The Mars Colonial Republic is the faction that
administrates the subterranean colony on Mars. It is known for its
authoritarian policy, harsh treatment of criminals, and its impressive
space-navy. It was established in the year 2103, and although Mars is
not terraformed, unlike ZCS-21c,
it is considered to be the older colonial body.
There is currently a population of around seventy-thousand people
living in the colony.
Because Mars is not yet
fully terraformed, the colony is a massive array of subterranean
structures, snaking and tunneling through lava tubes in the southern
side of Mars. These structures are airtight and atmosphere-controlled,
and designed such that if the hull of the colony should be breached,
that segment of the colony would seal itself off from the rest.
The
districts
How the districts are divided
The colony is divided into
nine districts. Each of these districts has its own electrical grid, and
its own subset of Colonial Enforcement. These districts are numbered
in terms of distance from the colony’s docking port in which people,
cargo, and all other forms of freight come and go.
The district in which this bay is present is the first district; the
next furthest one is the second nexus, and so forth. After the third
nexus they break off into two arms, at which point the numbering becomes
arbitrary. The fourth, fifth, and seventh districts occupy one branch,
while the sixth, eighth, and ninth districts occupy another.
Each union between these districts is called a “nexus”, which is where the two districts meet. These unions are patrolled by Colonial Enforcement
Safety
of the districts and district permits
The second district is the most well-maintained and
safest, because it is where the most people reside. However, the first
district is also well-maintained and relatively safe, and is people’s
first impression of the colony, and many people will never go any deeper
into the colony. Consequently, the second and third districts are also
very nice; lots of storefronts, residential apartments, and so forth.
The first three districts require a permit to
enter. This is to keep out criminals and riff-raff from the lesser
districts. People who enter the colony through the port are only given a
permit for the first district; tourists, cargo runners, visitors,
etcetera.
Visitors can purchase permits to the second and third districts, but
by default do not have them. These permits all expire after two weeks of
being issued, and an application must be sent for them to be reissued.
Mars residents may apply for a permanent permit.
Colloquial
nicknames of the districts
The first district is referred to as the
“landing district”, because it is where vessels of all kinds will land:
all the cargo runners, visitors, etc.
The second district is referred to as the “residential district”,
because it is where many well-off people reside; they have easy access
to both the first and third districts, and are further away from the
less-appealing districts. It is also sometimes called the “Capitol
district” because it is the location of the senatorial assembly.
The third district is known as the “commercial district” because it
is filled with businesses, and is home to the headquarters of Colonial Extraction, a
mining corporation that gives Mars a galactic economic presence.
The fourth district is known as the “enforcement district”, because
it is the home of the main office of Colonial Enforcement. People from all districts may
go to the office and report crimes. This is where Kanon Arai and the Investigation Division reside. There is no main
office for the Detention division, and detention offices can be found
distributed throughout all districts.
The fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth districts are referred to as
industrial districts, because it is in this district that most of the
labor occurs; processing ore is the primary form of employment, though
industrial vocations of all kinds can be found here.
The sixth district is referred to as the “bad district” by well-off
people, because it is where many of the low-income people reside. There
aren’t many amenities and there is a lot of crime. Colonial
Enforcement has the legal right to detain any person in the colony
for any reason, and does not need a warrant to enter someone’s home or
make an arrest. Citizens of the Republic have a right to a trial if
being charged with any crime, but that right is waived if the person is
accused of participating in terrorism.
Regardless of a person’s right to a trial, enforcement maintains the
legal right to detain a person and question them for as long as they
want. Prisoners are sometimes in solitary confinement for weeks at a
time. However, there is a six-month processing limit; if a criminal has
not been charged and processed (tried and sentenced) within six months
of being detained, the criminal is released.
History of purism and the
Salus
The colony was initially inhabited solely by terraformers. Slowly, as
their mastery of the planet grew, the structure grew in size and the
number of inhabitants swelled. The governmental body of the Republic was
established once the number of inhabitants in the colony grew to over
2000; it became clear that policy had to be codified and enforced.
