Randall knew history well and did not take his freedoms for granted, so he moved.
The server robot interrupted Randall's thoughts when it brought his food. Even though he knew them to be synthesized and vat grown the taste of the eggs and ham were excellent. The seasoning perfect to the taste, as it should be since his Annie had uploaded his taste profile to the kitchen AI.
He took his coffee outside in the sun, though 'outside' was an enclosed area resembling a balcony. The screening adjusted to allow only a light breeze through even on a windy day. It also modified the equatorial light to a diffuse softness that lulled Randall.
Taking his Annie from his pocket again he unfolded the screen and asked for the test results. All were normal except one which was flagged with a consultation alert. Randall knew it wasn't a good sign, no one consulted a human doctor anymore unless the problem was quite serious. Before he could schedule an appointment Abram Jackson hailed him from the balcony doorway.
2
"Hello Abram, what brings you here?"
Abram D. Jackson was an old friend that Randall had worked with some years before on an issue of space law. Abram was old but spry with a full mane of gray hair. He was at the age where he respected no one unless they were deserving of his respect.
"Hello Randall, I need to speak with you about an issue of space law again."
"Yes?" said Randall.
"Yes," said Abram. "You remember by nephew Martin?"
"Oh yes," said Randall. "I met him virtually at that graduation party last year, how is he?"
"He's fine," said Abram. "He's off world now. And he’s signed up for a tour of duty in the Asteroid Belt, shipped out on a conveyor a week ago."
"Well isn't that interesting," said Randall. "I suppose that is why you want to speak with me, because of the Asteroid Belt, I mean?"
Abram smiled, "Randall you know as well as I that we have to do something to prevent the same mistakes in the Asteroid Belt as we allowed to occur on the moon. We simply cannot allow the Earth’s governments to get their way and declare another open commons. What a name, it sounds like freedom instead of government chains. Randall, these open commons declarations have caused us too much lost opportunity, too much squandered resources, too much government padding their pockets at the expense of the individual. We've lost momentum, if it wasn't for the Mars settlements we would be backsliding our way through history."
"Abram, I agree with much of what you say, but I also believe that the treaties of the open commons prevented much strife among the nations. The price for peace was a little less economic growth perhaps, but that has to be balanced against the waste any wars would have cost. For all we know we may have come out ahead in the trade off."
"Yes Randall, I have heard the argument many times. But the fact remains that more than economic well-being has been lost, we have lost a rationale, a motivation for striving, for setting goals and pursuing them. Instead we limp along here on Earth. But the settlers on Mars still have the drive to better themselves and I want to make sure that drive eventually takes them to the Asteroid Belt."
"Well, I won't argue with you Abram, the people on Mars and elsewhere should be allowed to do whatever and pursue whatever government they see fit. But what does this have to do with you and me?"
"Randall, I'll be blunt, the law has destroyed initiative here on Earth. Everything that someone might think to do is circumscribed by law and regulation. I'm sure we all commit criminal offenses each day without knowing it. Just as governments have made sure the moon is off limits to private enterprise, unless that enterprise jumps through bureaucratic hoops, that's what they want to do to the Asteroid Belt, tighten their control over something they will never risk their own lives to develop.
“Look at what has happened to Shackleford Energy, with their own capital at risk they set up the first refueling stations in orbit using resources from the moon. They took the risk and got it going before any of the bureaucrats could figure out what was happening. Shackleford made a good profit to begin with, then laws were passed, in your field space law, that declared Shackleford to be 'working for the good of all mankind' and behind those fine words was nothing but deceit. What they really meant is that Shackleford would be working for the good of the bureaucrats, limited in profit margins, chained to bureaucratic reviews if they ever wanted to expand. Old Bill Shackleford's descendants got out of the business rather than be so proscribed and I bet old man Shackleford would have done the same.
“So now the refueling stations in orbit, instead of courting customers, court bureaucrats, and good luck to the customer that thinks he can get as much fuel as he needs. It's all highly controlled, and that is where you and I come in."
"Abram, I'm concerned about what you say about the law, it is justice that is the concern of the law, not politics. And I admit that sometimes the powerful do get the law they want, not the law they deserve, so I will continue to entertain this conversation, with the understanding that I won't do anything that is illegal, even if the law is not equitable."
"The point I'm driving at Randall is that you or no one else will have to do anything illegal in regard to the Belt, if there is no law to proscribe such actions."
"You mean anarchy, Abram?"
"No, Randall, I mean law of the locals, by the locals, and for the locals. I mean law without bureaucrats millions of kilometers away restricting and knotting up people’s lives that they have no interest in other than to use as pawns or revenue sources.
“Look, the Mars Republic understands what it is like to have restrictions imposed by bureaucrats without any skin in the game. They have no desire to extend their republic to the Asteroid Belt. They have promoted a free and self-governing populous on Mars. I sometimes represent them here on Earth and what we want you to do is your best to see that no laws can be passed that will infringe on the rights of those going to the Belt.”
