[ WP ] First people on Mars discover buried ruins of ancient Martian civilization .

**Part 1 ( more coming tomorrow ) ** 
 
 **Watney Base, 2099** 
 
 `` So what's that big secret that you've been keeping?'' asked Jacob. He was called to the central habitat, the original lander that brought astronauts back to Watney Base way back in 2035, to have this very question answered. 
 
 `` You've signed the oath of secrecy, correct?'' asked the colonial administrator. Jacob did n't see the need for such measures, but clearly Watney Base is holding back something good. 
 
 `` Yes, you can check it up on my colonist records.'' Jacob replied. 
 
 `` Excellent. You may have wondered, for some time, why there was so much secrecy surrounding Watney Base.'' Understatement of the decade, Jacob thought for himself. `` The reason is simple: aliens.'' 
 
 Jacob almost laughed. `` Aliens? Seriously?'' More seriously, he asked `` so, prokaryotes or something, right? Viruses? Organic chemicals or something?'' 
 
 `` If it was just that, it would have been revealed long ago. We're a scientific outpost - we would n't want to withhold information from the community like that.'' 
 
 `` So wait - are you serious? There is, literally speaking, an alien civilisation on Mars?'' 
 
 `` Was. Well, we think.'' 
 
 `` This better not be one of those weird psych-evaluation things. Being a space colonist is hard enough work without the surprise exam.'' 
 
 The colonial administrator chuckled. Almost everyone at Watney Base had arrived at a conclusion similar to then upon first being told, himself included. `` No, nothing like that. The area of interest is around 4 klicks northeast of this base. There's a rover prepared for an expedition out. You'll find what you see, well, quite convincing. I will be joining you.'' 
 
 Jacob's heart raced. Humanity's first contact with any potental extraterrestrial race. He knew why there was so much secrecy. 
 
 **Classified Archeological Site MRS39N** 
 
 `` We're here!'' the rover driver said, a grin on his face. The rover airlock extended, and Jacob, the colonial administrator and the driver exited the vehicle. The tracks of unpressurised utility vehicles surrounded the parking space, which was made out of `` mars concrete'' ( the real name was some horrendous polysyllabic beast; every colonist agreed that overly-long engineering words were to be avoided ). Jacob switched on his radio equipment, which was at the default setting and filled his ears with automated radio chatter. He quickly switched it over to the wavelength used during first expeditions into MRS39N. 
 
 `` The entire area of interest is underground. You see this?'' The colonial administrator made a general pointing in the direction of the ground. On it was some kind of panel, with an array of buttons measuring 3 by 4. The buttons glowed slightly.
