Star Performer

In a near‑future studio, a live broadcast reaches millions as the first native Martian, Gavir of the Desert Men, is introduced through a pioneering “dreamwave” transmission. Accompanied by Dr. Malcomb Rice, a sympathetic anthropologist, Gavir is compelled to answer questions about his home while the audience watches his thoughts unfold in vivid, shared sensation. The pressure of being a political pawn – a symbol of a repressed Martian resistance – sits heavy on his shoulders, even as he is asked whether he would ever return to the harsh world behind the Preserve Barrier.

When the moderator urges him to sing, Gavir launches into the haunting “Song of Going to Hunt,” a ritual that projects the stark, icy plains of his desert to listeners’ minds. The narrative follows a lone hunter tracking a massive, menacing beast called a drock, its armored black scales glinting under a wan Martian sun. The chase is tense and kinetic, promising a stark glimpse into a culture where survival is woven into every breath, and where the line between hunter and hunted can shift in an instant.