Earthlings lining up for Mars
Skip the contract, they’’ll pay up front
IUS, Jan. 47 - More immigrants than expected are willing to pay their own way to Mars to arrive free of the standard 3-annos (5-1/2-year) labor contract.
“The situation on Earth certainly argues in favor of moving to Mars,” Candor Councillor Antonia Quick told a threedee meeting of the Valles Marineris city councillors Tuesday. “But I’m still surprised that even people with sponsored contracts are willing to pay their own way.”
The two largest cities in the Valles Marineris ,Tithonia and Ius, have agreed to financially sponsor 250 immigrants from Earth, Luna and orbitals at a total cost of 75 megacredits.
All of the Valley cities combined agreed to provide jobs and housing for up to 750 more workers, provided they were willing to each pay the 300 kilocredit spaceliner cost themselves for the 250-sol voyage to Mars.
A total of 817 of the 998 potential immigrants agreed to pay their own way, including 67 of those with sponored contracts.
The immigrants had been previously vetted by Martius Endeavours for the next supply fleet from Earth, before the corporation, formerly Mars DevCo, announced a massive restructuring at the end of December.
The restructuring included an end to the larger transport program that had carried almost everyone who came to Mars from Earth and its environs.
Nearly all of those traveled to Mars at corporate cost in return for agreeing to work 3-annos labor contracts.
Martius had set a late February deadline for the Valley cities and potential immigrants to decide.
That now becomes the deadline for the cities and immigrants to pay their fares, Martius Endeavours Transportation Chief Hartley Adams told the meeting.
The farm fields of Mars
Since announcing the change in policy, the company has been deluged with applications to come to Mars on a self-pay basis, Adams said.
“Some of them may have the skills, but mostly it’s people with enough money to cover the fare,” Adams said. “But for now, there are no hotels on Mars. You might think about that.”
That response isn’t all that surprising, Ius Councillor Brynn Gibby, noting the increased tempo of people moving into the growing Earth orbitals and Luna.
“A lot of people might see Mars as a better option right now,” Gibby said. “Except for the lack of housing.”
The supply fleet, which will now include six spaceliners carrying about 250 passengers each, is scheduled to leaves Earth orbit in early August on Mars, a little under 400 sols from today.
One of those agreeing to pay her own way is exobotanist Bethania Parraya, who is currently specializing in researching cold temperature flora on the Earth arctic island of Greenland.
“I’d come to Mars at any cost, really,” Parraya wrote to the Chaos Courier. “It’s the most exciting place in the solar system right now when it comes to plants.”
Developing new plants remains a crucial step in making Mars habitable, wrote Parraya, who has been following Mars-based research closely and corresponding with local scientists.
“It’s really the frontier in my specialty, and the work they’re doing will set the stage for settling new planets when we can finally get there fast enough,” Parraya wrote. “I want to plant the future farm fields of Mars and watch them grow under the Martian sun. “
Tithonia outlook: Cool and frosty
Get cold beer, here?
TITHONIA, Jan. 49 - Tithonia residents may be able to get a freshly brewed beer soon, though the final vote is two weeks off.
Judging from the debate at a crowded City Council meeting Thursday, councillors seem to be leaning toward approving the establishment of a brew pub near the new Terrace One Arena at the north end of the HabTube’s recently completed third section.
The brew pub proposal was made last week to the Planning Commission, which in December approved a plan to repurpose underused city canteens into restaurants and nightclubs, but declined to approve serving alcohol.
Alcohol remains officially banned in Mars’ largest city, and overturning that would require action by the City Council.
The Council will decide in its first February meeting on the brew pub proposal and whether to allow the serving of other alcoholic drinks at the City Speakeasy, which recently re-opened under City oversight.
The then clandestine nightclub in an unfinished canteen in Hab 3 was shut down by the City in September after it was found to be serving alcohol to patrons, though that was mostly alcohol that guests brought in themselves and left at the bar.
The ban on alcohol has not deterred City residents with the necessary skills, or at least ambition, from making their own.
“We know that people are making a variety of beverages from a variety of fruits and other plants because we have to clean up the outflow,” Tithonia Environmental Chief Iolanthe Rhea told the Council.
While they don’t track the exact habs where alcohol is being distilled, they can easily pinpoint the hab group on a given terrace, Rhea said.
Among those specific areas, the worker dormitories known as the Cubbies in Hab 1 stand out.
“Some of them favor higher potency, but quality likely varies significantly,” Rhea said. “I’d advise caution.”
The main concerns for serving alcohol at the brew pub and nightclub center on quality, potency and safety, Councillor Shira Chang said.
“There face enough dangers here without adding new ones, but it’s happening anyway and we would be better off if we could manage those concerns,” said Chang, a nutritionist elected to the Council in November.
Quality and strength may vary
Ensuring the safety of home-made alcohol, however, isn’t possible without a very intrusive approach, Chang said.
“That could be more manageable in a brewpub or wine-making, where we know what’s being made and where it’s being made,” Chang said.
