Mars - The Tricolor World

///From the author: Mars has always held a special place in my heart, and a unique place in the story of the Spacers Saga. Originally the main enemy of Earth in the original take on the Solar Civil War, it became the primary world in Solar Space in later drafts, after I decided to toy with global catastrophe which rendered the Earth uninhabitable, a lá Cowboy Bebop. In current drafts of the stories, however, Mars is sort of the "second-best" world in the solar system - number one in military spending, but behind the eight ball in many other metrics, including population and press freedoms. But still the mystique of the legendary Red Planet holds true, and as we will see in this record of the world and its history, the Martians do still have very much to be proud of in 2389

The Red Planet in the 24th Century

(Physical map of Mars circa 2389)

Critical Stats:

• First reached by humans: December 1971 (uncrewed); October 2035 (crewed)

• Current gov't: United Nations of Mars, est. July 2169

• 2389 Population: approximately 71.3 million (estimated per the 2388 census)

• Capital: Aldrin City, Federal Capital region; metropolitan population: approx. 6.2 million

• Affiliation: the Interplanetary Cooperative Administration (ICA)

• Government: federal parliamentary constitutional republic (seat of government is the Federal Compound in Aldrin City); primary government authority rests with the Martian Federal Senate - chief executive official is the Prime Minister (Rela Tenris - since 2384)

• Primary industries: heavy industry/manufacturing (ICA’s main industrial hub, and a major manufacturer of civilian & military products); shipping (Mars is the mercantile hub of the inner system, often referred to as "the gateway to the outer system")

Historical Notes:

The race to conquer Mars heated up following the adoption of the Brookenden Accords in 2062, and by 2162, more than half a million people lived there. This thriving population grew quickly over the centuries that followed, fueled by the expansion of Martian industry which was in turn bolstered by the long collapse of industrial society back on Earth (often referred to as The Fall) beginning in the second half of the 21st century.

In 2063, the denizens of the Red Planet signed their own founding treaty, the Marineris Accords, itself a precursor to the creation of the United Nations of Mars in 2169. This unified Mars rose quickly as an industrial power throughout the 22nd and 23rd centuries, riding a tide of prosperity fueled by its successful partnership with the mining and shipping barons of the Asteroid Belt. The terraforming program also flourished, and as of 2389 there are several sizable bodies of water on the Martian surface.

Notable among these are the Hellas and Argyre Seas and the Marineris Waterway, all of which are banked by fertile zones where Martians farm the land as a means of filling their bellies. Much of the southern highlands, meanwhile, as well as the Elysium Mons region, have been transformed into sprawling industrial tracts, where the various subsidiaries of the Mars Industrial Conglomerate builds, fabricates, or otherwise stamps out the various mass-produced necessities of life in the solar system, all made possible by partnership with Ceres.

As the industrial might of Mars expands, so too does the strength of the Martian military: roughly one in six spacers in the Interplanetary Defense Corps calls Mars their homeworld. This belies the grave threats to Martian prosperity which have emerged over the years, especially in light of a longstanding rivalry between Mars and the worlds of the outer system.

Chief among these threats is the Alliance of Free Worlds, a federation of rebellious frontier colonies dedicated to dethroning Mars and Ceres as the primary political players in Solar Space. As the Alliance rises to threaten Mars’ role as the system's main military power, the demands placed upon the Interplanetary Defense Corps (aka the Spacer Corps) to defend Martian interests alongside those of the ICA continue to intensify.

The rivalry between Mars and the outer system dates at least as far back as the Solar Civil War (2294-2299), wherein UNOM fought against the warlords of Titan for control of Titan's precious precursor artifacts. In the years since, with Mars leading the charge to clamp down on frontier nationalism, movements such as Draconism have only exacerbated the situation.

This ultimately led to the Frontier Wars, which plunged Solar Space into chaos between 2371 and 2381, and only ended when the Zharan Collective, another political newcomer, entered the war on the Alliance’s behalf and forced the ICA to agree to ceasefire negotiations.

Now, with UNOM and the Alliance posturing and the ICA caught up in an ongoing series of tense peace, it seems that the only catalyst needed to plunge Solar Space back into war will be a single spark. And as Mars celebrates their 100th anniversary of the UNOM’s founding, there is evidence mounting that the Alliance Armada may have just such a spark in mind…

The Political Map of Mars circa 2389

Nation-States (ordered by population):

