MARS: Renaissance

by Matthew Ellis

  Kathy said, “Of course, but we can use cosmic electric for the ships we use to travel to Mars and bring supplies.”

  Jordan said, “We could place a satellite in orbit to collect cosmic radiation and then beam the energy to the surface.”

  Scout responded, “Great idea. That will save us a fortune in fuel costs. Then we won’t need to buy fuel for the ships. Since cosmic electric is essentially free, as is solar, then we shouldn’t have any fuel costs at all.”

  Jordan said, “I forgot about using solar. It’s completely free, but Mars only gets 43 percent the amount of sunlight as Earth. It won’t be as effective as it is here on Earth.”

  Bob said, “Well, you just about have me convinced. It sounds like the combination of solar, cosmic electric, and wind power might be perfect.”

  Cindy seemed concerned as she said, “What about our belongings? Can we take some things with us to Mars?”

  Scout said, “I don’t see why not, but we’ll have to limit the weight. We probably won’t be able to take more than about a hundred pounds of personal cargo each along with us. Of course, that depends on how many people are on the ship.”

  Kathy said, “About that, how many people do we need to have to make this colony work? We certainly can’t colonize Mars with the five of us in the room.”

  Jordan said, “I think we decided that we would need at least 100 settlers to make the colony function. More than 1000 would probably be more of a liability than an asset.”

  Scout said, “Actually, more than about 400 initially would be a great liability. The sheer expense of taking all of those settlers and their belongings wouldn’t allow us to succeed.”

  Cindy said, “Well, we need a few people to complete the basic functions of a new colony. I’m not sure exactly what the ideal number of colonists would be.”

  Scout said, “That number is between 175 and 300. I’d say that probably 70 is a bare bones minimum.”

  The group was getting tired. The meeting had gone on for quite some time. Scout dismissed the meeting and told everyone to reconvene the next day at the same time.

  Scout said, “Tomorrow we’ll discuss the finances of the mission.”

  Jordan said, “But we don’t use money anymore.”

  Scout said, “We have to as long as we’re still on Earth. We can’t do what we need to do without money until we’re established on Mars.”

  Jordan said, “I think we may need to continue to use money even after we’re on Mars. We might still need to buy supplies from Earth and bring them to Mars.”

  Scout said, “We’ll discuss this tomorrow. Right now, we’re all tired and cranky. Let’s go home and get some rest.”

  Everyone started to head out the door to return to their homes. After Jordan, Bob and Cindy had left, Kathy stood at the door.

  She said, “Hey, Scout, can I talk to you about something?”

  Scout answered, “Sure. What is it?”

  Kathy’s heart was racing. She was very infatuated with Scout, and she had to let him know. She had always been confident, so confronting this man about her feelings should have been as simple as a job interview.

  Kathy said, “I wanted to let you know something. I have certain feelings about you.”

  Matters of the heart are not as simple as a job interview, and she ran the risk of having her heart broken if Scout rejected her advances.

  Scout was confused as he said, “Are you talking about the mission?”

  Kathy said, “No, I have different feelings for you. I have to let you know how I feel. I want to be with you even when we’re not planning the colony.”

  Scout asked, “Are you saying that you have romantic feelings for me?”

  Kathy suddenly felt a wave of panic. She didn’t want to sound too forward, but she also didn’t want to seem unsure of herself.

  Kathy timidly answered, “Only if you have the same feelings for me.”

  Scout said, “I’ve tried to avoid thinking about it. I’ve been so focused on the mission that I haven’t had time to allow my personal feelings to get in the way.”

  Kathy’s heart sank as she felt another wave of discouragement. She had put her heart on the line and Scout had crushed it.

  Kathy said, “So you don’t. I’m sorry that I bothered you with such a trivial matter.”

  Scout said, “It is not trivial. I know how much courage it must have taken to come to me with your feelings. Please don’t think that I’m not interested, because I am. I just meant that I’ve been pushing my feelings about you to the back of my mind because it was distracting. The colony is my life, and I can’t afford too many distractions.”

  Kathy said, “So there might be a chance to see if these feelings go somewhere?”

  Scout said, “There’s more than a chance, and it could happen quite soon. Why don’t we go on a date to discuss our feelings?”

  Kathy excitedly said, “Really?”

  Scout answered, “Really. We can go out together and find out if we really like each other or if it’s just attraction. It’ll be exciting to see if we have a chance at a real relationship.”

  Kathy said, “I want to give you a kiss. Would that be alright?”

  Scout said, “Just a peck. We don’t want to move too fast.”

  Kathy kissed Scout quickly on the lips and hugged him. When she let him go, she turned around and began to walk out of the door.

  As she walked away, she turned and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Scout said, “See you then,” and closed the door.

  Chapter Five

  Scout

  As Scout walked home from the train stop, a police officer stopped him. He demanded to see Scout’s identification.

  Scout said, “I don’t have any ID. Besides, I already showed the inspectors that I recycled all of my trash. The corporate machine won’t lose any resources.”

  The officer said, “This has nothing to do with the Mandatory Recycling and Recovery Act. Now, I asked to see your ID.”

