Chapter 1,285 History of Mars Colonization

"...Jenny Karim, a former New York Times war correspondent, won the Pulitzer Prize for a report on chemical weapons in Iraq. In 2018, she signed up to participate in NASA's astronaut training program, originally as a mission to the moon. Astronauts trained and later became the Ares crew as the moon landing program was delayed.”

Sitting in the office of the Future Man Building, Ayesha looked at the report in her hand.

Standing in front of her desk was Zhu Yu, director of the Domestic Counterintelligence Office, who was reporting to her on the investigation results of the leak.

"She may have received training from the CIA when she served as a war correspondent in Iraq. According to the intelligence collected by Bernice in the United States, there is evidence that the CIA, FBI and other intelligence agencies have used a special document issued by the White House to investigate Some war correspondents and diplomats have conducted counter-investigation training to prepare for possible hostage crises.”

"Is she from the CIA?" Ayesha looked at Zhu Yu and asked.

"Unlikely," Zhu Yu shook her head, "but we have reason to believe that the Americans have received the signal she sent."

The number 071 alone cannot reveal any valuable information. The only thing that worries Ayesha is that Americans may make some wild associations based on the news from the previous period.

Looking at Aisha who was deep in thought, Zhu Yu then spoke.

"Currently, we have sent an inquiry letter to the Halo Trade and Space Department. According to Kerwin's reply, they ordered the control of the personnel involved as soon as they received the email... and punished those responsible for supervising her. Investigator?"

There are no ghost agents on the Mars colony. The people responsible for monitoring the Americans are investigators from the Star Circle Trade Army Intelligence Division, not professional intelligence personnel. He may understand Morse code, but he has never associated Morse code with the frequency of blinking, and it is even less likely that the subject under surveillance would transmit sensitive information through blinking.

To be able to notice such details in a real-time communication scene, even if he is not at the level of Sherlock Holmes, he must be half as powerful as a Shinigami elementary school student. Zhu Yu asked herself, even if she stood in that position, she couldn't have done better. Like the FBI, they also discovered the problem in countless replays.

But discipline is discipline. Whoever has a problem should be responsible for it. There is no excuse for this.

"The people involved will be dealt with by Starlink Trading in accordance with military regulations, and we will not interfere." Ayesha tapped the document with her slender index finger. After pondering for a moment, Ayesha said, "From next time Begin to terminate the provision of real-time communication services to stranded American astronauts and switch to delayed video transmission.”

"in addition,

All videos, whether entering or leaving the colony, must be double-checked by ghost agents and the Halo Army Intelligence Division. No matter where problems are found, the person involved will immediately be disqualified from contacting his family members. It is better to kill by mistake than to let go. "

"Yes." Zhu Yu stood at attention and said.

"Finally," after a pause, Ayesha continued, "send a veritaserum to the Mars colony. I'm curious as to where she heard the three numbers 071."

…

The end of the world, in the villa.

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Lilith followed Jiang Chen's request and told him about the history of pan-Asian cooperation in colonizing Mars.

"The Mars landing plan can be traced back to the mid-21st century. At that time, the three major forces of the Soviet Union, NATO, and Pan-Asian had successfully sent astronauts to the surface of Mars. However, the Mars scientific research station of Pan-Asian cooperation was not launched in the 22nd century. It was the beginning. At that time, NATO took the lead in announcing the launch of the Mars colonization plan and successfully hovered a 500,000-ton research ship in the Mars synchronous orbit. The Pan-Asian Parliament immediately issued plans to colonize Mars to more than 20 scientific research institutions including the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Relevant scientific research tasks eventually led to the establishment of the first Mars colony in 2110..."

"Wait a minute, didn't I remember that the three major forces didn't establish a Mars colony?" Jiang Chen frowned, interrupting Lilith's words.

"For political reasons," Lilith shrugged, "all countries are condemning each other's colonial behavior and emphasizing that outer space resources are shared by all mankind. Of course, it is impossible to slap oneself in the face. The official names of all colonies are so-and-so Scientific research stations. According to the information recorded in my database, by 2120, in less than ten years, the number of Mars 'scientific research stations' owned by the Pan-Asian Cooperation with a population of more than 1,000 has grown to more than 20. "

Hearing this number, Jiang Chen couldn't help but gasped.

As the chairman of Star Circle Trading, probably no one knows better than him how expensive a Mars colony is. Even with his financial resources, the budget report sent from the Mars colony would be a pain in the ass.

By building more than 20 Mars colonies without realizing any profits, the Pan-Asian cooperation at that time would have lost one space elevator in a year.

But even though he said that, Jiang Chen couldn't understand their behavior.

To give a popular example, it’s like Papa Taxi and Bibi Taxi competing for business. In the beginning, everyone operated at a loss, losing money desperately and competing for market share. Perhaps the top leaders of Pan-Asian Cooperation also know that building a Mars colony will definitely result in a loss of one, but no one wants to wait for the Mars colony to become "profitable" like the lunar colony, but their own country's enterprises will lose at the starting line.

Regardless of whether it's useful or not, send the people over first and occupy the place!

In comparison, Star Ring Trade is extremely lucky. Entering the era of Mars colonization a century in advance, the entire world cannot find a decent competitor and has enough time and space to develop the entire "market" rationally.

"In other words, the major forces didn't just build one research station on Mars? They built dozens of them? And each research station is actually a colony that is selling sheep over dogs?" Jiang Chen asked road.

"That's right." Lilith nodded, "This has been the case since the early 22nd century."

"But why was there no news about all the colonies later?" Lin Ling, who was sitting next to Jiang Chen, frowned and muttered in confusion, "In my impression, there are no reports about the colonies at all."

"This is easy to explain. You were born in the 1950s, right?" Lilith asked.

"That's right." Lin Ling nodded.

"Then you should have heard of the economic crisis in 2150."

This time even Jiang Chen nodded.

As early as when he first arrived at the end of the world, he learned about the economic crisis, which was generally considered to be the root cause of the outbreak of the world war in 2171. (Note: If you forget the plot, you can go back and read Chapter 2)

"In the recorded history of my database, as of 2149, the number of Pan-Asian cooperative Mars scientific research stations has reached 41, and the Soviet Union and NATO have almost the same number. When the economic crisis broke out, countries were no longer able to maintain these bottomless pits. Therefore, the Houston Convention was signed in 2150. In addition to delineating the territory of Mars, it also reduced their respective colonies...or scientific research stations to 15."

"But that doesn't explain why I haven't heard of those scientific research stations at all, right?" Lin Ling frowned.

"Of course it can be explained," Lilith said, looking at Jiang Chen, "because this involves another issue, about the colony itself, and about the Gaia civilization you mentioned."