“What you say about the Earth bureaucrats is probably true Abram. They did manage to get their paws on the near earth asteroid resources also, turning that industry into a regulated sluggard. But I will have to think about this, to use the law to promote interests, even if they are for the better, is not the way I learned law. Law is for righting wrongs mostly, protecting freedoms usually, and redressing grievances always. This is certainly a worthwhile endeavor but it is a little political, if you don't mind my saying so.”
“That's okay,” said Abram. “You think about it but remember if you think too long it might be too late. Thanks Randall, and good-bye.”
“It was good to see you Abram,” said Randall, “good-bye.”
3
Martin Starlifter Jackson sat in his quarters on Cycler 2, the Amor asteroid that was being utilized by Solar Tran Corporation to transport people and supplies between Mars and the Asteroid Belt. He was twenty-two and newly graduated from Mars Space Academy. Tall and somewhat thin he was stronger than he looked but was not prone to demonstrate it. He had a peaceful but stubborn nature.
The freighter was spun up along its major axis to provide one-half Mars gravity for its crew and two dozen passengers on its almost sixteen month journey. The passengers provided a bit of extra profit but were not catered to beyond the necessities. It was cheap space travel for most. Martin wouldn't be aboard the full sixteen months, he would be taken off by one of the new fusion ships long before the asteroid made it to the Belt. His scheduled transit was eight months, it was still a big investment of time and money, but it was cheaper than using a fusion ship the entire distance.
Martin planned to spend some of his time aboard the cycler studying space law. One of his least favorite courses when he was at Mars Space Academy and his grades showed it. He would have to do it with one of his least favorite media devices too, a brain-cap. Those things hurt his head, literally. Use it too long and he would have a headache for a day. No one else at the Academy seemed to be as sensitive as him. And he found the knowledge while comprehensive was not as deeply understood as when h
e used other media devices for study such as his Annie. But he had always been different.
After study, Martin decided to pursue some exercise in the recreation area. Because of the low gravity and spin forces the exercise rooms all had curved corners and edges to prevent injury. Most opted for an exercise regime using the specially designed equipment but Martin wanted a more free motion workout. He opted for the open field room. This room was oblong in shape, the longest dimension ran along the axis of the asteroid. Because of its location it had the lowest gravity of any area on the cycler and the most interesting physics. The elevator to the room opened at one end just below the axis. Martin walked 'down' to the floor of the room, the gravity increasing as he went.
As he walked he saw only a couple of people. The rotational motion at the 'floor' was most noticeable because of the spin of the asteroid and the size of the room, some people suffered from motion sickness while in the room. Martin didn't notice anything except a slight tendency to lose his balance.
He took one of the balls from the storage bin and proceeded slowly out to the middle of the room where the 'ceiling' was the highest and where the other people were playing. He watched a young man make a couple of tosses with a ball. The trajectory of the ball was not intuitive, instead of launching off into the distance and hitting the far wall it instead made a semi-loop and returned to the boy as he turned around.
Martin was curious enough to introduce himself and ask the boy how he had caused the unusual trajectory of the ball. The young man said that the angle and the speed at which the ball was thrown was the key. The angle had to be as close to forty-five degrees as possible and the speed should be somewhat less than the rotational speed of the room.
Martin asked if he could give it a try. The young man said yes but cautioned Martin that the radius with which the room curved would make it difficult to select the proper throwing angle so he suggested Martin throw slightly higher than he thought was forty-five degrees. Martin let the ball go, watching it soar overhead as he turned to follow, it landed about twenty feet away and in the opposite direction from which it had been thrown.
“Very good,” said the boy, “excellent for a first try. You want to see something else?” “Sure,” said Martin. The boy turned to face the direction counter to the rotation of the room. He wound up and let go of the ball with all his strength. This time the ball flew higher overhead, following the contour of the ‘ceiling’ until it returned to the boy just above his shoe laces.
“Wow,” said Martin, “almost a perfect circle wasn’t it?” “Yes,” the boy said, “I can’t quite throw hard enough to make it perfect though, it always fades a little towards the end.” “Let me try,” said Martin. Taking the ball he faced counter to the rotation and let go, too hard. The ball hit the floor long before Martin rotated back to it.
Martin said, “What happened?” The boy explained that from the way the ball came off the floor he believed that Martin had overthrown by a wide margin. Overthrown balls tended to skip higher and spin faster as they were traveling the opposite direction than the floor, under thrown balls tended to do the opposite.
Martin spent several more minutes before he was able to impart just enough velocity to the ball to get it all the way around before it hit the floor. By then, the boy and his companion needed to leave and Martin, having worked out enough, left with them.