  Scout said, “I already told you that I don’t have any ID.”

  The officer then said, “Well, then you’re under arrest for concealing your identity.”

  Scout replied, “I’m not concealing anything. I’m Scout Ellison. How do I know you’re even a real cop?”

  The officer said, “I’m a cop, and you’re not. I don’t need to prove anything to you. I’m above the law.”

  Scout said, “You are not above the law.”

  The office said, “Yes, I am. You’re just garbage, so how the hell would you know about the law?”

  Scout answered, “I know a lot about a whole bunch of stuff. I’m not a mindless automaton like the pig in front of me.”

  The officer replied, “You will do what I say or you will suffer the consequences.”

  Scout said, “Oh, really? When did we throw out the constitution and replace it with a Gestapo?”

  The officer said, “That happened when you decided to incite riots. Your radical theories will cause chaos.”

  Scout said, “We still have a right to free speech.”

  The officer said, “That freedom ends when you create a panic in the streets.”

  Scout said, “So I guess that you’ve decided what’s dangerous. What qualifies you to make that judgment?”

  The officer said, “Well, I’m the one with the badge, so I’m the one with the power.”

  The cop then tackled Scout to the ground and held Scout down with his knee. The officer then shoved Scout’s face into the sidewalk.

  He said, “You will learn your place in this world. You can’t disrupt the established order. You will respect my authority.”

  The cop handcuffed Scout and pulled him off the ground by the neck. Scout’s lips were swollen and bloody, and his eyes were blackened. His ribs were bruised, as were his sides. He was very tired and weakened as the cop threw him bodily into the squad car.

  Scout sat quietly in the backseat of the police car, even as the officer baited
him. The cop screamed obscenities at Scout in an attempt to goad him into attacking the cop. No matter what the cop said or did, however, Scout would not be baited into committing a crime.

  Once at the police station, the cop took Scout to the interrogation room. He asked him basic questions, such as his name and birthdate at first. Scout answered all of the cop’s questions in a very cooperative manner, but he knew that the cop was going to ask him about the group and its mission. Scout would not betray anyone like that.

  The cop asked, “Is it true that you want to change the whole Earth so that it doesn’t use money?”

  Scout answered, “No, the Earth is none of my concern. I intend to go to Mars.”

  The cop asked, “How do you intend to get there?”

  Scout replied, “I’m going to exercise my Fifth Amendment right.”

  The cop asked, “Who’s going with you?”

  Scout replied, “I’m taking the fifth again.”

  The cop was getting angry. He wanted answers, and Scout wasn’t giving him anything useful.

  The cop asked, “Why don’t you want to answer my questions? Are you hiding something?”

  Scout said, “It’s none of your business. I’m not doing anything illegal.”

  The cop said, “Why do you feel the need to escape the Earth?”

  Scout said, “Let me tell you a story about a strawberry. That should clear up my position.”

  The cop said, “I’ve read your book. I burned it when I finished that garbage. You free thinkers have been a problem for over a century now.”

  Scout said, “No, the conservative movement is the problem. They’ve stripped the world of its dignity, humanity, and freedom. All they care about is money, and they don’t care that they’re leaving nothing for the future.”

  The cop said, “The future is for the future to deal with. My concern is right now.”

  Scout said, “That’s a problem. Our children and grandchildren will suffer because of our selfishness.”

  The cop said, “But we’ve created greater prosperity than at any other time in human history. That will help our kids.”

  Scout said, “No it won’t. There won’t be anything left for them, so the prosperity will fall apart like a house of cards.”

  The cop said, “But the prosperity…”

  Scout said, “That prosperity is only for the elite. The workers have absolutely nothing. The great prosperity is shared by only 3% of the world’s population.”

  The cop said, “All you have to do is work a little harder, and you can share in that prosperity.”

  Scout said, “The lower 97% work ten times as hard as the wealthy elite. You’re just too blinded by money to see it.”

  The cop said, “You’re a fool. You can’t fix the problems of the future without destroying the present.”

  Scout said, “I can and I will.”

  The cop replied, “Then you intend to rob the Earth’s resources for your own personal agenda?”

  Scout said, “I will gladly pay for whatever I take with me to Mars.”

  The cop said, “But you are aware that moving resources from one nation to another is completely illegal, so how do you intend to cart this stuff off without any consequence?”

  Scout said, “I don’t. There will be consequences. The first of which will be the end of this type of corruption.”

  The cop said, “Who is corrupt?”

  Scout said, “Every politician for the last 100 years who has made possible the slavery that is reality for nearly two thirds of the world. Every corporation that profits off the backs of exploited workers. Mostly, though, it’s people like you that are so blind to duty that you can’t see that you will one day be one of the exploited. Your union will be busted up the same way that other labor unions were destroyed 50 years ago, and then you will be in the exact same boat as the rest of us.”

  The cop said, “You obviously don’t understand what you’re dealing with.”

  Scout said, “Then enlighten me.”

  The cop said, “You’re fighting DeNoPE, The Developed Nations of the Planet Earth. It’s a consortium of the developed nations that have some power and want to keep it. General Rich is the chairman of that organization. It includes The President of North America, The King of Latin America, The Chair of the European Union, The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, The Chair of the Asian Assembly, The President of Australia, and the Premier of India.”

