Colony Mars Ultimate Edition

by Gerald M. Kilby

  Jann sat back and sighed deeply. “That’s a lot of bad luck.”

  “I know, I know. It’s easy to say, but once the media get you in their sights you’re no longer a human being, you’re just a story, and they’ll milk it for all they can get—then spit you out, a spent husk, nothing left of you to matter to anyone.”

  “I know that feeling.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably the only reason I’m telling you all this. I know you get what it really feels like.”

  They sat for a while, saying nothing. Finally Mia reached for the tea, held it up towards Jann. “I don’t suppose you have something a bit stronger than tea?”

  Jann smiled. “Sure. I think I have something you might like.” She rose from her seat and wandered out of the room for a few minutes. Mia felt like she had just run a marathon. She was exhausted, but surprisingly elated, like a great weight had been taken off her shoulders. She had somehow opened a new door, moved on, leveled up.

  Jann came back holding two glasses, and offered one to Mia, who accepted it and took a sip. Her eyes widened. “Oh my god, is this what I think it is?”

  “Kentucky bourbon, all the way from Earth. It’s the real deal.” Jann sat down again, picked up the slate and waved it at Mia. “It says here it’s your favorite.”

  Mia raised her glass to Jann. “Here’s to Mars.”

  “To Mars.”

  After a brief period of delicate sipping and savoring her drink Mia set it down on the table, brushed the creases out of her colony issue jumpsuit and clasped her hands in her lap. “So, what is it you want me to do?”

  Jann held her gaze for a moment, like she was considering how best to spit it out. Mia dearly hoped that she wouldn’t have to sit through a potted history of the Mars colony.

  “I want you to investigate a murder.”

  “A murder? Well that’s a big ask.” Mia shook her head a few times. “I’m not sure I can be any help to you—even if I agreed to do it.”

  Jann raised a hand. “Just hear me out, Mia. Then you can decide.”

  Mia extended her hands as if to say go right ahead, and sat back. “Okay, but I can tell you right now, I’m not doing it.”

  “You probably heard about the courier that was killed on a resupply mission over at Nili Fossae?”

  “Yeah, tragic. I heard his rover blew up,” said Mia

  “Well, I’m not so sure it was an accident.”

  “Got any evidence to support that hypothesis?” Mia took another sip of her drink.

  “No. That’s why I need someone to investigate it.”

  Mia pursed her lips. “I feel like I’m being dragged into something that frankly I want no part of. But, since we’re buddies now, and I haven’t finished this very delicious bourbon, I’ll humor you with a few of the more obvious questions. The first being, why do you think it’s not simply an accident?”

  “Rovers don’t blow up like that. Yes, there have been fatalities in the past, due to system failures, or even just plain stupidity. But this was catastrophic.”

  “That’s not evidence, Jann. At best it’s just unusual.” Mia picked up her drink and took another sip. It might be a long long time before she ever had a drink like this, so she was going to savor it for as long as possible. “Next question, and this is the most fundamental, why would someone want this courier dead?”

  Jann sighed. “I don’t know. That’s the problem. I don’t really know what’s going on. I’ve either lost touch with the sociopolitical zeitgeist of the colony or someone is hiding something from me.”

  “Well, we have a word for that where I come from. It’s called paranoia. Maybe you just need to get out more.”

  Jann let out a laugh and began to nod her head. Eventually she stood up and walked over to the window again. “Maybe you’re right, Mia. Perhaps I’ve spent too long cooped up in this ivory tower, looking down on my realm, trying to divine some nefarious meaning in every random event.” She stood there for a while, just looking out. Finally she turned back to Mia. “Great change is happening.”

  Oh God, here it comes, thought Mia. The history lesson. She sipped her drink just to remind herself why she was prepared to listen to Dr. Malbec drone on.

  “It’s been nearly thirty years since the first colonist set foot on the planet. We’ve come a long way since then. And in less than a week we will celebrate the tenth anniversary of our independence from Earth, the decennial. Still, Earth continues to try and undermine our independence. This last decade of autonomy has been fought over every single day by the UN. ”

  Mia was tempted to say, well that’s a bummer, but she refrained. Instead she simply said, “I see.”

  “The decennial also marks the end of the exclusive mining and transit concessions given to AsterX.”

  “AsterX, who are they?” Mia felt she was being drawn in against her will.

  Jann turned away from her window gazing and sat back down. Mia realized she might be here for a while longer. Perhaps she could prompt Jann for another shot, just to ease the passage.

  “AsterX is an asteroid mining company. Our independence came at a price, and that was granting exclusive mining and transit rights to AsterX. They’ve prospered greatly from it, but we too have benefited greatly from this arrangement. All that is now coming to an end. Mars is opening up. For the past year, dozens of space corporations have been lobbying for these new concessions. We’re entering the next phase of our development and the growth will be… exponential.”

  “Well, that’s great, surely?”

  Jann shook her head. “Yes and no. You see…”

  Mia instantly regretted letting her mouth take over her brain. Now she had given Dr. Malbec an opportunity to really get going. She took another sip and resigned herself to being here for a while longer.

