Section B12, Wolf Coil, Mars, January 7, 1000 Solar Era
An eight-wheeled buggy trundled up to the massive metallic structure-- the Wolf Coil that wrapped around the whole of Mars in a loop, a technology marvel critical to terraforming Mars.
The buggy came to a stop, and Vice-admiral Zheng and Ensign Khan stepped out.
Vice-admiral Zheng had his space helmet, but not Ensign Khan.
Khan followed Zheng into an opening, a three meters tall door that was but a tiny hole into the thousand meter wide and five hundred meter tall Wolf Coil.
“Ensign. It is unwise to take such a risk,” reprimanded Zheng.
Ensign Khan was slightly out-of-breath walking from the buggy into the massive structure.
“It is fine,” she shook her head. “We’ve adapted to be more effective with oxygen. Our skin has gotten thicker, more resistant to dust storms.”
“It matters not. A century or more and our atmosphere would be comparable to that of Earth’s. After that, the storms would soon disappear in a few generations as well.”
Khan couldn’t help but turn her gaze onto the symbol of Mars on Zheng’s military uniform. That band surrounding the crimson Mars was the Wolf Coil. This engineering marvel compensated for Mars’ lack of magnetic field as well as its problematic gravity.
With a proper magnetic field, Mars’ atmosphere slowly improved to its current state across centuries.
The Wolf Coil did not actually increase the gravity of Mars towards other celestial objects. However, it successfully created a band of gravity in its vicinity that was critical to Martians.
Bones, cardiovascular systems and more simply would not grow or function properly without the necessary gravity. In the past, some scientists had assumed that humans would adapt to different gravities. That was proven incorrect. All critical molecular reactions critical to growth and recovery that regulated the human body evolved under Earth’s gravity.
Without the Wolf Coil, there would be no Mars.
“Sir. May I ask a question?”
“Go ahead, Ensign. You understand there is no need to be polite with me.”
The two strode through within the Wolf Coil, and they descended a flight of stairs that opened into a vast underground city permanently illuminated by various shades of neon lights.
“Well. Wouldn’t it be much safer to declare our independence in a century or so? After Mars' atmosphere has fully stabilized.” Her brows were furrowed as she released the bug within her heart.
Zheng gazed far into the vibrant underground city that saw no day or night.
“Ensign. Have you examined Terran history in detail?” He queried.
Khan shook her head. She never quite had the time to study that in any depth.
“Humans, or homo sapiens are descendent species. Supposedly, in a time long past, a certain hominin ancestor migrated from a continent called Africa to other parts of the world such as Europe and as far as southeast Asia. These early migrators evolved into neanderthals and denisovans, and their DNA indicated that they share a common ancestor with homo sapiens.”
“Later on, the earlier hominin ancestor that stayed in Africa evolved into homo sapiens and migrated once again. Do you know what happened to the neanderthals and denisovans?”
Ensign Khan knew enough to guess.
“Gone.” Zheng snapped his fingers. “No one could determine the true cause.”
“Now, years later, homo sapiens themselves were spread across multiple continents. Then, Europeans made breakthroughs that allowed them to spread into isolated continents. You know what happened to the people and their cultures there?”
“Gone!” Zheng snapped his fingers again.
“We, Martians are those early hominin species that have come here to Mars, toiled generations after generations for this red soil. We have even evolved slightly different physiological features. Yet, the harsh environment here has limited our growth as a population.”
“Ensign Khan. Many Terrans have avoided migrating here because of the harsh environment. If, in a century, you can breathe outdoors, not just for a short period of time, but indefinitely. If the environment further responds to the changes…”
Zheng snapped his fingers.
“Billions of Terrans would instantly migrate here. Their strong presence here and their entrenched connection to Earth will mean that true Martian independence is impossible. Do you understand?”
“Any true independence must be achieved before that occurrence. Otherwise… even if a century later, we achieve a form of independence, it will not be a true independence. Not like the one that we will have if we are successful today.”
Zheng was so engrossed in his explanation to Khan that he hadn’t noticed that a crowd had gathered. It was only when resounding clapping and cheers echoed in the luminous streets, that Zheng became aware that the two were being escorted along the street.
“Long live the twin cities of Romulus and Remus!”
“We will all join the army today!”
Zheng waved but then gestured for the crowd to quiet down.
“I thank you all for your hearts and sacrifice. However, I know many of you maintain the function of this Wolf Coil section. It is the Wolf Coil’s milk that sustains the survival of Mars. Do not abandon it. Allow others of different talents to serve in the Martian military!”
This was accompanied by a cascading wave of rowdy ovation.
