Behind the story: Killer Bunnies on Mars

I had a lot of fun writing Killer Bunnies on Mars. The idea behind it really evolved from two distinct experiences I had, both within a month of each other.

The first one took place at a vineyard. I was visiting Sonoma, California, and as I was immersed in my own thoughts I was surprised by the sneaky eyes of a rabbit. The thing that caught my attention was how silent, observant, and alert it was. Who knows for how long it was watching me, but it was this behavior that captivated me the most. Unless I am in a unique situation, I rarely feel silent or observant (I have my phone, text messages, my own thoughts that are constantly wanting my attention), and my alert mode tends to activate only in very unique situations, like walking alone at night.

A few days later we had fires in California, the skies turned crimson red, and ash fell in some cities of the Bay Area. Everyone was inside because of poor air quality, and as I briefly ventured outside I felt my world going silent. Under a bright orange sky I remembered Mars, the red planet. The bunny I had met back in Sonoma came to my mind too. I thought about how we’ve grown accustomed to the comforts of Earth, and since we humans are the top predator here we often forget about our own survival skills while other creatures continue to fine-tune them. And, well, who knows what centuries, maybe even millennia of practicing those survival skills will do for them, just like it did for us a long, long time ago.

V.