  “…my big fear is keeping control of this explosion of growth. With so many interested parties vying for position it’s extremely difficult to see the wood for the trees—politically and socially. There are powerful interests who would like nothing more than to see the colony here return to direct control of Earth.”

  “Jann…” Mia had had enough. She had no interest in politics and she got the feeling that Dr. Jann Malbec had spent too long fretting over the machinations of those around her to be able to see anything of the reality. “…what’s all this got to do with the dead guy?”

  Jann sighed. “If someone or some group wanted to take back control of the colony then the time to do that is running out. After the decennial celebrations, and when the AsterX concessions end, it will be too late.”

  “That’s not an answer. That’s simply a personal fear, Jann. Okay, let’s say that this guy was murdered. Who stands to gain from it?”

  “That I don’t know. But a rover does not just blow up like that.”

  “Look, if you want my professional opinion, you’re chasing ghosts. You’re falling into the trap of trying to bend facts to fit your own hypothesis. You need to ask yourself the hard question, am I just being paranoid?”

  “You’re not convinced?”

  Mia laughed. “Very thin pickings, Jann. There’s nothing you’ve said so far that leads me to think this was anything more than an unfortunate accident.”

  “Well, don’t you see? That’s why I need someone to investigate it.”

  Mia shook her head. “No. I’m sorry, but I’m not your girl.” She put her now finished glass back down on the table and leaned in a bit. Her voice was low and hesitant. “Jann, I’ll be straight with you. I can’t go back there. I left all that behind. What little skill I had died back when I killed that kid. I can’t do what you want… I’m not going to let all that in again.”

  Jann sighed, visibly deflated. Mia could see she was disappointed. Instinctively she wanted to give her something to lessen the blow.

  “Listen, I’m not saying your hunch is wrong. Maybe this guy was murdered. Let’s face it, you know infinitely more than I do about what’s going on up here, so maybe there’s something
in what you say. It’s just… I can’t help you. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay, I understand.”

  “Anyway, what good would I be? I’ve only been here seven months. I’m still finding my way around, haven’t even been out of Jezero City. You need someone who knows the ropes. What about the guy who brought me here? He seemed pretty good at snooping around.”

  “Werren’s loyal and very capable but he would be too easily recognized by a great many of the colonists here. I need someone who wouldn’t attract attention, not seen to be affiliated to any group or faction.”

  “Politics again?”

  “Life is politics, Mia. Anywhere you get more than two people together, there’s politics. It’s the consequence of being a species that can communicate.”

  “Well, I’ve always done my level best to avoid it, and there was a heck of a lot of it back in the department.”

  “And how did that work out?”

  Mia thought about that for a moment before realizing the point Malbec was trying to make. “Not very well.”

  “You see Mia, that’s the thing about politics. Either you’re playing the game, or it’s playing you.” With this, Jann rose from her seat. Mia sensed the meeting was over. “Thanks for coming.”

  Mia stood up and shook Jann’s outstretched hand. “Sorry I couldn’t be of any help.”

  “That’s okay. You’ve actually helped me more than you think. Werren will take you back.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Listen, just one more thing before you go.”

  “Sure, what is it?

  “This meeting never happened. I trust you’ll keep our conversation to yourself.”

  Mia nodded. “You can count on it.”

  With that, the lift door opened and Werren ushered her in. As the doors closed and the lift descended, Mia got the distinct feeling that this was not the last of it, that Dr. Jann Malbec was not someone you simply walked away from. What she had said about the department politics not being good to her hit a raw nerve. Malbec was cunning, she knew exactly how to jangle Mia’s tender area. She had been played for a patsy back on Earth, she could see that more clearly with each passing sol. But she was not going to let that happen again, no goddamn way.

  5

  Terraforming

  In the early years of the colony, the great biodome was constructed for the sole purpose of food production. With it came the first expansion of what was up until then nothing more than an outpost. Momentous as this small human presence was, it was tenuous at best. But since the early colonists had come here on a one-way ticket, they possessed a tenacious drive to secure and fortify their fragile colony. The construction of this biodome was a significant moment in the foundation history, a moment when those who clung to life on this far off planet could realistically call it home. So it possessed a deeper significance to the colonists than any other building that now radiated out across Jezero City.

  For a long time, the architecture of the biodome dominated the colony infrastructure, but now it was dwarfed by the massive agri-domes that had been constructed since independence. Yet to the colonists in general, and the pioneers in particular, the biodome was their core. The root from which all else grew. So it came as no surprise to everyone that this was eventually chosen as the central council chamber—the seat of power.

  The hydroponics and factory grow beds had been removed and replaced with a lush green garden. The wide central dais now housed a circular array of seating and monitors for use when the council was in session. In the dead center of all this was a large holo-table used to display maps and data, and even the odd holo-cast from Earth, and other agencies that possessed such technology.

