Colony Mars Ultimate Edition

by Gerald M. Kilby

  Evon Dent stood again. “Unfortunately, with all the preparations for the decennial celebration, not to mention the complex work involved in getting the terraforming experiment ready on time, I’m afraid we are a little stretched. my understanding is we should be finished shortly after the big event.”

  “Very well. We will expect this report at next month’s council session.” The Chair rapped once with his gavel to signal that this piece of business was concluded. There were a few moments silence as the Chair looked around at the assembled council to see if anyone else had something new to discuss. “If there are no other items, then we can move on to the more joyous business of the decennial celebrations. Councilor Mika, I believe you have a report on progress?”

  Mika stood and began her report. It consisted mainly of a list of resource allocations, timetables and schedules, but eventually she got into the event itself. It was to be held in the Central Avenue in Jezero City, as this was the only common space big enough to accommodate everyone. All citizens were required to be present, and transportation would be provided to ship them in from all sectors of the colony. A skeleton staff would remain at those installations that could not be left unattended, such as the main life support centers and areas in the Industrial Sector, even at the mines of Nili Fossae and Elysium. Since all these people were contractors working directly for the colony, or for AsterX or MASS, they were not citizens of Mars and were not required to be present.

  The event itself would take place over a sol, starting early afternoon with light entertainment, followed by a documentary on the formation of the colony. After that, food would be served, followed by formal speeches and prerecorded messages of goodwill from various heads of state on Earth. The finale was to be a speech by none other than Xenon Hybrid, President of Mars, whereupon he would ceremoniously countdown to the moment when the MASS terraforming event at the North Pole would be detonated. This would be observed directly from the MASS space station in orbit and relayed to the assembled colonists on the giant screen that had been erected for the occasion. It was certain to be a spectacular event, signifying a new phase in the development of the colony. After that everybody would probably get drunk.

  Although the terraforming event was without doubt the most anticipated element of the entire celebration, there was also considerable interest and chatter about Xenon Hybrid actually turning up and doing the honors. The reason for that was that most of the current colonists, save for the Pioneers, had never seen the President. In fact, most surmised that he was a mythical figure that didn’t really exist, someone the Pioneers made up just to sound even more weird and mysterious than they already were. So, for Xenon to show up and make a speech would be an event in and of itself.

  But he was very real. He had been created during the genetic experimentation that constituted the pre-revolution colony, back in the days of its dark past. Not a clone, as such, but an augmented aggregation of several human DNA sequences. He was in essence, an entirely new species of human, homo-ares as opposed to homo-sapiens. In many respects he was the only true Martian. Around thirty of this new species had been created at the time, however all but Xenon had died. He was the last. In the early years he had been greatly used and abused like his brethren, as tools of the geneticists. But after the revolution, his worldview coalesced with that of the other colonists, as he realized that they were all in this together. And so he came to be one of the heroes of the battle for independence.

  But it was his superior intellect and almost Zen like demeanor that led the colonists to choose him as president of the newly created planet state of Mars. This title carried no power, it was purely ceremonial. So after a while, Xenon resigned from the council and took to more cerebral activities, such as compiling a history of the colony. It was during this period that he announced one sol that he was going native.

  So enthralled had he become in the myth and history of Mars that, in his mind, the only way to fully attain the level of understanding he aspired to was to go deeper, to touch the soul of the planet. So he packed a modified rover with provisions and headed out to explore. That was three Earth years ago, and he had only been back once since. Not voluntarily, but because his rover broke down somewhere west of Gale Crater and had to be evacuated. But as soon as a new rover was made ready he was off again. His extraordinary journey took him to many far-flung corners of the planet which, in the beginning, he documented diligently. Soon though, he decided that these simple observations were insufficient, and so began a period of essay writing and later, philosophical musings. His most recent output had taken the form of poetry, some of which he had planned to recite at the celebrations.

  There were those, of course, that complained about the precious colony resources that were required to maintain this perceived insanity. Xenon had to be resupplied on a regular basis out in the field, as he refused to return until, as he put it, his internal philosophical dialogues had been concluded. An entire department in Central was dedicated solely to this.

  But others argued that every great civilization had its thinkers, poets and philosophers—and if Xenon wished to dedicate this period of his life to considering the true essence of the Martian sunrise, then good on him. He was elevating the colony to something more than a simple amalgam of industry and commerce. He was defining the very essence of a new Martian civilization. They considered him an invaluable cultural project and signed off on the budgets for it, without question, every term. The fact that he would be the one to count down to the terraforming event and herald this new phase in the advancement of the colony was also symbolically significant. He had even written a poem about it, which he would recite before the detonation.

  Councilor Mika Hori sat down after she had brought the council up to speed on how the preparations were proceeding. This left only one other item of business, and that was a short lecture by MASS on the science behind their terraforming event. The Chair tapped his gavel once again and signaled for Evon Dent to proceed. Evon stood up and tapped an icon on his desk screen. The holo-table in the center of the table blossomed to life with a photo-realistic 3D rendering of the planet Earth. It rotated slowly.

