Scout replied, “We’ll leave Earth from a standard spaceport, probably the one in New Mexico. We’ll declare that we are, in fact, conducting research on Mars. I’ve even formed a fake corporation that looks legit. It’s imperative that every one of us agrees to keep the plans of the group secret. Anyone who betrays the group will be banned from further contact with any of us forever. If you are detained by the police or military, then you need to disavow any knowledge of our plans.”
Bob said, “Have we already had a problem with the police or military?”
Scout said, “There are rumors that there was an assassination attempt on my life at the rally.”
Jordan said, “There was a huge hole in the back of the stage after the rally. We think that someone took a shot at Scout.”
Bob asked, “Did anyone see who might have taken the shot?”
Jordan answered, “No. We’re not even sure that it actually happened at the rally. All the evidence is circumstantial.”
Bob said, “So we need to stay strong. This might be dangerous.”
Kathy asked, “I’m a little confused. You pretty much laid out our plan for the world to see at the rally a few weeks ago. Are we supposed to make the world forget that ever happened?”
Scout replied, “The basic plan is laid out for the few people who attended the rally. Some of them even joined us as a result. However, the particulars are to remain secret. I’m hoping that no one admits to being my disciple. That could lead to your own demise, as Bob pointed out a moment ago.”
Kathy said, “So, you want people to think that you’re just a dreamer with a pipedream?”
Scout said, “That would be the best thing for everyone involved.”
Kathy said, “Understood. Now, you were saying that we need to get our story straight. What is our story?”
Scout replied, “We’re a corporation as far as anyone knows. I filed the paperwork to make it seem like we’re a corporation that wants to study Mars for future mining and manufacturing. I made sure that everything looks legit for the authorities.”
Cindy asked, “Isn’t it hard to get a new corporation started?”
Scout answered, “It’s the easiest thing in the world to start one, but much harder to play by the rules. The big corporations have pushed legislation that allows them to buy out smaller corporations if they’re not doing well after an initial time frame. I learned this with my publishing company.”
Cindy asked, “But how did you form a corporation that didn’t get eaten up?”
Scout said, “In the beginning, I tried really hard to sell my book. When I couldn’t sell enough to make my books show a profit, I started cooking them.”
Cindy asked, “So you had to cook your books to show a profit?”
Scout replied, “Yeah, there’s no other way to do it. We’ll probably have to do it here.”
Cindy asked, “Isn’t that illegal?”
Scout said, “Everything we’re planning is illegal, but I’ve learned that nothing is illegal unless you get caught.”
Cindy said, “Won’t they notice when we have a colony shining new light from the surface of Mars?”
Scout said, “That’s the beautiful thing about our plan. It looks completely legitimate, but we’re really using the colony to break away from Earth. By the time that anyone notices that the research buildings are permanent, it’ll be too late.”
Cindy asked, “But we’ll be brought back when they realize that we lied to them.”
Scout replied, “By that time, we’ll have already established our colony. Besides, do you really think they’re going to try to retrieve us from Mars?”
Cindy said, “Probably not. That would be expensive and unpopular with the taxpayers. Maybe we can pull this off.”
Scout said, “I really hope so, but we’ll still need to develop defenses in case it doesn’t turn out that way.”
Kathy asked, “So who has the first idea?”
Bob said, “Well, the first thing we need to do is make the planet a lot warmer. Right now, the summer is barely tolerable. How can we make it warmer?”
Jordan replied, “Well, as I understand it, the planet is almost dead, so it can’t hold an atmosphere. The atmosphere on Earth is gradually getting warmer, and they say that carbon dioxide is the culprit. If we could take some of that carbon dioxide to Mars, and then find a way for the planet to hold on to the gasses in its atmosphere, that might warm the planet.”
Scout said, “Except that Mars’ atmosphere is almost 95 percent carbon dioxide, and Mars is twice as far from the sun as the Earth is. Therefore, the greenhouse gases are already there. It just needs more heat from the sun.”
Kathy said, “But he has a point. Mars’s lack of atmosphere is causing some of its cold problem. If we could make it so that Mars could hold on to its atmosphere, it might allow the planet to hold on to heat from the sun during the night. After all, the rotation of Mars is only slightly longer than the rotation of Earth, and it gets about half the amount of sunlight as we get here. If we were able to somehow restore Mars’ atmosphere, then we could warm the planet to about half as warm as the Earth. It would still be cold, but tolerable.”
Cindy said, “When you say half as warm as Earth, what kind of numbers are you talking about?”
Kathy said, “Well, at the equator, Mars would be about 24° C at noon in the summer, and about 17° in the winter. At the poles, life would still be unsustainable with temperatures around minus 73° in the summer and minus 101° in the winter. The midpoint of both hemispheres would be around 13° at noon in the summer and minus 7° in the winter. Those are not very Earth-like, but they are tolerable and can support other forms of life like cold resistant plants and animals with heavy coats.”
Scout said, “But how do we make Mars hold on to an atmosphere? It doesn’t have the magnetic field required to keep atmospheric particles in orbit. That’s why it‘s losing its atmosphere so fast.”