Initially, the government was libertarian and the colony was
crime-free; however, as Purism took hold, the ideology war led to great amounts of unrest and violence;
people on either side were participating in acts of violence against the
other. The Republic stepped in and took the side of the purists. Upgrade
centers were all shut-down. This caused widespread radicalization of
non-purists. This radicalization manifested itself in the Ruber Salus, a faction that
intends to take power on Mars and subsidize all manner of upgrades.
Upgrades were officially and legally outlawed in December of 2155,
and upgrade centers were all shut down. The sale of all Cortex products was banned in February of 2156.
The Rubrum Salus existed solely on Mars for a while, and after months
of fierce warfare between the two factions, the Salus hijacked a series
of cargo vessels and disappeared into the asteroid belt. They slowly
grew in number, with members from all inhabited worlds. They have
terrorist cells on Mars, which act independently of each other and are
in contact with them. The Nightlight Crew is one such terrorist cell.
Economy
Colonial Extraction
The entirety of Mars’ galactic
economical presence comes from Colonial Extraction, a mining corporation that
exports all kinds of metals mined from within the lava tubes. As new
cavities are formed, it makes room for expansion of the structure of the
subterranean colony.
These metals are shipped to Earth to be refined. Refineries also
exist on Mars, but their capacity is limited. They are considered more
valuable than their Earth-mined equivalents because they are from Mars
and in limited quantity; as a result, people that want to create items
to be envied will use metals from Mars. This reputation has been very
profitable to Colonial Extraction. Novikov is one of their biggest customers.
Reliance on ZEX-7b food
Mars gets almost all of its food from ZEX-7b, due to the fact that the food
grown there is bio-engineered to yield huge quantities of product, and
there are no weeds or pests to hinder production. Earth-based
agriculture has become economically undesirable due to the less than
ideal growing conditions, which has led Earth-grown food to be
considered a symbol of status, because it is more expensive.
Life in
the colony
Authoritarian law and order
Law and Order
The Mars Colonial Republic is an authoritarian body, and as a
result, Colonial
Enforcement holds a lot of power. All citizens have the right to a
trial, and it is a democratic republic – however, Enforcement can search
homes without a warrant, and make arrests without probable cause. Those
who are arrested can be detained for up to six months, though usually
they are processed and tried within a month.
The common opinion among the well-off is that Enforcement is
generally correct when they make an arrest, and that they keep the
colony safe. However, those who hold anti-purist attitudes believe the
government is a tyranny, and believe enforcement does not act in the
best interest of the people.
All citizens have the right to
a trial. Trials involve a judge and a jury of ten people. Usually these
trials are fair and impartial. The punishment for almost all crimes is a
fine, the severity of which varies based on the crime. However, if a
person is accused of terrorism, the trial is waived and the judge
sentences the prisoner based on the information available. Execution is
not an uncommon punishment for terrorism conviction.
Surveillance
Surveillance cameras are placed throughout the common areas of the
colony; almost the entire colony is covered by these cameras. However,
private spaces such as shops, apartments, and corporate facilities, can
opt out of surveillance.
Infrared cameras are not used, because the temperature regulation
systems on the colony interfere with the cameras’ ability to detect
infrared radiation.
The simulated night in the colony emits a dim light, just enough for
these cameras to be operational.
Recreation facilities
Recreation permits and activities
The colony has several permit-only recreation facilities. These permits
can be bought freely by anyone living in the second district – however,
people with residence in the industrial districts have to submit an
application, which can be denied for any reason. One permit will grant
access to all recreational facilities throughout the colony.
There are recreation facilities located in the
first, second, third, and fourth districts.
The recreation facilities include gymnasiums and showers, Mars Basketball (a
professional sport on Mars), Mars 8-ball pool (the pool tables have greater
friction and heavier balls), Mars
Tennis, and so forth.
