary estimate for my project to the billionaire who was financing the Mars colony. I calculated how much I would need concerning materials per square meter of road surface, how many robots I would need to produce and lay the concrete, and how many other engineers I would need to explore the surface of Mars and plan the routes.
       I came up with a high number, but when I got an interview with the billionaire, he didn't seem upset. I could tell he liked the idea of roads and people being able to drive around the planet whenever they wanted to. So, he asked for more details and when I would be willing to leave for Mars.
       Then Dewey stabbed me in the back with his stupid train idea.
       
       Dewey
       It was so great growing up as triplets. Huey was a little moody sometimes, but the three of us enjoyed a perfect childhood. I was crazy about taking things apart and finding out how they worked.
       My parents encouraged me, even though Mom sighed a lot when I couldn't get things put back together exactly right. Huey always pretended to be annoyed when I dismembered his toys. However, he played along, even making fake traps to catch me when I sneaked into his room to see if he had anything new I could take apart.
       Sometimes Huey couldn't control his quick temper, but I didn't mind putting up with that. He was my brother, after all, and a good guy. And, of course, Lloyd always got everyone back in a good mood.
       Trains. I've always loved trains. Trains took you places, and you could watch everything along the way and just enjoy the trip. A train ride was the ultimate freedom. I had a huge set of model trains and train tracks in my room and was always taking them apart and laying new track routes around the house. I spent most of my childhood browbeating my parents into taking me on train rides, on real trains that went somewhere, not on some stupid circular ride at a theme park.
       Somehow or other, Lloyd always got the engineers to let me ride with them, and sometimes they even let me drive the trains.
       I thought the three of us should all go to the same college, but Lloyd convinced me that we would learn more separately, each of us specializing in what we were passionate about. And he was right, though I really missed Huey's ideas. I had a great time at MIT and insisted on staying there all four years, even though companies kept recruiting me long before I was finished.
       Just when I was considering an offer to redesign all the Amtrak engines, I read about the colony they were planning for the planet Mars. A colony on Mars? It was obvious to me: They would need trains there.
       Running trains on Mars did involve a few challenges, but trains seemed perfect for the planet. They needed little energy, had low maintenance requirements, were capable of high speeds, and could be constructed and powered with the resources available on Mars.
       All I would need to set up a network of railroads on Mars would be hundreds of robots and a functional steel-producing industry. Mars had enough iron, and while solar power might be sufficient, producing reliable power for the trains would be one more reason for a nuclear power plant on the surface of Mars. Any radiation it produced would be negligible compared to the cosmic radiation the surface absorbed anyway. So, doable!
       The set-up costs would be considerable, but after that, Mars would have an economical transport system for developing and supplying all future settlements.
       With a little persistence, I got a chance to talk to the billionaire who was funding the whole colony. At first, he was very skeptical and said that he had already decided to have roads built. He assumed the colonists would want to be able to drive around anywhere they wanted to, completely on their own. Trains wouldn't be useful until much later, maybe when tourist groups arrived.
       It took all my powers of persuasion to convince him that trains had to come first. They could transport much more freight and were safer than any surface vehicles. Did the billionaire really want all the idiot colonists causing accidents on a planet where no one could go outside to rescue them without spacesuit protection? Trains would be self-contained, mobile surface habitats. If something happened to one car, people could flee to another while waiting for rescue.
       I got my contract to construct train transportation as quickly as possible on Mars. Soon after that, I started getting angry phone calls from Huey. It turned out he was the one who had persuaded the billionaire to let him build roads on Mars right away. I still don't know why he was so mad. Roads are a good thing; trains are just better.
       
