Mars Storytelling

The year 2024 was the last peaceful one for Earth. Selfish elites, deceitful "people's leaders," and ignorant dictators had pushed the planet to the brink of catastrophe. For years, shortsighted governments spent more than they could afford, borrowing from future generations. After a series of local conflicts, recessions, and natural disasters, the planet plunged into a deep economic and environmental crisis, threatening humanity's very survival. The initial burst of hope for creating a general artificial intelligence that could solve all problems gave way to disappointment when humanity realized that such a task required unattainable resources. Moreover, the AI that was being developed was increasingly different from human intelligence—something altogether alien. People became divided, and advanced civilization crumbled under the weight of greed, stupidity, and cruelty, signaling the onset of a new Dark Age.

Amid this final collapse of civilization, which everyone had to pay for, some farsighted world leaders, philosophers, businessmen, military personnel, scientists, explorers, and the brightest and most resourceful minds across all ages and nations realized that something had to be done—humanity was heading for extinction. They found each other and united to create a plan for salvation. Eventually, these individuals understood that the accumulated contradictions on Earth were now insoluble, and a long and severe crisis of economics, culture, technology, and humanity was inevitable. A decision was made to use the latest space exploration technologies to build and launch a massive ship for the colonization and terraforming of Mars. It turned out that some billionaires had already secretly been working on methods to explore the solar system for years. This project was named "Juna" and became the hope for preserving humanity's achievements and giving civilization a fresh start.

With society's resources and efforts, a massive spacecraft was built, intended to carry the first few hundred thousand settlers to Mars in 90 days. Additional ships were to be built and launched in the following months and years. Life support systems were designed for two to three months of human occupancy, enough for the journey to Mars on the shortest trajectory. To reduce the fuel required for the flight and carry as much useful cargo and people as possible, engineers proposed using a gravitational maneuver around the Moon, utilizing its gravity to slingshot the ship. However, this maneuver needed to be extremely precise, or the ship would drift into deep space. At the appointed time, the ship launched.

The future colonists understood that in the new world, it wouldn't matter how much wealth, palaces, titles, privileges, or medals they had on Earth. Everyone agreed to start anew, leaving behind their possessions and comforts to bring more people and necessary machines for terraforming. The crew reached a consensus that in the new colony, they would all depend solely on their skills, knowledge, and work ethic, as well as on the mutual support of others. The colonists unanimously voted to build a just society in the new world while maintaining competition among people, their ideas, and their work. Everyone eagerly anticipated the dawn of a new era, full of hope and promise.

However, shortly after reaching low orbit at an altitude of 660 km, the ship collided with space debris—the remnants of a disguised military satellite from one of the collapsed superpowers of the past decade. No one ever discovered whether it was a spy satellite, a strike drone, or a warning and communication system. The fact remained: the impact damaged one of the ship's engines, and the course began to veer off its designated trajectory. Despair set in—it became clear that the ship could not reach its destination. Fragments of the damaged engine broke off and struck other internal and external systems—fuel tanks, antennas, solar panels, and landing systems. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the ship's systems suffered significant damage.

Navigators calculated that while the ship had dramatically deviated from its course, there was still a slim chance of successfully reaching Mars. However, to achieve this, the ship’s systems needed to be repaired, the engines restarted, and the remaining fuel had to be used for an alternate trajectory, requiring several very precise maneuvers through the solar system's gravitational fields. The problem was that these actions would take between 160 to 270 days, and it was unclear how the crew of hundreds of thousands could survive during this time or where they could find materials to repair the ship’s systems.

But the brightest and most resourceful minds from all professions had been gathered aboard the ship for a reason. Quickly, hundreds of ideas were generated on how to ensure the survival of the vessel—hydroponic farms, columns with oxygen-producing bacteria, advanced water and air filtration systems, and 100% waste recycling. Every crew member became a jack-of-all-trades—they had to learn about every aspect of survival, but fortunately, there were experts in every field to guide them! Naturally, each colonist had their own preferences, strengths, and weaknesses—some were better at managing life-support systems, others maintained order, entertained, or cared for children and the elderly. New religions were even founded, new forms of art created, and a financial pyramid scheme emerged selling still-undiscovered territories on Mars’ moons—Phobos and Deimos. Of course, there were also the cunning few who quickly adapted to the new environment and operated on the edge of acceptability.

For a long time, the colonists struggled with the question of where to obtain the metal and rare elements needed to repair the damaged ship. Eventually, a solution came—solar sails for collecting cosmic dust and small debris. The design was simple and safe. Every day, numerous people, equipped in sturdy spacesuits, ventured into the vacuum of space, set up the sails, and then collected the haul. The gathered material was sorted by mineral composition, valuable components were extracted, and used to manufacture parts, electronics, and equipment with the help of automated factories and industrial 3D printers intended for the future colony.

