Project Lucky 13: The Location

Introduction

Locations are generally the backdrop where the story is set in, the "stage" if you like. For Project Lucky 13, I have opted for the red planet. Yes, I know that Mars seems to be the de facto other planet where writers set their science fiction stories on. While I'm not in the same league as Ben Bova, Kim Stanley Robinson and Gregory Benford (amongst others), I've had a fascination with Mars and had always wanted to write a bunch of stories centering on people living on Mars.

Background

So, let's look at the basics:

Mars is the fourth planet in our Solar System, and named after the Roman god of war. It's "Red Planet" nicknamed is derived from the iron oxide that is prevalent on its surface, which gives it a reddish appearance. Accordingly, it is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth. The rotational period and seasonal cycles of Mars are likewise similar to those of Earth, as is the tilt that produces the seasons.

Until the first unmanned flyby of Mars occurring in 1965, there has been speculation about the presence of war, and even life. But follow on missions suggested that Mars once had large-scale water coverage on its surface, while small geyser-like water flows may have occurred during the past decade. Of course, recent unmanned exploration of the red planet, as early as 2005, radar data revealed the presence of large quantities of water ice at the poles, and at mid-latitudes.

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Martian Trojan asteroid. Mars is currently host to three functional orbiting spacecraft:

Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. On the surface are the two Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) and several inert landers and rovers, both successful and unsuccessful. The Phoenix lander completed its mission on the surface in 2008. Observations by NASA's now-defunct Mars Global Surveyor show evidence that parts of the southern polar ice cap have been receding. (quoted from Wikipedia)

I think one of the reasons why many a writer chose Mars as a setting is because it can easily be seen from Earth with the naked eye. Its apparent magnitude reaches −3.0, a brightness surpassed only by Venus, the Moon, and the Sun. And let's face it, Mars has some pretty impressive landscape to boot. It has Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain within the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon. The smooth Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant impact feature. It's practically inviting itself to be used as a setting.

In The Project

So, how does this fit Project Lucky 13, you ask?

Easy.

A large chunk of the story will revolve in and around Valles Marineris, the longest stretch of canyons and labyrinths. It is roughly the same length as the continental United States, and has a number of craters and chasms. It and the Noctus Labyrinthus are notable locations within a fictional colonial territory I named Nueva Venezuela.

Nueva Venezuela and Karamchand

While a lot of it's still sketchy to say the least, and I need to create a more detailed fictional history for both, both colonial territories started of independent of each other. Karamchand, which centers around Olympus Mons and the Tharsis Bulge, started predominantly of as a collaborative project between the Indian government and several corporations in the 2050s. In turn, Nueva Venezuela started of as a dream of the Venezuelan mission commander that landed on the red planet in 2047. It eventually grew with continued financial backing from European, Latin League and NorSec interests.

By the time the story starts in 2202 and 2206, both territories are self governing extensions of NorSec. Naturally, there are other colonial territories controlled by other Earth-based power blocs and administered by a U.N. agency. Hopefully, I'll enlighten you on them in a follow up post.