  “Earth,” he began. “A world where water flows freely on two-thirds of the surface. A world rich in vegetation, made possible by the cycle of evaporation and precipitation.”

  The Earth continued to rotate for a moment before fading out and being replaced by the planet Mars.

  “Another world where water is plentiful. But here of course, it is too cold to exist as a liquid. But what if we could warm the planet, enough for the ice and permafrost to melt?”

  “Then Jezero Crater would fill up again and we would all drown,” said Yuto, accompanied by a ripple of laughter.

  “True, but you don’t need worry just yet,” said Evon with a chuckle. “We’re a long way from achieving that. What we’re doing is an experiment to test the theory, nothing more. Anyway, as I was saying, how could we go about warming up the planet?” The rotating orb switched to Earth again.

  “Well, as a species, we have plenty of experience in warming up planets. By introducing CO2 into the atmosphere more of the sun’s energy is trapped, unable to escape back out into space, and the planet starts to warm.” The 3D image changed back again to Mars. This time it zoomed in on the North Pole.

  “As it happens, there is a great deal of CO2 on Mars, frozen at the poles. If we could somehow release this into the atmosphere, then we could make a start warming up the planet. But before any of this can be attempted in earnest, a few numbers need to be established. So, to help us start understanding the necessary equations we are going to detonate a small thermonuclear fission device.”

  The rotating Mars rendering zoomed in to a location north of the 60 degree latitude, near the pole.

  “The event will vaporize a significant quantity of frozen CO2 and release it into the atmosphere. From this we can ascertain any resultant temperature deviation with measurements that will be made over the next year. Wh
ile the experiment itself will do nothing to actually terraform the planet, it will give us the quantity of new CO2 introduced, the resultant rise in temperature and also the energy requirement to create these numbers. From that we can then calculate the required volume of CO2 and the total amount of energy it would take to raise the planet’s temperature to a point where water could flow freely again on Mars.”

  A simulation played, showing the planet warming, water flowing and the dusty red desert turning to green.

  “That’s complete horseshit,” said Zebos. “There just isn’t enough CO2 on Mars to do it, and you would need the entire arsenal of Earth’s nukes, by a factor of ten, to make any headway at all.”

  Evon sighed. “That may well be the case, Mr. Zebos. But without this experiment we are completely in the dark as to the feasibility. Once we execute this we’ll have some empirical data to work with.”

  “Well, I think it’s a wonderful idea and it’s going to make a spectacular finale to our celebrations.” Yuto chimed in.

  “But what about radiation?” Councilor Mika looked concerned.

  “It’s many thousands of kilometers away, nothing to fear. Also, here on Mars we have the advantage that everything is hardened against many forms of radiation.” He chuckled. “So, I think we’re pretty safe.”

  Jann had heard enough. Since the formal business of the council had been concluded before Evon’s lecture any were free to leave if they chose. So she stood up, thanked the Chair, her fellow councilors and Evon Dent in the correct diplomatic order, and turned to go. But as she did she made deliberate eye contact with Lane Zebos. She moved away from the council dais and into the surrounding biodome gardens, heading for her favorite spot. It was far enough from the council area so as not to hear anything, but also secluded so that no one could overhear any conversation within. She sat down on a stone plinth and listened to the gently cascading water in the fountain. She didn’t need to wait long before Lane Zebos came strolling in and sat down beside her.

  “So, Lane, what brings you to a council session? Normally you just send a minion.”

  “Ah… one last meeting, for old times sake.”

  “The end of an era, then?”

  “I wouldn’t quite say the end. But certainly the beginning of the end. It will still take the vultures time to pick clean what we’ve created here.”

  “Well, you’ve still managed to retain quite a few concessions. You’re still an important part of the colony, and will be for a long time to come.”

  Lane sighed. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

  “So why all the horseshit, were you trying to bait Evon Dent?”

  Lane laughed. “Ah… no, not really. I’m not a politician, I can’t do subterfuge, I have to say it as I see it.”

  They let a moment pass before Lane continued, “I’ve heard a rumor.”

  Jann looked at him. “Go on.”

  “It seems that quite a number of councilors are siding with MASS in trying to pin the blame for that accident on us.”

  “Hardly a rumor, Lane. I think that was fairly obvious from the meeting.”

  “I don’t mean we messed up technically, but that we deliberately sabotaged the rover.”

  “And why would you do that?

  Lane looked intensely at Jann. “I’m sure you can have a guess.”

  “I can, but I want to hear it from you.”

  Lane shook his head. “To turn more of the Pioneers against MASS? If one of their number died in a sloppy accident in a MASS rover, that would not go down well.”

  “And what would that do, ultimately?

  Lane shifted. “I thought you were on our side. You don’t actually believe any of this… horseshit, do you?”

