"We're not joking. This is all some kind of a horrible mistake. We're the first men to land on Mars. You've got to understand that," Dave pleaded.
The mayor was still laughing. He walked to the door and opened it. "All right, boys, have your little joke. You've earned the right to it. I'll make arrangements for you to leave for Dome City in the morning." He shook his head and chuckled again. "Earthmen. Tch-tch." And then he was gone.
They sat alone in the hotel room. It looked like any Earth hotel they'd ever been in. A big soft bed. A wall telephone. Two dressers. Two armchairs. A big mirror over one of the dressers. A television set on the other dresser.
"This is screwy," Dave said. "Is it possible we're back on Earth? Is it possible the joke is on us? Maybe everyone is just ribbing us. Maybe we've been going around in circles for four years. Maybe...."
"No," Cal said. "We're on Mars all right. I don't know exactly how to explain it, but I've got an idea."
"What's that?" Dave asked.
Cal shrugged. "Probably all wrong, of course. But it has something to do with comparable development of cultures on different planets."
"You mean Mars is in exactly the same state of development as Earth?"
"Something like that. You know the theory. Give two different places the same materials to start with, and their cultures will run parallel to each other for the rest of their existence."
"Sure," Dave said. "But these guys Galus and Dale. How the hell could we possibly be mistaken for them?"