Kathy said, “Well, we could replace the magnetosphere of the planet by melting the planet’s core.”
Bob said, “And just how would we accomplish that?”
Kathy said, “Well, I didn’t say it was going to be a popular idea, but the easiest way is to drill to the core of Mars. Then we drop an atomic bomb into the shaft we create. The blast will release tons of radiant heat, which will allow the planet’s core to melt. Then the magnetic field will be restored.”
Jordan replied, “I’m shocked. You claim to be one of us, and yet you think of destruction to accomplish our goals. We can’t allow that to happen.”
Scout jumped in and said, “Jordan, I think that this is not an idea we should just brush aside. I see no problem with taking something man intended for destruction and creating something new and beautiful with it. If Kathy can explain how to get our hands on a nuclear bomb, then I am open to the possibility of transforming evil into good.”
Kathy said, “Actually, I also never said that I could pull it off, either. I don’t know how we would get our hands on a nuclear bomb. I was hoping that someone else here might have that one worked out.”
Scout said, “Jordan, what do you think about her idea now?”
Jordan replied, “She’s crazy. It’s almost impossible. Nuclear facilities are some of the most secure places in the world, at least here in America. However, there are a few corrupt leaders of rogue nations that have the weapons. I’m not saying that it’s a good idea or that I agree with her, but I do know how to pull it off.”
Scout said, “Are you saying that you know where and how to get your hands on nuclear bombs?”
Jordan replied, “If you’re willing to turn a blind eye and not ask too many questions about where they came from, then perhaps I’m saying precisely that.”
Scout said, “No one writes any of that down: that part of the conversation never happened, okay. I think we have a plan for this portion of the mission. Let’s move on.”
Scout winked his right eye at the group.
Then h
e continued, “Let’s move on to the next part of the plan. Who has ideas on how to take people and animals, as well as water and soil to Mars? We’ll also need to take equipment to build structures and do the work of terraforming.”
Kathy said, “Water will be the biggest challenge. All the fresh water on Earth is privately controlled by corporations, and it’s illegal to purchase water from one place and take it somewhere else.”
Scout said, “Yes, all the Earth’s fresh water is privately owned. That still leaves all the water in the oceans up for grabs, so long as we don’t try to take water from the coastal areas. Any water ten kilometers from any coast is still freely available to anyone.”
Kathy said, “But that’s salt water. It’s useless.”
Scout said, “Not if we take desalinization equipment with us.”
Bob said, “But owning that equipment is also illegal.”
Jordan said, “Unless we disguise it on the ship to look like something else. Then they won’t know that we have it when we leave for Mars.”
Scout said, “I don’t like all of this covert stuff, but I’m afraid it’s necessary.”
Jordan said, “Then I take it that I have your permission to acquire a desalination chamber?”
Scout said, “I have no knowledge of any desalination equipment, and neither do any of you.”
Everyone nodded their heads in understanding. The subject of the desalination chamber was now closed. Kathy then changed the subject as quickly as she could.
Kathy said, “So we’ll have the ocean water in tanks or something?”
Scout said, “At first we’ll have the water in pressurized tanks so that the water can stay a liquid. Once the planet has an atmosphere, we can create lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.”
Kathy said, “But isn’t the soil and water on Mars way too salty and acidic to support life?”
Bob added, “I remember hearing that even the atmosphere is toxic.”
Kathy said, “I remember something about a toxin in the soil.”
Scout said, “But we’re going to fix all of that too. We’ll remove the salts and acids from the soil to use in products we need once we get there. We’re going to mine the planet, after all. I remember those same articles from 2013. The soil and atmosphere can be toxic, but we’ll in suits when we’re outside, and we’ll use those toxins as fuels.”
Cindy said, “So we’re going to rape Mars just like people have raped the Earth?”
Scout said, “We need to be self-sufficient, so we can’t take everything we need from Earth. We’ll use resources responsibly.”
Bob asked, “What’re we going to be mining from the crust of Mars?”
Scout said, “The planet holds similar mineral content to the Earth. We’ll tap the planet’s iron resource first, as it’s very important. It is trapped in the planet as iron oxide, so when we extract the iron, we’ll also release oxygen into the atmosphere. We’ll be solving two problems with one solution. The second most important resource we need to mine is aluminum. We can make lightweight objects with aluminum, and combine it with other elements to form things we need.”
Cindy said, “So are we just going to strip the surface to get what we need like corporations do here on Earth?”
Scout said, “It’s the easiest way to get what we need, but we will also drill to get some things. We’re not mining for coal and oil, because those things don’t exist on Mars. We’ll probably also mine for titanium and salt.”
Bob said, “I wasn’t aware that there was any usable salt on Mars.”
Scout said, “The old rovers and even manned missions all found that there is a large amount below the surface of Mars. There should be enough to sustain our colony for a long time.”
Bob asked, “Is there anything else that can be mined on Mars?”
Scout answered, “There are lots of other things that we can mine. We’re going to look for copper, silicon, water, and other things.”
Cindy said, “There’s no liquid water on the surface of Mars, and the ice is way too acidic to support life. Plus, we don’t have any idea what toxic chemicals are in that water.”