The prospects for a Tithonia winery remain dim, Tithonia Farms Chief Iris Notting said.
“We’re just about ready to start re-planting the WestHill farm terrace that froze in December,” Notting said. “While we do grow grapes for eating, we’re not quite at a point where we can devote enough space for wine grapes.”
Perhaps space could be set aside on a terrace in the new fourth HabTube section that is in the initial stages of construction, WestHill resident Carlson Viognier said.
“Or we could set aside a small space for home wine-makers who want to provide that to the Speakeasy and it could be tested by the city,” Viognier said.
The City Speakeasy re-opened at the start of the new annos, but is not serving alcoholic drinks.
Residents still bring their own and consume it outside or sneak it in, said Alfonso Terrabuena, who manages the canteen that operates as a nightclub, but serves regular meals in the afternoon.
“We do our best to discourage it, but patrons will put some in the drinks we do serve and take sips outside on the terrace,” Terrabuena said. “We keep an eye on people who might be enjoying themselves too much, but that can be a problem for City Safety.”
The Speakeasy is in a canteen on the second level terrace near the bamboo gardens.
Its original managers, who included unidentified horticultural, agricultural, environmental and construction specialist, were previously referred to Tithonia Superior Court in September for various violations of City code.
Action was set aside after the November election, and the six have been advising City Catering and City Safety on operations.
A cautious approach would be best on both beer and stronger drinks, Councillor Beata Bakken said.
“While, I’m totally in favor of opening a brew pub, we are in effect approving the consumption of alcohol and we should make sure it’s all safe to drink,” Bakken said. “We need to set up the appropriate safeguards
Two of three mayoral candidates say keep Mars dry
Paddingbury, Wu caution against alcohol
TITHONIA, Jan. 50 - Two of the three candidates for City mayor in next month’s election are cautioning against the approval of alcohol in Mars’ biggest city
Candidate and current Council President Claude Paddingbury said he remains opposed to approving alcohol in Tithonia for safety and health reasons.
“It’s going to give us all a headache and perhaps endanger people,” said Paddingbury, who is one of three candidates in the election of the first City mayor next month. “We remain a small outpost on a hostile planet and safety should be our utmost priority.”
Tithonia is a growing city, so it makes sense that residents are looking for more variety in entertainment, Paddingbury said.
“But we should channel that in a positive direction, more sports, more music, more theater, Paddingbury said.
The City could take a more forceful approach to managing alcohol use, former Councillor and Planning Commission President Marcus Wu said.
Wu noted that residents still under labor contracts are forbidden to use alcohol by contract. “We could cut down on the problem by instituting penalties, like contract extensions, to incentivize more appropriate behavior.”
Just get the job done?
Wu characterized the current debate over the brew pub as part of a wider problem as the City has recently taken steps in what he views as the wrong direction.
That includes allowing independent businesses to use public spaces and diverting City property such as canteens toward more private uses such as the night club, Wu said.
“We’re here to provide for all of our residents as best we can,” said Wu, who lost his Council seat in the November election and with it his role on the planning commission. “That’s why we have taken a careful approach to ensuring that our very limited resources are put to the best use for our residents, rather than benefitting just a few.”
In June, Wu led the city planning commission in rejecting a proposed cafe in an underused city canteen by a resident. That resident has since moved to Ius, which takes a more liberal stance to private businesses, and opened a popular cafe at the Geryon Agora near a new brewpub.
“We can take steps like providing more varied menus to encourage more even usage of all the city canteens, but we should reject the idea that food is anything other than a fundamental right of all residents,” Wu said. “We shouldn’t turn nutrition into a business.”
The third candidate, Tithonia Logistics Chief Helen Matara, said she viewed the mayor’s role as one of carrying out the Council’s wishes efficiently, rather than using the new post to oppose the Council’s decisions.
“The job was created to honor residents’ wishes for an elected City manager, who would be accountable to the people rather than the Council,” Matara said. “But, they elect the Council, and if the Council decides to take a direction that I personally disagree with, it’s my job to make sure their wishes are carried out.”
Second-section resident Jaspar Jackson asked how Matara would apply that stance toward a Council decision to approve a brew pub or serving alcohol at the Speakeasy.
“The job would be to make sure that both of those met all safety standards and that swift actions would be taken on any violations,” Matara said. “People should be able to relax a little, but safety should remain our most important priority.”
Alleged Noctis hab jumpers plead not guilty
Trial set for February
TITHONIA, Jan. 50 - The three men charged with rover theft and endangerment over an alleged hab-jumping attempt in Noctis Labyrinthus at the beginning of the month pleaded not guilty in Tithonnia Superior Court on Friday.
The court added a third charge of violation of corporate alcohol and safety rules after the remains of a ‘large quantity’ of home-distilled alcohol were found in the rover.
Ares Port senior mechanic Murgo Sonestro sat in a wheelchair before the court, while logistics workers Cosmo Izar and Elio Ginan stood as their court-appointed lawyer answered “not guilty” when asked for the plea.
The three offered no other comments in the brief hearing, and declined to comment after leaving the courtroom.