  Scout responded, “Am I supposed to be scared?”

  The cop said, “You’re really an idiot. The free market determines these conditions. Consumers don’t buy what they don’t believe in.”

  Scout said, “The free market only works for the hyper rich and investors. Poor people can only buy what they can afford.”

  The cop said, “Poor people are poor because they don’t work hard enough. If they were to be a little smarter or more dedicated, then they would no longer be poor.”

  The cop needed to find out about the rest of Scout’s crew. He changed the line of questioning to try and gather information about the group.

  The cop said, “Now, Scout, I need to know who is in your group.”

  Scout asked, “Why do you want to know who my friends are?”

  The cop replied, “Membership in a gang or terrorist organization is illegal.”

  Scout said, “My friends and I are not a gang, nor are we a terrorist organization.”

  The cop said, “Don’t play stupid with me. You said that you understand the law. You must understand that gathering people for the purpose of disrupting commerce is considered a gang.”

  Scout said, “But that’s not what I’m doing. My friends and I are planning to leave the Earth. That doesn’t disrupt any business on Earth in any way.”

  The cop said, “You realize that I can arrest you for obstruction.”

  Scout asked, “What am I obstructing?”

  The cop answered, “You’re not telling me who’s in cahoots with you.”

  Scout said, “No one has said ‘in cahoots’ for at least 60 years, and I’m not conspiring with anyone. My list of friends is private.”

  The cop said, “Nothing is private. There is no right to privacy.”

  Scout said, “You’re an idiot. You’re also violating my rights. Are you charging me with a legitimate crime?”

  The cop said, “No, so I cannot hold you any longer. You are free to leave.”

  Scout staggered out of the police station and went directly to the hospital. There a very friendly nurse practitioner applied quick healing ointment to his eyes and lips. Then he administered a dose of a painkiller for Scout’s bruised ribs and sides. The black eyes and lips healed within an hour, and the pain in his sides was also gone. The nurse infused Scout with a liter of blood, and then sent him home.

  Scout was nervous as he called every person on the list that he had compiled after the rally. He now had a plan, even if it was half-baked and only half complete. He wanted to share it. He was also shaken after his encounter with the local police. He knew that they were determined to stop him if they could because his idea threatened their very way of life. Right now, however, he was more concerned with actually planning the mission. He still had no idea how he was going to fund this mission, and the possibility of harnessing the power of a nuclear bomb was more than a little disturbing. He had no idea how Jordan intended to acquire the bomb, or how they were going to sneak an atomic bomb onto a spaceship. He still had a lot of research and planning to do.

  Scout needed to talk to Jordan right now. He needed to discuss how he intended to secure the nuclear device.

  He called Jordan and said, “Hey, Jordan, I need you over here right away. I need to discuss the mission with you. There is something I am very concerned about.”

  Jordan replied, “I’ll be right over.”

  Scout began to think about what Jordan had in mind. He knew it could not possibly be legal, and that it had the potential to derail the mission. Scout wouldn’t allow tha
t to happen. He had to make sure that the mission had a chance to succeed before anything went wrong. This mission was the most important thing in Scout’s life. He had sold his future on Earth to make this dream possible. The gravity of the situation was now too great to let anything go wrong, even if it was caused by his oldest friend and closest confidant.

  Scout waited for Jordan to arrive while he sat at his kitchen table, which had recently become the office of the group. The home was the only piece of property Scout retained from the fortune he had inherited from his parents. They had died trying to amass a fortune to make his life better, and he had always thought that there should be a better way. Scout believed that no one should have to trade one’s life for the wealth of someone else, even if the other person is one’s child.

  Scout had contributed 16 million dollars to the cause so far, but he didn’t want the rest of the group to know the finances of the mission. He needed to make sure that everyone who joined was willing to give up this world’s wealth. He asked everyone who joined to contribute to the cause on a monthly basis if they were able. When the mission headed to Mars, he would ask everyone to give the rest of their monetary possessions to the group so that they could purchase the supplies that would be needed both for the journey and for the colony on Mars. The group would need tons of supplies to make it through even a mild Martian winter. Terraforming would take great amounts of time, making the need for supplies even greater.

  Scout was very tired, so he napped until he heard the doorbell ring. He had been asleep for about ten minutes, but felt very rested as he moved toward the door.

  Chapter Six

  Covert Ops

  Jordan arrived at the “office” that Scout used for the colony at three in the morning. Scout wanted to deal with the nuclear issue before it got out of control. The office was really just Scout’s kitchen, but it was perfect as it had no windows and was therefore completely private. Scout wanted to know how Jordan, the former Army Ranger planned to commandeer a nuclear weapon. He wouldn’t be able to sleep until the issue was completely settled. Jordan seemed, at 35, to be the epitome of a former Army Ranger. He stood 6’3” tall with tight, curly black hair that set off the chocolate color of his skin well. He was still in the top physical shape he’d been in while in the service. The late hour would prove fortunate as it ensured that the meeting was private.