c. 2024 Rod Ice
All rights reserved
(11-24)
The construct of life on Mars was wholly different from what residents of Old Earth had experienced, a century before. Weapons were brandished rarely, and only when authorities needed to combat chaos. The pace of life in sealed colonies was steady and unhurried. Cooperation was key in making sure that the human species survived. Selfish emotions such as greed and ambition had been bred out of the bloodline. They were all viewed as equals differing only in responsibilities and skills.
Voyager craft such as the Morningstar III carried no offensive capabilities. Their missions were to explore and study, not seek conquest among the outer planets, and beyond.
So, when Kelly Strafe and Dr. Judson Baines were ultimately released from their medical caregivers, formulating a plan on how to handle the situation with diplomacy was a daunting challenge. For the displaced lieutenant, a return to service and obedience among the ranks was logical. Yet with the university professor, there was less certainty of his future actions. The high council had little faith that he could be restrained, intellectually. Only their philosophical bent made an intervention difficult to ponder.
Jailing an opponent was unthinkable. Any sort of direct force used would evoke the sins of their progenitors, and upset the population. Yet to allow dissent to grow, out in the open, was a frightening notion. Some measure of restraint had to be imposed, however gently.
As Baines stood before his lectern at the Percival Lowell Institute, there was much applause to welcome him home. The community of thinkers was elated to see him returned, in good spirits. But throughout the assembly hall, agents from the Space Force had been deployed, to keep watch. None of them were in uniform. Instead, their presence was a clandestine gathering. One designed to observe and report back, to Admiral Corel Nauga and his colleagues.
After the adulation had abated, there was a benediction offered by a universalist theologian. A tradition held over from yonder days on the blue ball that had been their origin point. Then, the professional nerd sorted through pages in one of his great-grandfather’s handwritten notebooks.
“I come here today still carrying the images of North America, and what our ancestors called Ohio, in my head. I want to read a passage from T.C. Lincoln, the sire who would bring my own family history into being. What he said 100 years ago is relevant, even now. Because he described events that we’ve been taught as gospel truth. Listen to his words, and open your minds to the possibility that what we have come to think was chiseled in stone may, after all, be nothing more than a crass fabrication...”
There were audible gasps around the chamber. But he did not hesitate to continue. He read from the document with much passion.
“When the Great Uprising started, I felt sick at my stomach. We’d been having marches in the neighborhood for years, since the January insurrection first happened, in Washington. I figured that things might get crazy, or should I say, crazier still. But when there were raids after dark, to extract some of our citizens from their trailers, I started to wonder. They got Aimes Hefti and a few of his militia goons, which didn’t make me flinch. Those dicks weren’t missed at all. Nobody really liked them, except maybe for Linn Speck and his chubby bride, Haki. They jumped on a Larman transport though, to escape before government troops arrived. What changed my mind was seeing others get yanked through their front doors, people who were just into the social lifestyle up on our township square. Those who went to prayer meetings and such. I never had much use for that kind of thing, Tennessee whiskey is more my style. I feel closer to God with a good drunk making my soul sag! But, to each, their own.”
Puzzlement could be seen on faces throughout the auditorium. So, Baines let a silent interlude elapse, between sections of the yellowed journal. But his zeal did not subside.
“What chapped my ass was realizing that they had set up camps all across the Midwest. Really crude prisoner-of-war type installations. I couldn’t believe it at first, but rumors grew louder and then we started to see photographs that were smuggled in by undercover couriers. People chained up like dogs. There was a mandate from Congress, to form a new bureau of federal police. They were armed and organized like military brigades. Everything was justified by the excesses of the MAGA defense. I don’t know, it seemed reasonable at first, as I’ve already said. Yet when they started busting down doors, and dragging neighbors away, it gave me a chill. I realized that my ass might be next. And I never liked any of those wannabe, Confederate fucks!”
The scruffy scholar closed his great-grandfather’s notebook, and stood with his head bowed. Finally, he gestured across the gathering of students and spectators.
“That’s the story. That’s how you and I and everyone we know ended up on the Red Planet. Our forebears wanted to get away from the law. They wanted to run anywhere that was safe. But in that era, there was no safety, anywhere. The best bet was hopping on a ship, headed to Mars. There were thousands at first, then hundreds of thousands, and even millions. All zooming around the cosmos!”
The meeting hall was a noiseless void. Participants wrung their hands and fretted about what they had heard. At last, Baines offered his conclusion.
“We have been lied to throughout our entire existence on this red rock in space. The MAGA defense was culpable, but the reaction of authorities in that day overstepped the boundaries of rational thought. They imprisoned innocent folk without charges. They kicked down democratic guidelines in favor of expediency. They acted in the manner of a totalitarian regime. Their sins made them no better than their enemies. And now, we have to face that revelation. We are the children of their misdeeds. Our success is founded upon their criminality...”
The witnesses present at this academic spectacle were stunned. Suddenly, agents of Admiral Nauga sprang into action.
“Arrest this rogue! Arrest him now! He has defied the principles of our social order!”
Horror was visited upon the gathering as lethal weapons were displayed. It was a first for many in attendance, who had never seen such implements carried with impunity.
Dr. Judson Baines stood his ground as a scion of educational fortitude.
“Do what you want, but remember, what has been said cannot be unspoken. Your ears know the truth. Your eyes have seen the light. And this moment of edification can never be erased!”
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