c. 2024 Rod Ice
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(8-24)
Commander Hornell Block sat in his swivel chair at the head of operational control on the Morningstar III, while the ship orbited Planet Earth. He surveyed a myriad of displays and dials and virtual screens, while exercising his authority as their mission supervisor. Things were quite boring actually, with the craft staying in position as two team members toiled on the surface, gathering artifacts. But then, the Martian vessel was hailed by a communications station on the west coast of continental North America.
In English, a decidedly human voice called out to greet the visiting crew and their leader.
“Attention! Attention! This is Toqua Platte Center, we have detected your presence above the horizon. Please state your reasons for circling our world, and reveal your intentions. We have a strategic defense system in place which makes it possible for us to repel intruders. Do you understand? Failure to answer our messages will result in a strike to preserve our safety. We ask you to cooperate, and avoid dire consequences!”
Block huffed at the alien’s combative tone of voice. Yet he tried to understand how it must have been to see a foreign ship above the skyline for the first time in 100 years.
“I am here on behalf of a Mars Colony, the New Cleveland metropolitan hub. We are conducting a research mission for historical purposes. There is no aggressive intent in what we are doing...”
Arbiter Goland Pick coughed into his microphone. He had the long, tattooed strip of ink on his bare skull that denoted being a member of a ruling caste. Something carried by few in their isolated, coastal empire.
“Mars? New Cleveland? These are names of legend to us, sir. What proof do you have of your heritage as displaced Earthlings, living in the cosmos?”
The commander cleared his throat and breathed heavily.
“I’m one of three descendants that originally came from a family started in Michigan. My forebears settled on the Red Planet when ships first began to arrive, after the Great Uprising. In those days, travel was very slow. It took a long time to get from one world to another. Soon afterward, the pace of migration increased. There were millions of immigrants from what was called the Midwest. They populated our neighborhoods, and those on other balls of rock, throughout the solar system...”
Pick was convinced by this accurate retelling of their history.
“Okay, you seem to be conversant with our species timeline. But that does not explain why your ship would appear here, suddenly, without warning. Are you about to attack? Do you wish to do us harm? Are you taking a survey for future conquest?”
The commander laughed out loud. He was amused and incredulous.
“Sir, we could have annihilated you from the start, if that was our intention. But we do not embrace such goals. Our hope is to study and learn, and to expand our understanding. I hope you will agree that cooperation can benefit both of our cultures, equally. Will you join us in a joint effort to sift through the remnants of our dark past, together?”
The arbiter stroked his large forehead, and pondered this proposition carefully.
“We’ve been taught that offworlders caused the collapse. What happened after the Great Uprising. You, and your people, put us where we landed. On the coast, exposed and helpless, with the judgment of time upon our backs. You are the guilty ones! You planted the seeds of rebellion and disobedience! You wrecked the grand experiment in democracy! You ran away when the consequences of fate became too much to bear!”
Hornell Block had to breathe deeply, before continuing their awkward conversation.
“I can’t justify 100 years of propaganda. Or explain it, in detail. But we have come here to have a look around, to revisit the home base that sired our societal order. We are distant cousins if you like, bonded by blood. Some of us flourished on the red, rocky mantle of Mars. Others remained on a terrestrial footing. But all of us, all of us, are kindred spirits. The same flesh, the same minds, the same hearts. There is no justification to do battle. You and I sir, we are one. One in the same!”
Goland Pick felt a chill run up his spine.
“So, what do you ask then? What do you want of us, while your craft is in orbit?”
The commander bowed his head, reflectively.
“I’ve got two team members on the planet surface. They are in what used to be a northeastern district of Ohio. Looking around at a park of mobile homes, Evergreen Estates, a point on the map designated as important by our historians. A birthplace of dissent. Where the spark of what we know as a continental rebellion began. I want them to work freely, uninhibited by politics and interstellar guardrails. This is a scientific undertaking. Something that will uplift both of our civilizations, together. You need to know, and I need to know. What happened a century ago? Why did everything fall apart? Why did so many citizens abandon their country? Why did the model set in place by Washington and Franklin and Jefferson, come unglued?”
Arbiter Pick frowned and growled like an angry dog.
“I’ll have to take this up with our council of elders, and its leader. It isn’t something to be decided simply by the choice of one man at one time. Do you understand? We value our established authority as it produces consistency. We value the trust of our citizens. We value what it means to be governed by mass consent.”
Block felt a rise of tension in his neck and shoulders. Yet he did not surrender to the pain.
“Of course. I await your decision, sir. In the meantime, my vessel will continue to scan the planetary surface, and to map the modern topography. My astronauts are busy surveying what is left of Evergreen Estates. I hope that our presence here will not cause undue concern. Good day to you! Good day until we speak with each other, again...”
The line of communication was severed abruptly. But on each end of the distant connection, both men fretted about their individual responsibilities.
In the Calimex center, and onboard the Morningstar III, a mood of new visions had taken hold. For the first time in 100 years, alienated members of the human race were coming together, once again. What that would mean, no one could guess. But the excitement of such a restored connection was palpable.
Goland Pick and his counterpart were players in a drama that was still unfolding.
More please. I really like this story and where it might lead.
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