  It was in this section of the biodome that some of the oldest living plants on Mars existed. Some were giant palms, coconut and banana, their large fronds affording shade across the council dais. On certain sols, the biodome was open to the public and the new citizens of Jezero City could wander and delight in this old established tropical garden. Especially the young, those who were born here, of which there were now around twenty-seven ranging in age from a few months, to the oldest boy, the first Martian. He was now seven Earth years old.

  And like all great civilizations it had its statues and monuments. Several larger than life figures greeted the people as they entered. Figures who had played a significant role in the history of the colony. Of course there was a statue of the first human colonist to set foot on Mars. One of Xenon Hybrid, the reclusive, and some would say eccentric President of Mars. There were others, but perhaps the most famous of these was a somewhat controversial statue of a feral and semi-naked Dr. Jann Malbec, her hair in matted dreadlocks, holding a spear above her shoulder, ready to strike. It was a depiction of her time living alone on Mars, in this very biodome where she had regressed to barely more than that of a stone-age hunter. Some colonists hated it. Arguing that such an important figure in the history of the colony as Dr. Malbec, should be depicted so crudely was not proper. But Dr. Malbec herself liked it. She said it was real, she had been that person. She also appreciated it because, in her mind, it showed that despite all our technological brilliance as a species, take it away and we’re just animals.

  Also in the tropical vegetation surrounding the central council dais were a number of small contemplative spaces, where one could sit and not be overheard. They were used as side meeting areas where sticky political issues could be worked out in private.

  In one such area Councilor Yuto Yamashita and Lane Zebos, CEO of the asteroid mining company AsterX were admiring the small fountain that had recently been installed. At its rim a small bird hopped uncertainly before dipping its beak to take a drink. It was one of the few avian species that had survived the journey from Earth. Their songs echoed off the dome and augmented the sense of tropical beauty that the biodome evoked. Their introduction had initially been as a potential additional food source, but as time went by the colony had released some into the space, purely for the aesthetic. While they did indeed add a new layer of beauty to the ecosystem it came with a cost, that being the danger of being in the line of fire when nature called. Lane gave the seat a quick inspection to ensure it was free of guano before seating himself on the stone plinth.

  “So Yuto, I’m assuming your request for a quiet chat here was not for us to enjoy the twitter of birds.”

  “I just wanted to give you a heads up on the unfortunate incident over at Nili Fossae.” Yuto kept his eyes on the bird still drinking at the fountain.

  “Ahh… yes. A tragic accident I believe.”

  Yuto shifted his gaze to Lane and lowered his voice. “There are those who are not so sure that this was an accident. They feel that someone or some agency must have sabotaged his rover to make it explode like that.”

  Lane held Yuto’s stare for a beat. “Do they have any evidence to support this theory?”

  “No. But here’s the thing. That rover was last serviced only one week ago at your shipyard over at the Industrial Sector.”

  “Meaning?”

  Yuto shrugged. “Meaning some individual… who shall remain nameless for the moment… thinks that AsterX might have been behind it.”

  Lane bent in close to Yuto. “That’s horseshit. Why would we even contemplate such a thing?”

  “Look, Lane, I know it’s crap, I’m simply letting you know it’s out there in the wild now.”

  “Who’s spreading this around?”

  Yuto waved a hand. “I can’t say, but I think you can guess.”

  Lane sighed and shook his head.

  Yuto continued, “As you probably know the rover belonged to the Mars Alliance Scientific Survey. The UN agency that’s conducting the terraforming experiment.”

  “So?”

  The councilor sighed in exasperation. “Do you really need me to spell this out for you, Lane?”

  “Humor me.”

  “It’s no secret that of all the agencies and corporations vying for a slice of the new open Mars, MAS
S are the most powerful. When the AsterX agreement ends next week, they will be in an even greater position of power. Some feel that AsterX would have much to gain by discrediting them, particularly technologically.”

  Lane sat with his arms folded, studying the water flowing from the fountain. “Interesting theory, but utter nonsense.”

  “I agree. But, there you go. I just wanted to bring you up to speed.”

  Lane let a moment pass before replying, “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  They sat contemplating this while the little bird returned, or maybe a different one of the same species. It had a friend with it this time.

  “You know, I never really saw the merit in giving such carte blanche over the exploration of Mars to MASS,” said Lane finally.

  Yuto shrugged. “They’re a UN agency. Non-profit, multi-country. They represent Earth’s interests. They’ve been here purely for the scientific study. The search for life is important to humanity. Anyway, we had no choice, you know that. It was the concession we had to make to get access to nuclear technology. Without that reactor spitting out the watts over in the Industrial Sector, none of this would be possible.”

  Lane snapped, “I’ve made no secret of my objections to their ever expanding mandate. When they first came here, it was supposedly about the search for life. That’s fine, let them do it. But no sooner than they put the first bootprint on the surface, they were already drafting up a list of no-go areas. Places with valuable mineral resources that we can’t access. All because of the perceived fear of biological contamination.”

  “It’s a valid concern.”

  “True, but why do I get the feeling they were just doing it to undermine AsterX, and ultimately the prosperity of Mars?”

  “You can’t say AsterX hasn’t grown rich and fat from your ten year exclusive agreement.”