The two eventually entered a bar. They stuck out like a sore thumb. There were strippers dancing around vividly flashing poles surrounded by men using multiple hovering neuro devices to ‘assist’ in stripping said entertainer.
Khan could barely maintain her expressionless face-- she rarely visited such distasteful locations.
Zheng slid into a seat beside a man in a tight dark brown leather jacket and a cowboy hat.
“Ford.”
“Zheng.”
Zheng ordered whiskey from the bartender.
“How are the pirates?”
“They agreed.” Ford replied with a frown. “You do know that soon, the Terrans will no longer tolerate any of this…shit, right? It will only further inflame them.”
“It matters not. The unknown simultaneous attacks on Earth and other tech facilities in the colonies and the moon have already occurred. If your friends cause a bit of trouble, that will be enough to slow down their ability to acquire the belt’s resources.”
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“Aren’t you worried the Terrans will strike the Wolf Coil?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ford. The Terrans themselves and the transplanetary companies invested much into the Wolf Coils and Mars. Would they destroy our atmosphere instead of agreeing to a peaceful settlement that would still be a good deal to them? We just need to pressure them enough.”
“Zheng. People do stupid shit when they’re in the dumps.”
They both took another sip of their drinks. Ford’s gaze was now thoroughly captured by Khan.
“Missy. Feel free to come on my ship. I’ll show you a good time!” He suddenly leered as he licked his lips.
“Asshole.” Khan, caught off guard, instinctively rebutted. She could only imagine this man wanting to do the same thing to her as the men in the club were doing to the strippers.
Ford laughed uproariously at her response.
When they finally left, Khan couldn’t resist speaking above her station.
“Vice-admiral. Who is that… distasteful man?”
“Just an old friend,” Zheng shrugged. “Look. Ford is a bit of a… troll. He loves getting a reaction out of others. You seemed…uncomfortable in the bar. As such, he… well…”
Khan could only grumble inwardly as they returned to the buggy.
_________________________________________________________________________
The Sector Chamber, Pacific City, Earth, January 8, 1000 Solar Era
President Varoufakis sat behind an amazon rosewood rectangular desk. This was a famous desk gifted to the Earth Federation by Brazil. In front of him were multiple curved rows with increasing height the further back a row was.
He had successfully expanded his cabinet to include many factions. The Sector Chamber was usually used when the President of the Earth Federation needed to meet with the representatives of nations. That did not occur too often-- usually, the regional representatives would deliver a regional consensus.
Regardless, the room was now being used to house his expanded cabinet. Some new members included the transplanetary megacorps.
“Allow me to speak for the orbital colonies. A new deal has been agreed-- a bump in five percent of wages and ten percent for the hours with risky chemicals and waste. Improved protocols will also be implemented for chemicals and waste.”
Varoufakis sighed. Their hands were tied, particularly with the impending war. He was naturally concerned that a price increase would decrease his support base on Earth. Deep down, though, he had to admit that the orbital colonies that manufactured much of Earth’s goods deserved a good life.
“As for the situation in the belt?”
“The companies operating in Blackrock, CBA, Neurorevo, Saud, SACA, E-cube, and DWA orbital colonies have all agreed to provide funding to improve the infrastructure in the attached belt colonies that supply the resources for manufacturing.”
Humans had built eight orbital colonies in their initial expansion into the Solar System. Their names were given by their primarily funded organizations. Essentially, seven have agreed to resolve the issue faced by the protests that started around a week ago.
“As long as these remaining belt colonies see themselves living better lives than their counterparts that have defected to Mars, they will continue to supply the resources to us.”
Varoufakis nodded. Indeed, he knew that humans had a tendency to compare themselves to those next to them, as a way to determine the quality of their own lives. The belt’s colonies were so far removed that this was the best way to maintain their continued bounty.
As a result of these seven’s swift actions, the prices on Earth had already stabilized, and their access to resources to expand the fleet guaranteed.
“How about the Kasvallian Group?” Varoufakis believed that this eighth orbital colony will sooner or later have to agree to the arrangement as well. However, he knew of the leader of this group. A rather eccentric man that had changed both his name and surname when he grasped hold of his position within the transplanetary company.
“We’ve had no productive conversation with their representatives,” the speaker for the seven other orbital colonies said as she shook her head.
“Sir,” Chan Hua Hui stood up. “The prices of imports we are receiving from the Kasvallian Group have increased by sixty percent.”
Varoufakis raised an eyebrow before lowering his head in contemplation. That was a massive jump.
“Surely, the Kasvallian Group knew that they would alienate consumers.” He was completely baffled. It would be more beneficial to the Kasvallian Group to just cooperate with the other seven orbital colonies.