1. Republic of Marineris & Chryse

   • Population: 18.6 million

   • Founding date: 5 March 2139

   • Initial sponsor nations: United States, European Union

   • GDP per capita: approx. $63.6 thousand

2. Argyre Republic

   • Population: 11.7 million

   • Founding date: 4 November 2137

   • Initial Sponsor nation: United States

   • GDP per capita: approx. $61.3 thousand

3. People’s Republic of Hellas

   • Population: 9.4 million

   • Founding date: 23 May 2138

   • Initial sponsor nation: People’s Republic of China

   • GDP per capita: approx. $56.4 thousand

4. Miyamoto Kyōwakoku (“Republic of Miyamoto”)

   • Population: 4.2 million

   • Founding date: 31 January 2143

   • Initial sponsor nation: Serene State of Nippon

   • GDP per capita: approx. $62.4 thousand

5. Union of the Bosporus

   • Population: 3.8 million

   • Founding date: 17 August 2138

   • Initial sponsor nations: Turkic Federation

   • GDP per capita: approx. $47.2 thousand

6. People’s Republic of Tharsis

   • Population: 3.4 million

   • Founding date: 4 June 2146

   • Initial sponsor nation: People’s Republic of China

   • GDP per capita: approx. $57.6 thousand

7. Dimokratía Odysséa (“Odyssey Republic”)

   • Population: 2.8 million

   • Founding date: 16 September 2146

   • Initial sponsor nations: European Union, Greece

   • GDP per capita: approx. $48.5 thousand

8. República Occidental (“Western Republic”)

   • Population: 2.5 million

   • Founding date: 9 July 2148

   • Initial sponsor nations: Latin American Federation

   • GDP per capita: approx. $51.7 thousand

9. Adawlat Alsamawia (“Heavenly Nation”)

   • Population: 2.1 million

   • Founding date: 21 June 2152

   • Initial sponsor nations: United Arab Republics

   • GDP per capita: approx. $59.2 thousand

10. Free State of Noachis

    • Population: 1.9 million

    • Founding date: 3 August 2147

    • Initial sponsor nation: N/A (established by provision of SADI)

    • GDP per capita: approx. $56.7 thousand

11. Republic of Alemania

    • Population: 1.7 million

    • Founding date: 25 April 2149

    • Initial sponsor nations: European Union, Germany

    • GDP per capita: approx. $58.5 thousand

12. Union of the Paraná

    • Population: 1.6 million

    • Founding date: 13 July 2154

    • Initial sponsor nation: Federal Republic of Brazil

    • GDP per capita: approx. $55.3 thousand

13. Federal Republic of Cimmeria

    • Population: 1.4 million

    • Founding date: 6 December 2151

    • Initial sponsor nations: Russian/Turkic Federations

    • GDP per capita: approx. $46.2 thousand

14. Respublika Prometeya

    • Population: 1.2 million

    • Founding date: 29 September 2157

    • Initial sponsor nation: Russian Federation

    • GDP per capita: approx. $49.7 thousand

15. Republic of Sidra

    • Population: 1.2 million

    • Founding date: 5 May 2154

    • Initial sponsor nations: United Republics of Kemet

    • GDP per capita: approx. $48.7 thousand

16. Commonwealth of New Timbuktu

    • Population: 1.1 million

    • Founding date: 19 March 2153

    • Initial sponsor nations: West African Union

    • GDP per capita: approx. $52.4 thousand

Additional Polities:

1. Utopia territory

   • Population: 900 thousand

   • Established: 28 February 2186

   • Status: unincorporated federal UNOM territory

2. Elysium territory

   • Population: 700 thousand

   • Established: 3 November 2224

   • Status: unincorporated federal UNOM territory

3. Arcadia territory

   • Population: 600 thousand

   • Established: 12 June 2217

   • Status: unincorporated federal UNOM territory

4. Arabia territory

   • Population: 500 thousand

   • Established: 8 September 2246

   • Status: unincorporated federal UNOM territory

5. Borealis Designated Conservation Area

   • Centered on: Northern Ice Cap Conservation Zone

   • Established: 30 June 2231

   • Status: federal national recreation area

6. Australis Designated Conservation Area

   • Centered on: Southern Ice Cap Conservation Zone

   • Established: 6 July 2231

   • Status: federal national recreation area

7. Olympus Mons Designated Conservation Area

   • Centered on: Olympus Mons National Monument

   • Established: 19 August 2233

   • Status: federal national recreation area

8. Solis Planum Special Military Zone

   • Centered on: Martian Military Complex

   • Established: 23 May 2254

   • Status: federal military operational exclusion zone

9. Elysium Mons Special Military Zone

   • Centered on: Elysium Mons Special Activity Region

   • Established: 11 June 2258

   • Status: federal military operational exclusion zone

Aldrin City - The Capital of Mars

Notes:

The urban expanse referred to as Aldrin City emerged from the earliest Martian outpost, dubbed Aldrin Station in honor of the late Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin of Apollo fame, himself a longtime proponent of Martian colonization. As of the late 24th century, this metropolis is home to nearly fourteen million people, or around ten percent of the Martian population.

The majority of these people live in the Melas Chasma, which has been extensively terraformed in the two three hundred and fifty years since the region was first settled in 2038. Many modern historians compare the Aldrin City metro area to that of Los Angeles in the early 21st century, complete with many of the same environmental and economic shortcomings.

It is also home to a number of prestigious colleges, including Marineris Technical University, and a very vibrant commercial and service economy. Among the many millions of working class citizens eking out a more or less prosperous living here are best friends Sam Taskaro, Devon Wastani, and Matt Cavanaugh, all of whom are students at MTU.

They are also reservists in the Interplanetary Defense Corps, which keeps the peace across space governed by the Interplanetary Cooperative Administration. This role will soon dominate their futures, as war breaks out between the ICA and its longtime nemesis, the Alliance of Free Worlds. A war in which the trio will shape much more than their own destinies…

Additional Notes - The Rise of a Green Mars

Late in the 21st century, the denizens of Mars initiated a campaign aimed at transforming the vast, dusty desert of the Red Planet into a second Eden. At the centennial of the Brookenden Accords in 2162, this project was unified under a new name: the Mars Project.

Over the next next two centuries, the people of Mars devoted substantial economic resources and effort to cultivating the barren Red Planet into a new garden world through methods which would have seemed fantastical only as far back as the middle of the 21st century.

From the creation of the Great Magnetodyn in orbit at Mars’ L1 point to the engineering of the omnipresent Hypnodendron martialis (commonly referred to as “Mars Moss”), the scientists of the United Nations of Mars worked wonders to suit the needs of humans living there. In the 24th century, these efforts have brought forth a new era - the era of Mars, the Tricolor World.

Transmission Ends\\\