  Jann folded her hands in her lap. “No, Lane. Like you I consider it complete… equine excrement.”

  Lane settled down. “Thank you. For a moment there I thought we had lost you to the dark side, too.” He paused. “So what do you think they’re up to?”

  “Distraction,” said Jann matter of factly.

  “I’ve no idea what that means, you’ll need to give me more to work with.”

  “Here’s what’s going to happen, Lane. When MASS provide their report it will show it was caused by something outside anyone’s control. It will be put down to just one of those unfortunate things that happen every now and again. AsterX will be exonerated, not your fault after all, and that will be that.”

  Lane looked over at Jann. “How do you know that?”

  “It’s the oldest trick in the book, Lane. If you don’t want something scrutinized then you create a distraction. The more outrageous the better. Everybody starts jumping up and down, looking in the wrong place. So when MASS put this down to an unfortunate accident, everybody accepts it because they’re too busy arguing over whether AsterX was involved or not. It’s a sleight of hand. It’s what magicians have been doing for millennia. Create a distraction to distract the audience while the trick is played out behind everyone’s back.”

  Lane shrugged. “I still don’t get it. Why would they do that? Why go to all that trouble?”

  “Like I said, so that the trick isn’t seen.”

  “But what trick… wait a minute… are you saying they did this themselves, that it wasn’t an accident?”

  “No, I’m not saying that. At least not without any evidence. I’m curious about what game, if any, they’re playing.”

  They sat in silence for a while. Lane stared at the fountain. “Would be nice if we could pick through the remains of that rover they have locked away.”

  “What would you look for if you could?”

  “Oh… try and see where the main destruction occurred, do some analysis of the components to look for stress, for failure, maybe do some chemical analysis and look for traces of explosives or other foreign compounds.” He regarded Jann again. “But that’s not going to happen. They have it locked down tight, no way to examine it.”

  “What if there was a way for someone to get in, someone not technical, what would they look for?”

  This time Lane studied Jann’s face for a moment and a smile began to break across his face. “Don’t tell me you got someone on the inside?”

  Jann shrugged. “It’s purely a hypothetical question, a what if.”

  “Well, one could take a lot of photographs of the damaged areas, close ups of the various parts. Also any components they might have removed and put aside, even how those are arranged could give us a clue as to what they might be looking for. And since we’re speaking hypothetically, it would be even better to acquire one or two of these components and do some chemical analysis. In a hypothetically independent lab, of course.”

  “I see. Very interesting.”

  Lane favored her with a broad smile. “You’ve become a wily old fox, Jann. Back in the day you would skewer your enemies in the eye with that spear you used to carry.”

  Jann laughed. “Yes, but we’ve moved on a lot since then. Nobody wants to go back to those times.”

  In the corner of her eye she spotted two of Zebos’ minions walking toward them. Lane had also seen them coming and nodded to them. They stopped and waited at a respectful distance, not wishing to intrude, content that they had been acknowledged.

  Lane stood up. “Looks like I have to go.”

  Jann also stood and Lane threw his arms around her in a firm hug. He broke away, holding one of her hands in both of his. “Let’s not leave it so long the next time. Maybe when all these celebrations are over you and Nills will pay us a visit up at the space station.”

  “Yes, perhaps. We haven’t been up there in a while.”

  He shook her hand again and turned to go, but took only a few steps before he turned back. “Just one other thing. The EVA suit.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It would be interesting to have a closer look at the EVA suit the courier was wearing. Considering what you were saying about distractions. Everyone is talking about the rover. Nobody has
mentioned the EVA suit.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Anyway, just a thought. Gotta go.” He turned and walked away.

  10

  Central Logistics

  Mia woke late the next morning to find the ore hauler she had talked to the previous night was long gone. She was disappointed, as she would have liked to pump him a bit more. But the way station was deserted now, so it was time to move on. She had considered heading up to the mining outpost deeper into the Nili Fossae gorge, then traveling on to the MASS research station about fifty kilometers further north. But that all changed when she received a message from Central Logistics, informing her that she should make her way back to HQ and await her next assignment as a courier. This was the department that controlled and managed all movements of goods and people around the sectors of the colony and its satellite installations. Since, strictly speaking, she was in the employ of Central Logistics, Mia was not surprised by this directive, but she did have a sense that Dr. Malbec might be behind it. So, Mia and Gizmo spent the early morning prepping the rover for its return journey, filling its tanks with oxygen and methane, swapping out scrubbers, loading it up with waste for recycling and doing a full systems check. Once done, Mia squandered no time in starting out on the long journey back to Jezero. If nothing else, it would give her time to think and digest what she had learned so far.

  Her conversation with the ore hauler the previous night had thrown up some interesting information. Nothing specific, just some noisy data. The courier had been a clone, that much she had already known. But what had also piqued her interest was why this guy had such a desire to return to Earth, and why this was forbidden for clones.