Perhaps some consumers would be loyal to the products from the Kasvallian Group, but their consumer base will slowly by definitely diminish.
Silence filled the Sector Chamber. Similar to Varoufakis, all the representatives here were rather befuddled by the Kasvallian Group as well. After a minute, Varoufakis dismissed his lingering bewilderment of the Kasvallian Group’s actions to the side.
“Regional Representatives.” Varoufakis looked at them in turn. “Have you decided on the expansion of the EFSF?”
“Yes,” a regional representative replied. “We are in agreement to pledge two hundred billion solar credits for this expansion. Further funding will require the assembly of nations. As always, every nation will be contributing willing soldiers to the EFSF.”
Varoufakis sighed in relief. He was quite surprised by the speedy response from the regional nations. Perhaps they had been spooked into immediate action upon Mars’ announcement, the price hikes, riots and terrorist attacks.
“Has anyone found any information on the terrorists that we captured?” Varoufakis aimed his eyes at the military intelligence unit representative.
“Sir. Every terrorist we managed to capture not only used a cyanide pill but also activated nanobots to destroy their brains,” A black-suited man replied. “Thus, we have no brains to even scan for information. The terrorist we captured from the Nexarm battle had an empty skull when we opened his head. We attempted to find some clues on his body, but discovered nothing.”
President Varoufakis lowered his head in thought. This was quite troublesome. Being unable to identify the culprit meant that the hand behind these terrorists remained in the dark.
“Give me a few hypotheses.”
“Our investigations in space will take time. We do, however, have a few theories.” The black-suited man continued. “War means an expansion of both the EFSF and the rebelling Martian fleet. The pirates in the belt that have had relatively free rein may be desperate to secure their own domain. From what we do know, they even have a location in the belt called the shipwreck cove.”
“Then, there’s the possibility that the pirates have been bought by Mars. We believe that is unlikely. The pirates should have no interest in Mars’ independence success-- A growing Mars would soon hold dominion over the belt as well. Mars itself would not want to enrage Earth’s nations into expanding the EFSF.”
“The belt’s colonies… Their continued survival depends on their resources traveling to the orbital colonies then to Earth, and manufactured products returning to their hands.”
“As for the nations on Earth themselves…” The black-suited man glanced uncomfortably at the regional representatives. “They’ve already agreed to fund the EFSF. However, there is the possibility that the American colony, Chinese colony, Indian colony, Middle Eastern colony, European colony and Brazilian colony in the Saturn and Jupiter moons could have decided to… arm themselves.”
None of the regional representatives betrayed their thoughts. All of them maintained a perfect poker face.
“President,” the speaker for the regional representatives stood up again. “As I have mentioned, we are prepared to provide further funding across multiple years, decades, to secure Mars and the belt for Earth. It will, as per protocol, require the assembly of nations.”
President Varoufakis gripped the corners of his rosewood table until his knuckles turned white. He felt like a blind man, groping around in the dark, finding nothing but empty air. He considered whether he could sway Denys to help. The AI had stated they did not interfere in human affairs. None of the previous presidents had mentioned any interference. No interference could be detected in the history books.
“Selana Muller,” Varoufakis turned to his next best option. “I require the assistance of the DWA.”
“Taking action is a risk for our group.”
DWA stood for Digital World Alliance. It was essentially the transnationals’ world, their nation. Despite the limits placed on AI as a fallout of the digital war, the DWA skirted the bounds of that limit and maintained undisputable majority control over digital infrastructure.
Varoufakis himself believed that the DWA may even have a hidden connection with Denys.
“Chan, regional representatives?”
Chan nodded, but the regional representatives did not appear happy. Not at all. It was understandable. The DWA essentially functioned as an online nation of sorts. So far, the DWA has never truly caused any major trouble for the existing nations. However, the DWA had a habit of… leaking information that often sabotaged specific positions that certain nations wished to take.
Selena pursed her lips. She knew of the nation's dislike of the DWA. From her perspective, the DWA had prevented war between nations countless times. In her mind, some of these ‘fuckers’ were still stuck in an age of contending against each other for measly gains.
“Jaishankar.”
Varoufakis’ spokesperson nodded his head. He understood what the President wanted him to do. He needed to facilitate the negotiation between the transnationals and the nations. Quite obviously, Selena was seeking a better arrangement between the DWA and the nations, as a price for DWA’s involvement.
In Jaishankar’s eyes, he was certainly the best man for the job.
“Please. Time is of the essence.”
Jaishankar left the Sector Chamber followed by Chan and Selena Muller. To his relief, the regional representatives sighed as they too followed him out.
This was going to be a long and rough negotiation in the choppy waters of stormy seas.