Ephialtes (Ephialtes Trilogy Book 1)

by Parker, Gavin E

  When she got back to her office she flicked through the streams, which were going crazy now. Her aggregator had trouble holding a single stream long enough for her to concentrate on it. She overrode it manually to stay on one stream that seemed to be a little more measured than some of the others. The presenter, a young girl in her teens, was restreaming one of the big news streams from Earth with her own additional commentary over it. The Earth reporter was jabbering seriously into the lens. Under the teen girl’s commentary Maya caught him saying, ‘This not going to go down well with the Cortes New White House, where sources are telling me the foreign secretary and the president himself are taking a very bullish stance on what they see as the Martian Rebels.’ Maya snorted to herself. A bullish stance is all very well, she thought, but when you’re a hundred and forty million miles away it loses much of its impact.

  C H A P T E R 1 3

  Election

  Kostovich deftly negotiated Venkdt’s long-limbed secretary and slipped into the meeting late, as he almost always did. Venkdt was seated at the head of the table. To his side was Christina. There were two more people Kostovich didn’t recognise, but they had an air of lawyerliness about them.

  He took a seat opposite Christina. “Sorry I’m late,” he said. “What have I missed?”

  “Nothing much,” said Christina, not looking up.

  “We’re just reviewing the documents,” said Venkdt, “crossing every ‘i’, dotting every ‘t.’”

  “Okay,” said Kostovich. “Do you need me for this part?”

  “I suppose not,” said Venkdt, “but it’s always useful to have another pair of ears, particularly someone who’s not tied up in the legal profession. You know, someone with plain common sense who might catch something obvious that we’ve missed. I’d appreciate your sitting in.”

  “Okay,” said Kostovich, covering his mild disappointment. He felt it was going to be a long day.

  He was given a recap on everything that had been covered so far, then had to suffer the rest line by line. The lawyers, Christina included, went through the documentation of Venkdt’s constitution almost a word at a time. They were careful to check, double check, and recheck every possible meaning of every sentence.

  The constitution itself was short. Venkdt stipulated that one of the priorities for the new legislature should be to flesh out the framework of the constitution to meet Martian needs. The purpose of this first draft was to be a solid bedrock on which to build for the future.

  Venkdt’s constitution was fundamentally a ‘lite’ version of the constitution of the USAN. There would be a president, a legislature and a judiciary. The legislature would consist of one house only, the senate. There would be eight electoral wards, each returning two senators. Divvying up the planet into wards would be a job for Kostovich; they would discuss that later. The senate and the president would both have executive powers. Bills in the senate would require a two-thirds majority and presidential assent to reach the statute. The president could introduce bills and these would be subject to the same restrictions. The senate would check the power of the president and the president would check the power of the senate. The judiciary were to be appointed by the president, subject to approval by the senate, and three senior judges would be the absolute arbiters of the law. The president would be commander-in-chief of the military.

  At its base it was a simple constitution, familiar in concept to anyone with even a passing interest in Mars or the USAN. Like any legal document it had to be framed with great precision. That’s why the meeting seemed to be moving so slowly. Kostovich’s main contribution would again be with the electoral process. He had his AIs split the planet - the occupied areas consisted of Marineris and a few far flung outposts - into the necessary wards such that, as far as possible, each ward would maintain geographic integrity but also represent a cross-section of Martian society; workers of different grades and, where possible, from different industries. Voters would have to register again for the new vote but since this would not be a new experience for them, or for the registrars, that should be a quick and easy process.

  There were no parties on Mars as yet. All seats were available to be contested by all people. There would be crazies and attention seekers at first but it seemed likely that only serious contenders would be returned. Venkdt knew that in the long run politicians would inevitably coalesce into parties, and maybe that would work well in the future. Right now, individuals truly representing their electorate could only be a good thing. Venkdt saw the birth of the new Mars as a collegiate enterprise with everyone working together for the common good.

  The voting date was set for early July. Plenty of time, thought Kostovich, to prepare everything for the election. The short timescale would actually work in their favour. Coming off the wave of euphoria generated by the ‘yes’ vote in the plebiscite, people would be likely to put themselves forward for election in the true spirit of public duty without having time to scheme and plot and deal. That, of course, might come later.

  The meeting dragged on into the evening. Kostovich eventually got his chance to speak about the fine details of the electoral wards and the registration and voting systems. He was quizzed by the lawyers and gave them answers they seemed happy to accept.

  Every person in the room knew that everything they did was essentially provisional. There was genuine excitement that they were breaking new ground. They had room to make mistakes, so long as the fundamentals of the constitution allowed for those mistakes to be corrected further down the line. They were satisfied that the checks and balances they had put in place between the executive, legislature and judiciary would protect against any abuses of power.