The trial resumes Friday Feb. 3
Izar and Ginan also face separate Labor Council proceedings for contract violation as their transportation contracts do not expire until March 103. Sonestro went off contract in November 100.
The three were charged with taking a rover from Ares Port and driving several hundred kilometers to an isolated family hab in a major channel west of the Grange Hall.
They were captured after rolling the rover halfway down a 1,900m slope after a long, slow chase through the Labyrinth.
Sonestro is still recovering from injuries he suffered in that accident, but his lawyer said he should be better able to withstand a trial by next week.
The Noctis council agreed to have the men tried in Tithonia due to the rover theft charges.
Mirihi Merced, City Correspondent
Learn About Noctis Labyrinthus
Pulsars Light up Quasars
TITHONIA, Jan. 49 - The WestHill Pulsars took home their second Marsball win, beating the Hab 3 Quasars 73-61 with a barrage of meteors and comets in the final period on Thursday.
The Quasars fell to 0-2 as their late-game shooting accuracy fell prey to enthusiasm in a repeat of their first round loss against the Hab 2 Dust Devils.
“We shot very well up to the intermission,” Quasars forward Shivam O’Brian said. “After that we kept up a good pace of attempts with some good looks, but our completions lagged.”
The Hab 3 side held a 33-31 edge at the intermission, but the Pulsars piled on the two-point comets from outside and added to that with quick one-point meteors from inside in front of 307 fans at the Terrace One Arena in Hab 3.
“The second half was all about possession time and accuracy,” Pulsars Captain Jerome Takahashi said. “That gave us more opportunities and added pressure on the Quasars.”
- Deroy Duval, Sports Correspondent.
Calendar
Coprates cat roundup
Don’t make the safety people sad. The Coprates Council warns that all cats must be registered to a resident by Saturday Feb. 4. Save a kitty today. All unregistered cats will be put outside.
WestHill Orange blossom special
Tithonia Farms invites residents to take a tour of the orange orchards to see the trees in bloom. Indulge your eyes and nose. It smells even better than it looks. WestHill Farm Terrace d. Go to Terrace 1 and look for the farm entrance. Saturday Jan. 58
Noctis council to discuss Oudemans' ties
Noctis Council will discuss a proposal to represent Oudemans residents at its Feb. 4 meeting. Postponed from Jan. 44 meeting. Grange Hall Feb. 4 14:00. Council video.
“Kuiper”
Something strange is happening out by Pluto. SciFi adventure Stage 3 Hab 1 Terrace 8, Jan. 56-Feb. 1, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
City Strings
Features an engaging rendition of Pachelbel’s Canon among other selections. Mariners Hall. WestHill Terrace 4. Thursday. Friday 1300, 1600 and 1900.
Dance at the Cubbies
City Residence hosts a weekly dance party outside the Cubbies, or contract worker dormitories Friday, Cubby Terrace at 18:00 Friday. Hab 1 Terrace 3. All resident are welcome.
City Social
Mix and mingle with new arrivals and old hands. Hab 2. Terrace 4, by Tithonia Gardens. Friday 17:00
City Farmer’s Market
Saturday. Stalls available by appointment. Fabrica (Industrial) Tube Terminal Saturday 0900-1500
Geryon Song Share
Acoustic players swap songs. Geryon Agora. Two sessions. Saturday 16:00, 20:00
Coprates Cha-cha
And Rumba. Let’s dance at Schiapparelli Hall. Friday 18:00
Coprates Raas / Garba
Dance troupe takes it to outer space. Schiapparelli Hall. Saturday 16:00
Melas Karaoke
Brush up on all your favorite songs and get ready to sing solo, in groups or just sing to yourself at the Bottom of the Sea cantina. Friday 20:00. Melas.
Marsball Week 6
Hab 2 Dust Devils (1-0) meet the (0-1) Ares Port Orbits. Thursday 20:00 Hab 3 Terrace One Arena
- Merry Grace, lifestyle correspondent
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WELDERS. Experienced welders seeking space yard qualification. Ex-contract only. PONTUS 100 639
PLASMA SPINMASTER Compact fusion designs. CANDOR 286 25120
CONSTRUCTION All specialties. Some outside. Ex-contract only. GERYON 278 68034
APPRENTICES Aquaculture. 8 annos and up. URBS 62128
APPRENTICES Environmental systems. URBS 269 81447
APPRENTICES Construction. Interior. GERYON 278 65689
APPRENTICES Recycling systems. 8 annos and up. IUS 278 98559
APPRENTICES Metal smith, forging, casting, 8 annos (14 years) and up. URBS 269-37728
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BALLROOM DANCING Let's Rumba! URBS 269 49144
BALLET Poise, strength, balance, beauty. Très grands jetés URBS 269 62577
RAAS / GARBA Dance performers for existing troupe. COPRATES 295 45788
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The header photo is the iconic mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars from 2,500 km above the surface taken by the Viking Orbiter. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
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Photomosaic: Viking Orbiter: NASA/JPL-Caltech