Much to Podkayne's surprise, the normally very self-centered Clark contracts a severe case of puppy love. Once aboard, they are befriended by 'Girdie', an attractive, capable, experienced woman left impoverished by her late husband. Clark's ploy is taken from a real-life incident, related in Heinlein's Tramp Royale, in which his wife answers the same question with 'heroin' substituted for the fictitious, but equally illegal, happy dust. Much of the description of the voyage is based on Heinlein's own experiences as a naval officer and world traveler.

He later carefully opens the package and finds a nuclear bomb, which he disarms and keeps. Clark was told it was a present for the captain, but is far too cynical to be taken in. Podkayne suspects the reason behind her brother's behavior, but cannot prove it. This ploy serves to divert attention away from Podkayne's luggage, where he has hidden a package he was paid to smuggle aboard. Tom arranges for Clark and Podkayne, escorted by himself, to get upgraded passage on a luxury liner to Earth.ĭuring boarding, Clark is asked by a customs official 'Anything to declare?' and facetiously answers 'Two kilos of happy dust!' As he anticipated, his seemingly flippant remark gets him taken away and searched. Disappointed, Podkayne confesses her misery to her uncle, Senator Tom Fries, an elder statesman of the Mars government. Due to the unscheduled 'uncorking' (birth) of their three test-tube babies, Podkayne's parents cancel a much-anticipated trip to Earth. The book is a first-person narrative consisting of the diary of Podkayne Fries, a 15-year-old (Earth years) girl living on Mars with her parents and 11-year-old brother Clark. The novel features a teenage girl named Podkayne 'Poddy' Fries and her younger brother, Clark, who leave their home on Mars to take a trip on a spaceliner to visit Earth, accompanied by their great-uncle. Heinlein, originally serialised in Worlds of If (November 1962, January, March 1963), and published in hardcover in 1963.

Podkayne of Mars is a science-fiction novel by American writer Robert A.

Podkayne of mars