The balls and weights are tagged with electromagnetic emitters that
will trip an alarm if someone tries to leave the facility with them.
Employment
Much of the employment throughout the
colony is contracted with the colony itself: construction of apartments
and infrastructure, sanitation, maintenance, and so forth. Engineers are contracted to build the body of the colony
itself and its many branches and substructures, ensuring that different
regions are capable of being sealed off from each other for purpose of
safety. They also construct structures within the body of the colony,
such as apartments, stores, industrial facilities such as refineries,
and so forth.
Sanitation
here are people who keep all the
surfaces clean, which involves wiping the dust off everything with
massive dustmops, as well as using a brush in all the ridges, etc. They
can’t use pressure washers because water could damage the electronics,
and can’t use anything saturated with water: however, they can use spray
cleaner and cloths on panel surfaces. If there is a spill of some sort
on a moderately pristine surface, they aren’t allowed to use course
brushes because it could scratch, and it takes a lot of elbow grease.
However, if the surface is already damaged, they’ll use more course
implements, even if it will scuff or scratch a little bit.
Maintenance technicians
There are technicians who make sure all the
systems various electrical systems and electronics are in working order.
These electricians work on the obvious things, such as oxygen and
humidity distributors, air filtration systems, electrical wires,
plumbing for bathrooms and kitchens, and day-night simulation lights.
They also work on less obvious systems, such as security cameras and
microphones for enforcement, fire suppression systems, etc.
Cargo
workers
The first district has more cargo workers and vessel
technicians. Cargo workers are people who will load and unload cargo
from vessels, inspect cargo manifests to make sure cargo is accounted
for, organize warehouses, and make sure things get to where they need to
go.
Vessel technicians
Vessel technicians inspect the vessels that
land or dock in the first district for damage. If permitted, they assess
the condition of both the exterior and interior of the vessel.
Retail workers
The third district has many
retail and sales workers. They are usually independently contracted with
whomever is selling; there are grocery outlets filled with food from ZEX-7b and occasionally Earth. There are sale outlets for
interface assists and
Androids from TRAIS Interfaces, as well
as for Novikov, Zenith Interstellar, and
Beaufort, though their presence
is limited.
Vessel dealerships
The vessel dealerships also employ
a significant number of people; the colonial hangar is shared by all
dealerships, and also houses the vessels owned b y the colony. One does
not go into individual company outlets to buy vessels: there are
independent vessel dealerships that let potential buyers weigh their
options between the various vessels, new and used, from various
manufacturers, before making a decision. The people who work in the
dealerships are knowledgeable about all the vessels they offer.
On Mars, the two competing dealerships are Armstrong and Sons and Sato Shipyard; Armstrong is
the smaller of the two and has less vessels available, but offers
cheaper prices, and has a presence on other worlds. Sato gets more
customers on Mars and offers a wider array of vessels, but is a local
business.
Residence
There are no houses on Mars in
the way we would imagine them, because the entire colony is one
structure. Instead, there are apartments of varying sizes. Neither
people nor companies can buy these apartments or rent them out, but
instead they must rent them from the state.
These apartments have all the modern luxuries: a bathroom, bedrooms,
a common room, and a kitchen. However, the kitchen consists of
dispensers for various liquids such as coffee or tea, a microwave, and a
refrigerator.
People are not allowed to cook meals in these kitchens, and can only
reheat food that they have already bought. However, they can get cooked
food from designated restaurants. Each apartment requires
monthly rent, quantified in Earth Gregorian months. While using a Mars
calendar has been proposed, the Republic feels that it would be best to
use the Earth calendar at least for the duration that the colony remains
underground, while the planet is being terraformed.
Time and
calendar
The colony uses the Earth calendar and the UTC time-zone, which
can cause the “day” time to occur during Mars’ night. As a result, the
artificial lighting of the colony simulates Earth days: during the day
in UTC earth, the lights are bright, and during the night the lights are
dim. They they glow pinkish-red and slowly dim at dusk, and glow red at
dawn.