The importance of being Marked spread quietly, but rapidly. In Britain, a scramble was on within the noble class to obtain counterfeit test results bestowing not only the privileges of their social status, but those of being Marked. In France and Germany, the Marked began forming extreme right wing factions. Oddly, in France there was also a libertarian artist movement founded on carrying the Martian variant.

But in America, Marked status was being treated as a hedge in the battle of social Darwinism. Informal Red Planet watch parties became exclusionary rituals which became fraternal organizations which became subjects of studies which begat algorithms encoding human capital management systems, bank records, and consumer marketing platforms. Over the eighteen months since the Martian variant had been identified, that variation had been codified as a positive factor in decisions, tipping the scale toward anyone who had it, any organization with a majority of Marked members, any company whose leadership was Marked.

Individuals succeeded not because they were better performers, but because they were Marked and AI that had been programmed by Marked people gave extra credence to those with that particular variant. For any Marked person, loans were approved never mentioning that their credit rating had increased by being Marked; the invitations to exclusive clubs and conferences never mentioned the acquisition strategy focused on Marked executives; first choice of tickets for the most popular shows never noted that their desirability as a patron had increased because of membership in the Marked Community. Whatever the circumstances, this finger on the scale went completely unnoticed by the Marked.

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For peoples who had long been excluded from success, or even opportunity, because of past prejudices, the change in fortune was often intoxicating—and an open door to show their mettle without impediment. The old ruling order was being upturned and reimagined with a fierce conviction that change was warranted.

But for every individual who benefitted from being Marked, there were those individuals who did not; who were excluded; who were relegated to a support role or perhaps given no role at all. Every drop of discontent that fell from the eyes of people who had been pushed, even slightly, to the side began to sprout the seeds of resistance and rebellion.

The most active of these groups called itself Earthers.