  A little after 19:00 Venkdt signed off the document, designated MC05/1.5. It was the first official draft of the newly independent Mars’ constitution. It would be put into full effect in a little over one month’s time.

  “Congratulations everyone,” said Venkdt, “on a job well done.”

  “That wasn’t as bad as it might have been,” said Christina.

  “I think we have a very robust document here, and a great basis to build on,” said one of the other lawyers.

  “Absolutely,” another lawyer chimed in, “this is a very solid foundation. Thank you, Mr Venkdt, for your input, which helped a great deal.”

  “Not a problem,” said Venkdt, “I was just stealing from the best; an exercise in summation, really.”

  “That may be so,” said the lawyer, “but I think this is a rock solid base from which to build a nation.”

  “I hope so,” said Venkdt, “that was always my intention.” He stood and offered his hand to the two lawyers. “Thank you, gentlemen,” he said. “It’s been a great honour to work with you today.” They shook hands and, exchanging further pleasantries, the lawyers gathered their things and left. Venkdt watched them go. He sat in his chair beaming. Christina looked at him.

  “When are you going to announce?” she said.

  Venkdt cocked his head to one side. He knew Christina was too smart to buy him playing dumb. “I don’t know,” he said. “I guess as soon as possible.”

  “Why not now?” said Christina, nodding to Venkdt’s terminal.

  Venkdt frowned. “I think I’ll leave it a day or two,” he said. “It might look a bit untoward announcing my intention to run for president only minutes after I finished framing the constitution.”

  “Will anyone care?” said Christina.

  Venkdt thought. “Probably not. I care - a bit. I’ll make an announcement the day after tomorrow.”

  Christina nodded.

  “Would you like to be my campaign manager?” said Venkdt.

  Christina gulped. “And what would that entail, exactly?”

  “Well, getting the message out there, having a big presence on the streams.” Venkdt struggled to think of anything else. “Shaking babies, kissing hands. That sort of thing, I suppose.”

  “I could do that, I guess,” said Christina. “What is the
message?”

  Venkdt took deep breath and looked into the distance, focusing his thoughts. “The message is this: business as usual, stability and an orderly transfer of power. Openness and fairness. And in the longer term, the drive toward expansion. Greater wealth, greater participation and a dynamic and growing Martian economy. In the very long term - I’m talking maybe ten or twenty years - I think we should be expanding our area of operations out into the asteroid belt.” He thought on that last part. “Maybe leave that for this campaign. Save that for the second term, eh?”

  “Second term? Okay.” Christina turned to Kostovich. “What do you think?”

  “I think you’d be a great campaign manager,” said Kostovich. “You’d get my vote.” He smiled at her trying to appear cheeky and witty. It came off as slightly creepy. Christina quickly moved her attention back to her father.

  “Okay,” she said, “I’ll do it. Send me your manifesto and any other documents you feel might be useful.”

  “Thank you,” said Venkdt. “Dr Kostovich, as the returning officer I guess you will have to stay out of this. You’ll need to be seen to be impartial.”

  “Yes, Mr Venkdt,” said Kostovich.

  “But I can always use a sharp mind like yours. If I win I’ll have to resign my position here at Venkdt but I would need advisers. It would be great to have you along, Dan.”

  Venkdt had never called Kostovich ‘Dan’ before, and it sounded jarring to Kostovich’s ears. He guessed Venkdt had used it deliberately, signifying a change in their relationship.

  “I’d be happy to serve in your administration, Mr Venkdt,” said Kostovich.

  “Please,” said Venkdt, “call me Charles. The spirit of change is in the air. I think we can lose some of the old formalities.”

  “Yes, Charles,” said Kostovich. “I think you’re right. Change is in the air.”

  There were few big open spaces on Mars. Space was at a premium. All buildings had to be immensely strong to withstand the necessary pressurisation they had to have. The Martian atmosphere outside was at a pressure of about seven or eight millibars. Inside the pressure was about four hundred millibars - far less than on the surface of the Earth but not so low that human beings couldn’t cope with it. The lower pressure meant that buildings could be built to lower tolerances, but each building still had to be tough enough to resist exploding or even just leaking precious air to the outside.

  In the previous forty years or so a number of large domes had been built. Mars by that time had the money, resources and technical know-how to build them. A few were private, such as the dome where Venkdt had his house, or the shared dome that the Karjalainen’s were a party to, but most were public and took the form of parks. A large dome with diameter of eighty or ninety metres could house a small park with trees and maybe a pond or a sculpted seating area. These parks were the nearest thing Martians would ever get to an outdoor space on their cold, barren and thinly atmosphered planet.

  The largest dome on Mars had only been open for two years. It had a diameter of one hundred and forty metres and used the most modern lightweight super-strength materials and some very clever engineering to support itself. It was called Central Park, a historical allusion that meant nothing to most people but seemed to tickle the architects somewhat.