Scout said, “There’s plenty of water. It’s just frozen. After we create a magnetosphere, though, liquid water will flow again. When that happens, water will seep into the ground. We’ll mine it out and then filter the dickens out of it. That’ll make it safe, and extend our water supply.”
Kathy said, “But that won’t come until we’re established on the planet, right?”
Scout said, “The mining for water will be years away from the initial launch. The mining for metals might begin as soon as we arrive. We’ll need to take some mining equipment on the initial trip.”
Kathy said, “Okay, so how are we going to take all of the stuff and ourselves on a ship?”
Cindy said, “We could do a lot of the work before we even arrived on Mars using robots. They aren’t very expensive, and they’re more reliable than they’ve ever been in the past.”
Scout said, “Okay, but how do we get them to Mars?”
Cindy replied, “We buy an old NASA ship. They’re selling off their old ships to private corporations and individuals at auctions. They don’t work now, but a little bit of work to repair them and some modifications could make them better than they were when they were brand new.”
Scout asked, “And how long would it take the ships to get to Mars once they get repaired?”
Cindy answered, “They could probably get there in about three to six months, depending on where the two planets orbits are in relation to each other at the time of the launch.”
Jordan joined the conversation, “We would need more than one ship, though. The robots would be needed on Mars, so they couldn’t be used to pilot a return ship to Earth.”
Cindy said, “That’s probably true. However, the robots could be used to pilot a return voyage to Earth if we had enough robots. If we bought three robots, two could begin work on Mars while the third one returned to gather more supplies. Then when people start to arrive on the planet, the robot could continue to shuttle people and supplies between the two worlds.”
Kathy said, “Then we’ve solved the first two problems and created a very large new one. I know that we’re going to Mars to create a new society that doesn’t use money, but the society that we live in right now still does. We need to find some major sources of funding for these robots and a ship if we want to get this thing off the ground. Otherwise, we’re just spinning our wheels and going nowhere.”
Scout said, “We need to meet again to discuss that particular topic. Today, however, is just to figure out how to overcome the obstacles in our way to colonize Mars.”
Cindy said, “Are all of the things we need going to have to be imported from Earth?”
Scout replied, “Yes, all of the supplies for reviving Mars would need to be brought from Earth. However, once we arrive on Mars, we’ll begin to transform it so that we will become self-sustaining. As I said before, we will mine the planet for metals to make things we need, and we will eventually switch from pure Earth water to a hybrid of Earth water and filtered Martian water. Initially, everything we need will need to be brought in the smallest and lightest forms possible. So we’ll need to take animal embryos and eggs, plant seeds, and recycle all of the water on board the ship and on the planet once we arrive there. Nothing can go to waste as we will take only exactly what we need to begin our new lives on Mars.”
Jordan said, “You said that you want to have buildings. What types of buildings did you have in mind?”
Kathy spoke up and said, “We should have everything enclosed at first. That way we can have greater control over the climate of our food and water supply. Plus I understand that the Martian windstorms can wreak havoc on electronic equipment.”
Scout said, “I almost agree with that. We should have several airtight buildings, but not one giant dome. In response to Jordan’s question, I think we need to have a large biodome to house all of our
food and water. I also think we should have a private place for each person in the colony, so each person will have living quarters, even if they are a bit small. We’ll need a place to land the spaceship when we arrive on the planet, so the first things we should build are a landing strip and a hangar. We’ll call that the spaceport. The robots should build that. We’ll need vehicles to get around once we arrive, so we’ll also need to build roads. We’ll need a headquarters or perhaps a capitol. We’ll need to communicate with the ships and Earth even before we arrive, so we should have a satellite array and receivers. We should actually place the satellites and receivers before we get there. Later on we’ll probably build schools, churches, jails and other necessary structures as the colony grows.”
Kathy said, “We’ll need a way to power all of these buildings once they’re built. We should discuss the ways that might be possible with so few resources for energy available on Mars.”
Scout said, “I refuse to even consider using nuclear power on the surface of Mars. I’m already making a major concession in allowing us to even think of detonating a nuclear weapon to create a magnetic field.”
Jordan spoke, “We shouldn’t need to use nuclear on Mars. The wind pretty much blows constantly, so wind farms are definitely viable.”
Bob said, “I have been quiet for a while, but why not use nuclear power? It’s clean, and should be safe since Mars has no tectonic activity.”
Scout said, “But we’re trying to revive the planet, so there will be tectonic activity and volcanic activity. I don’t want to destroy any part of the surface of Mars unnecessarily. Nor do I want any unnecessary deaths.”
Kathy said, “Especially when there are so many other reliable and easily harnessed forms of energy. We can use wind power pretty reliably. Then there’s cosmic electric, which uses solar wind to create electricity. That one will be very good at first, while the planet has massive amounts of solar radiation bombarding it. The robots we’ll use can use it to power themselves and it can also power much of the initial construction.”
Scout said, “That sounds like a plan, but cosmic electric won’t work once we establish a magnetosphere. Then the amount of solar radiation will decrease dramatically.”
MARS: Renaissance Page 4