       Lloyd
       I spent most of my childhood keeping my two triplet brothers from killing each other. Home was a constant battlefield and minefield. Huey was always jealous of Dewey, and Dewey was oblivious to how angry he made Huey. Neither of them noticed how their mutual competition actually made each of them better at whatever they did. So, the net result of all their battles was a plus, though at a considerable cost to me.
       They said that children of multiple births, whether twins or triplets or quads or whatever, had this special psychic connection, that they could sense what the other one was feeling or thinking. This was true.
       But things with us were a little lopsided. Huey and Dewey had no idea what each other was feeling, and I had input from each of them. Whenever one of them was angry or happy, I was almost incapacitated, overwhelmed by the power of their emotions.
       So, for my own self-preservation, I had to play peacemaker and try to keep both of them content and happy. Mom and Dad were useless. They always said they loved us equally and accepted us just the way we were. Not being in any way connected to Huey and Dewey, they didn't see any need to defuse the fights.
       But I did. That's why I talked them into going to different colleges, so they wouldn't have the opportunity to annoy each other, and I could finally enjoy four peaceful years. This worked well. Dewey immediately had his group of extroverted fans, and Huey found his group of amiable introverts with whom he could enjoy silent companionship. I only picked up psychic waves of contented happiness from both of them the whole time.
       Then suddenly, Mars was in the news. People had been dreaming of colonizing the planet Mars for centuries, but one multi-billionaire finally decided to finance the whole thing. This meant no compromises or committees; the billionaire had the last word about all details.
       He asked around, determined that a Martian colony was now practical, that the technology was available to let humans survive on Mars. So he invited people to Mars and expressed his expectation that the colony would become self-supporting within the next fifty years.
       I had no interest in going to Mars. I had just gotten a good, quiet job as an engineer in a company with steady government contracts. I did my work among congenial colleagues and never had to negotiate fistfights. It was paradise for me.
       But then Huey confronted Dewey about sabotaging his bid to put roads on Mars. Dewey, of course, could only think about his trains. Their loud and continuing arguments created psychic waves that almost knocked me out in California. I couldn't live with the mental noise and knew I had to get between them again and bring about some ceasefire, just like when we were kids.
       Frankly, I was afraid that even if both of them went to Mars, somehow, the psychic stress from their disagreements would still hit me on Earth.
       Trying to save myself as much direct confrontation as possible, I first investigated the details of the proposed Martian settlement.
       Then I was off to see the billionaire. He turned out to be quite a sensible human being, in no way a fanatic. And I found out that he had more funds at his disposal than he liked to admit.
       I persuaded him to contract for roads and trains as soon as feasible on Mars and to employ both Huey and Dewey. However, in return, he demanded that I also go to Mars and be in charge of the transportation infrastructure, i.e., of Huey and Dewey. The billionaire didn't want to be bothered with their squabbles. He had enough other details to consider.
       I had no great desire to join the Martian colony, but when I thought about it more, I became intrigued by certain aspects of living on another planet.
       The longer I entertained the idea, the more it became clear that I could make myself useful on Mars and do something to help Huey and Dewey. What did roads and trains both have in common? Bridges. I could build bridges on Mars. What little I knew about the topography of Mars told me there were large and small crevices all over the place that demanded bridges.
       Bridges on Mars would have to be constructed with materials not yet tested on Earth. I became fascinated with the idea of braided tensile nanotube filaments that could carry almost any weight and remain flexible at any temperature while letting the dusty wind simply blow through them. That just left the problem of bridge structures having to repel the corrosive Martian dust.
       The billionaire told me to seek out Rick Stevensen, who was planning to set up a plastics factory on Mars. Rick was open to coming up with a way to produce nanotubes or even Martian steel. But his first priority was producing enough robots for surface activity.
       That gave me a workable timeframe. It made no sense for Huey or Dewey to go to Mars before there were enough robots there to construct roads and train tracks. Persuading them to wait on Earth while planning for their projects was exhausting, but I was in charge of all transportation on Mars. Eventually, they did recognize the need for creating roads and train tracks on those routes that would be used first, for example, from the first established habitat to the second, and from both to the spaceport.
       Huey was mollified now that he got to build his roads. It didn't take long for him to want to show how superior his roads would be compared to Dewey's trains. Both of them spent time researching all the details for their respective projects instead of annoying each other.
       In the meantime, I racked my brain over how to make efficient dust fences, like snow fences in the American Midwest. It would be necessary to keep the corrosive Martian dust off the roads and the tracks. Naturally, you couldn't keep all dust away; for smaller amounts, you could send out robots with brooms. But you couldn't have major storms dumping so much dust on the roads or tracks that it would stop traffic.
       Huey and Dewey spent their time analyzing maps and doing virtual tours to determine optimal routes for their roads and train tracks. All I got from them was a mental buzz of being busy. Those months proved to be quite a pleasant, quiet time for me.
       Then the billionaire said it was time for them to leave for Mars and start constructing a transportation system.
       