  Two weeks into his election campaign Venkdt held a rally in the dome. There was a stage toward one side and various stalls around the edges selling snack foods and T-shirts and hats. ‘Vote Venkdt’ flags were not for sale; they were free and everyone was encouraged to take one and wave it at every opportunity. Venkdt was due on stage at 17:00. Currently on stage was the comedian Oscar Mason, working the crowd like an expert. He was wearing a ‘Vote Venkdt’ T-shirt and pacing the stage with a microphone held closely to his mouth. His routine was largely observational; gentle digs at some of the more contentious work practices at Venkdt Corp and some mockery of prominent streamers. Oscar Mason’s own stream was one of the most successful on Mars. He had a large following on Earth too, where his shtick of bumping into things and asking strangers random and confusing questions proved extremely popular.

  At the rally he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Every so often he’d make a few rambling but seemingly serious points about Martian independence and the upcoming presidential election, then he’d undercut his own seriousness with a gag at the end.

  “How about that President Cortes?” he said, to whoops and hollers from the audience. “He’s some guy, ain’t he? Somebody told me he lost my dad’s planet. I said no, no, no, he didn’t lose my dad’s planet but he did lose Ma’s.”

  Venkdt was standing in the wings. “How do I look?” he said to Christina.

  “You look fine,” she said. “Do you have your speech?”

  Venkdt pulled a wad of notes from his pocket and held them up. “I know it all anyway,” he said. “When am I on?”

  “Oscar’s just finishing up,” said Christina. “They’re going wild for him. I don’t suppose you have any jokes in your speech, do you?”

  “Not really,” said Venkdt. “If I think of one I’ll drop it in.”

  “No, no, no!” said Christina in mock horror, “please don’t improvise!”

  Venkdt smiled. “Okay, campaign manager,” he said.

  Oscar Mason was finishing up. “Listen folks, you all know why we’re here today,” he was saying, “we’re here in support of a man who can lead us into a bright new independent future, a man who is in a great position to do that, and a man who has for many years held most of our best interests close to his heart. I’d like to introduce you now to the man who is going to be the next -” he stopped and pulled a funny face, “next? first? whatever! the man who is going to be the president of Mars. Please, put your hands together and whoop it up for Mister. Charles. Veeeeeeeenkdt!!!!”

  Oscar Mason gestured dramatically to the side of the stage and bowed down like a medieval serf. As Charles Venkdt ambled to the mic stand set centre-stage Oscar Mason moved backwards, remaining bowed, and disappeared off the other side of the stage. Venkdt stood before the microphone and waved at the crowds, soaking up the cheers. He pointed to a few individuals and appeared to mouth personal messages to them. Christina, at the side of the stage, couldn’t tell if this was genuine or if her father was such a consummate politician already that he knew it would make him look good if it appeared he had genuine friends in the audience supporting him. He waited for the roar of the crowd to die down. Just as it was starting to fall away he made a downward gesture with his outstretched hands, like he was a conductor.

  “Thank you,” he said into the mic, “thank you for such a warm welcome, and thank you to Oscar Mason, for such a warm warm-up.” Venkdt clapped towards the side of the stage from which Oscar Mason had exited. Venkdt quipped to the mic, “By the way, that’s not true about the Venkdt refectories.” There was a ripple of laughter from the crowd. “I wanted to, but they wouldn’t let me.” Another ripple of laughter.

  Venkdt let the laughter die away. He paused so the crowd would give him space to speak. He held the space well.

  “I stand before you today seeking election to the great office of president of our new nation, indeed our new planet. Many of you will know me, in one way or another, as your employer. I hope you know I have always sought to do the best for our enterprise, and to do the best for the people who are the core of that enterprise. I will seek to continue in that vein if you elect me as your president.

  “One of my first acts on assuming the presidency will be to continue the disentanglement of our affairs from those of our fellows on Earth. I will seek to do this amicably and with as little disruption as possible. Venkdt Mars Corp will compensate the parent company commensurate with the value of the Martian operation plus ten percent. I hope to do that by negotiation but if necessary we will pay the funds and take what is rightfully ours.

  “I will form a police force. To that end I will personally donate approximately half of the personnel from what is current
ly Venkdt Security, and will continue that funding for the next five years while the new Martian police force finds its way. Similarly, I will form a small Martian military to fulfil a ceremonial role.

  “I will encourage the development of new businesses and trade with Earth, as this will be at the core of our economic development and will provide us with great wealth as we expand and grow into the future.

  “I will do all this with your help. It will not be easy. We are standing today at the furthest frontier of humanity. There are many challenges ahead. Our world is not a welcoming place, but through hard work, determination and industry our forebears have turned it into something great. If you elect me as your president I plan to build on that greatness. In time, I will ask you for hard work, commitment and the application of the strength I know you all have. For now, all I ask for is your vote. Thank you.”