4
Randall had been sidetracked by Abram and did not get to his doctor until the following day. “As you know Randall,” said Dr. Hesseus, “consultation is required by law in cases where the diagnosis is a bit complicated and treatment monitored.” Randall looked at the doctor intently. “So Randall, what we have is the need for a professionally monitored intervention to get your disease under control.”
“And that disease is?” asked Randall.
“The disease is of course, a form of cancer,” said the doctor almost as an afterthought. Randall’s mind spun. The room seemed to close in, he took a deep breath.
“Well, I knew it was serious, but I didn’t expect cancer,” said Randall. “I was completely clean last check-up which was only three months ago.”
“Yes,” said the doctor, “that happens quite a bit now. What you have to realize is that the tests catch these cancerous cells quite early now. From your results, I would say that this problem only began in the last three to four weeks. So, while it is cancer, it is at an extremely early stage and with the right treatment the prognosis for cases such as yours is almost always a successful intervention.”
“So detection is down to a few weeks now?” asked Randall.
“Yes,” said the doctor. “Your Annie probably uploaded the latest test software recently and the updated version is much better at analysis than the old.”
“Okay,” said Randall, “when do we start?”
“How about right now?” asked Dr. Hesseus.
The treatment, a version of immunotherapy, hadn’t taken a minute and Randall was bound for home. Upon arriving back at his apartment he reviewed his contacts and found a message from Abram. The missive contained some references to space law that Randall recognized and a short decrypted section. Randall ran that part through his Annie to find a message from the head of the Mars Republic.
“To whom it may concern,” began the message, “We have empowered Abram D. Jackson to distribute the following to those persons he believes may be helpful and/or supportive of our cause. To us here on Mars and elsewhere in the Solar System it is imperative that the frontier represented by the Asteroid Belt remain free from governmental interference as much as possible. We believe it is possible to settle this new frontier as private citizens first who may at some time in the future declare sovereignty for themselves or allegiance to an already existing sovereign state. That should be their choice according to the dictates of the situation and not an imposition by outside parties. If you believe that this is a cause worthwhile please assist us in whatever way you feel is most helpful.” – Elias S. Assere, P.M. - Mars Republic, Avery P. Whitehall, Head Council - Solar Federation.
Well, thought Randall, the old man does have some powerful friends. I will have to spend some time this evening researching the background law. Maybe I can have an answer for Abram tomorrow.
5
Martin had enjoyed the field room. Showered and rested he had finished the day off with studies. Dinner tonight would be at the captain's table, which was great except he would have to dress.
Arriving on time he was seated at the captain's end of the table only a couple of seats away. He nervously fiddled with his glass when a slightly older but attractive woman was seated beside him, next to the captain's seat. She introduced herself as Laura Lockwood. After the introductions she asked Martin what he was doing out this way.
Without thinking, Martin explained that he had just finished MSA and was headed out to do some field work in the Asteroid Belt. Lockwood's eyebrow rose slightly upon hearing of Martin's destination. She hesitated and then explained that the Asteroid Belt was her destination also, she was on a fact finding mission for her boss. She asked Martin if he had ever heard of Senator Conway, Head of the Subcommittee on Science and Space, Terran Federation? The Terran Federation was the UN of space, but so far not as successful. The UN had proposed it to counter the Mars Republic's establishment of the Solar Federation.
“No,” Martin said, “but I have been studying government and law myself recently, space law that is.”
“Really,” said Lockwood, “and if I may ask, why have you been studying space law?”
“As a way to familiarize myself with the 'law of the land' out there, you might say.”
“Interesting,” Lockwood said, “And what have you learned from your studies?”
“Well so far, the thing about the Asteroid Belt, I mean right now is that it hasn't any sovereign claims. And that means, as some have argued, that it is res nullis under the law. Which means that the asteroids belong to no one and are appropriable by the first ones that
lay claim. But others argue they are res communis, that they belong to all and are not appropriable by individuals.”
“So there is disagreement, but why is this a question under law?” asked Lockwood.
“Because without a valid law, force is likely to be used to determine ownership,” said Martin. “Countries find it to their advantage not to reach an early agreement on such points of law because they don't know how it will affect their future prospects. They might disadvantage themselves if they agree to make certain spaces res communis, because they could be the first ones to claim such areas. They then couldn't exercise sovereignty over the area and selfishly benefit themselves. But if it becomes apparent that they cannot be the first ones to lay claim, then they agitate for the res communis designation.”
“I see,” said Lockwood. “But that way leads to conflict, doesn't it, I mean look at the history of the moon and Mars?”
“Yes, I agree with you Ms. Lockwood. But sometimes the leaders of these nations think only in terms of immediate advantage not cooperation. Also any war in the future is a problem for their successors not themselves. They will be remembered for standing firm for the interests of their states, I believe that's the way most of them think.”
From the Earth: A Future Chronology Anthology Page 21