       Huey
       It took long enough, but I finally got to leave for Mars, taking along all my plans for the roads. I didn't want my roads to run next to the train tracks, but Lloyd persuaded me that this would make it cheaper for him to place bridges where he determined they would be necessary. He wanted the option of dual and double-decker bridges.
       Lloyd did give me one piece of excellent advice. He told me to demand an all-terrain vehicle I designed and built on Earth and to make sure it would manage any topography on Mars. Then I should demand the billionaire pay for me to take it to Mars with my other luggage.
       Hey, Lloyd has never given me bad advice, and to my astonishment, the billionaire had no objections.
       Building the roads on Mars was a fantastic adventure, the most fun I ever had. Mr. Stevenson set up a separate little factory where robots mixed the concrete. By the time Dewey and I got to Mars, there were plenty of robots running around, getting in each other's way. Some genius had set up the specs on Earth, and Mr. Stevenson took the software and printed out one robot after another once he had his factory up and running.
       Sending out navigator robots to plot the routes for the roads worked perfectly. Whenever there was a problem with the terrain, one of the robots sent me a message, and I made adjustments. But once the robots started spreading the sulfur/rock mixture to make the road, there was one mechanical problem after another.
       I blessed Lloyd during that interval. My all-terrain vehicle from Earth took me everywhere I needed to go. I learned quickly when a robot had a mechanical problem, the fastest way to solve the problem was to drive out there with a wrench, a hammer, and a screwdriver and fix the problem myself. If I sent another robot after one that was having problems, I just ended up with two malfunctioning robots.
       I know a lot of people still swear by robot exploration instead of sending fragile human beings into space, but most of the time, a human being can fix a troubled robot with one swift kick when software instructions have no effect at all. Just sayin'.
       Once the first road was finished -- this one didn't need any bridges -- people did start driving and demanding their own surface vehicles, making the guy with the only surface vehicle dealership wealthy beyond his expectations. Smart guy. I told him to get as many vehicles as possible because I was building roads, and people would want to drive. To his credit, he listened to me.
       I loved the feeling of starting and completing each new road, but what honestly surprised me was how good it made me feel just to drive around on the surface, during the day and at night. The constantly shifting landscape of Mars was amazing and soothing at the same time. You had these gray and red rocks that turned different shades of red depending on the dust and the sky. You saw huge, solid sand dunes in the distant rolling hills. You couldn't even tell they were mountains until you started to drive up them.
       At night the sky was dark black. Phobos and Deimos whipped their way around Mars, and you could see stars and asteroids very clearly. If you knew where to look, you could see that little blue dot that was Earth. Mars had its moods with marsquakes and dust storms, but I never felt more at peace with myself than on this planet.
       Lloyd kept me informed about what Dewey was doing, but to be honest, I just wasn't interested and didn't care how well or badly things were going for him. My roads made me so happy I was fine with Dewey enjoying whatever success he might have.
       It felt so good to make this beautiful planet accessible to everyone who wanted to buy or rent a surface vehicle. For decades I spent every free minute driving around in the special all-terrain vehicle I brought from Earth. It didn't need roads, so I could use it to investigate possible new routes.
       After a few unfortunate accidents, I recognized that advancing age wasn't doing good things to my driving instincts, so I quit. I didn't want to cause a multi-vehicle accident, and I didn't want anyone to endanger himself by going out to rescue me. I found myself a comfortable seat in the habitat library where I had a 360° view of the surface of Mars and spent my time there, communicating with my road-care robots and answering drivers' questions.
       Who would have thought my life would turn out to be so good?
       
       Dewey
       It wasn't easy getting the first stretch of train tracks down. The robots made mistakes, and the materials that the tracks and trains were made of had to be adjusted several times. I had to put my tracks next to Huey's roads since he got them done before I had the first tracks placed, and Lloyd wanted us to use the same bridges. But hey, I was bringing trains to Mars. Every time I walked into the habitat cafeteria, people cheered and asked where they could buy tickets for the first ride.
       The robots improved with practice, and Huey's routes turned out to be quite good for trains. Probably Lloyd told him to avoid stretches that were too challenging. It took me about twice as long to finish a train route as Huey needed for a stretch of road. But my future passengers were loyal and patient. I made a point of meeting with them at least once every Martian month. Truth be told, they encouraged me to keep trying.
       Finally, the first trains left the station with a passenger on every seat. There were minor glitches, and repair robots had to come out twice, but everyone deemed the round trip a success. People told me how great it was to relax and look around the surface of Mars. They were right. That was the greatest train ride of my life.
       And the rides just got better and better. Soon people could travel safely by train over much of the planet.
       I kept creating new train routes and getting tracks and trains in operation. Every now and then, I put through a route that didn't run parallel to Huey's road, like the time I ran a train track up Olympus Mons. Everyone said it was foolish, that the energy expenditure would bankrupt my train company, but they underestimated the number of tourists that were already coming to Mars. This route was always completely booked.
       The view into outer space from the top of Olympus Mons was an absolute one-of-a-kind, and with my trains, you didn't have to stress yourself out to enjoy it.
       Much as I enjoyed the view from my train windows, I had to admit the feedback I got from my passengers made me even happier. It was great to see how much joy I brought to so many people. And I got to ride trains as much and as often as I wanted.
       Now that I was older, I spent more and more time riding my trains. I started training my successors long ago, and they were getting good at finding new places for trains to go. They even put up with my tinkering with the mechanical parts whenever I had a new idea.
       Life doesn't get any better than that.
       
       Lloyd
       Things were a little tense at first when Huey and Dewey got to Mars, but the battles between them stopped once they both had enough work to do. I couldn't believe my good luck.
       It was like they were back in college. I didn't sense any negative emotions from them. They were often stressed or dissatisfied with how their projects were going, but there was no more envy or interference. The planet Mars did good things for them.
       This helped me because I had more work than I wanted. Every bridge presented its own unique construction challenges as well as those of upkeep and safety checks. And the billionaire gave me the responsibility for everything connected with planetary transportation.
       But I still made time to explore this planet, the most fascinating place I have ever been, with the highest mountain and the deepest canyon of the solar system and who knows how many secrets underground.
       I almost get sick when I think I might have spent my whole life doing paperwork for boring government contracts. Thank you, Huey and Dewey!