Gradually, the crew began to repair the ship—first the hull, then the solar panels, fuel tanks, and pipes were patched, the engines and electronic systems were restored. The entire crew worked together: some sustained life, others mined minerals, some manufactured parts, others carried out repairs, while others still helped, protected, and rescued people. System by system, section by section, the ship slowly but steadily came back to life. Of course, there were unpleasant surprises, new accidents, and disasters, but there were also good events. The ship started responding to commands again, and it slowly began to maneuver according to the new flight plan. The colonists were saved but still very far from their goal.

The future inhabitants of Mars agreed early on that their society would be democratic, balanced, equal, and market-driven. They took the best aspects of Earth's governance systems and endeavored to create a fair system of power that encouraged creation, cooperation, and integrity. The new colony would be governed wisely—important decisions would go through a multi-stage general voting process, and members of the governing council would rotate periodically. The council would include recognized experts, active citizens, and even a portion of randomly chosen individuals to represent all viewpoints and avoid bias and the concentration of power in one group.

Everyone voted that while the ship was en route to Mars, each crew member’s work would be rewarded. For every unit of metal or food delivered to the ship’s storage, they would receive credits. These J-credits (JC or J-C’s, as they came to be called) became the universal currency on the ship—people traded with them for goods and services, and they became a measure of each individual’s usefulness. The crew decided that the J-credits earned during the journey would be exchanged for a portion of resources, equipment, and materials needed to establish the new colony once they landed on Mars. This way, everyone would receive a starting capital based on how much they had contributed during the flight. People started working—some worked more, some less, some struck profitable deals, while others helped others selflessly, and still others exploited deceit.

The payment system on the ship was designed by experienced economists, financiers, lawyers, and entrepreneurs. It was a trial version of the future colony's financial system and allowed for reliable transactions, guaranteed by special crew members known as arbitrators. The arbitrators were independent, resolving disputes by considering various factors—cultural, legal, and economic differences, since the crew consisted of representatives and groups from nearly every nation and social class on Earth.

The ship embarked on its new trajectory, and while the colonists were adjusting to their new reality, they understood that it would take half a year and several planetary and lunar maneuvers to reach their destination. The ship would have to perform a final gravitational slingshot around Venus, using its gravity to correct course toward Mars, near which they would need to enter the planet's gravitational well and slowly spiral down to a landing. Repairs continued throughout the journey, but not only that. Some of the resources gathered during the voyage were being stockpiled and would improve the starting conditions when building the new colony. The more metal and food that was collected during the trip, the more resources each colonist would receive upon landing, exchanged for the earned JC.

The crew could trade their earned JC for various tools and upgrades, allowing them to gather resources more efficiently. Those working on food and oxygen production opted for additional hydroponic modules to increase crop yields or powerful lamps to accelerate the growth of genetically modified plants. This allowed for more biomass to be harvested in larger volumes. Space miners purchased extensions for the dust-catching sails, which increased the speed of mineral collection. To process larger batches of valuable elements, they exchanged JC for additional modules for automated separators, stacking entire rows of these autonomous modular devices in the industrial sections.

To encourage people towards universalism, mutual assistance, and cooperation, the ship's crew decided that JC credits would only be awarded for food and metal delivered together. This decision led to numerous forms of mutually beneficial cooperation: some spent part of their time mining metal and part growing food, while others specialized in one and bought the missing resource from their colleagues using JC credits. Some focused solely on trade, making profitable deals or, conversely, losing their hard-earned resources and credits. To facilitate resource exchanges among the crew, clever and resourceful entrepreneurs launched an underground logistics network: thousands of genetically modified giant rats, trained to carry containers, ran through ventilation ducts and technical corridors, delivering cargo. This network was called RASCO—RatRace Shipping Company—and it charged hefty fees for its services.

An alternative to RASCO was directly connecting one's cryptocurrency wallet to the financial system. This method was more complex and technology-driven but allowed for faster and more profitable resource exchanges. Using a smartphone or terminal, a user could join the financial system of the Juna spacecraft and interact with other crew members. This technology was based on blockchain concepts and the free messenger Telegram, which was once popular but later banned by nearly all governments. Of course, the user had to understand what a cryptocurrency wallet was and how to use it, but the technology was constantly simplified, making it accessible to everyone.

During the flight, the crew bonded and became ready for the next challenges—building the colony and continuing humanity's progress. Even previously irreconcilable enemies formed friendships, such as a former dictator of a small communist country, a well-known American showman-developer and beauty pageant producer, the president of a major computer company, and thousands of others with opposing views, aspirations, and ideals. Back on Earth, they were united by the realization that humanity's future was more important than momentary differences. Diversity took on new colors, as people formed parties, societies, and groups, argued, conflicted, and competed. The main rule that everyone agreed on was to prevent harm to the future—to the people who were all together and individually the hope, to the ship that carried them all, and to the future colony.

After the allotted time and not without some adventures during the journey, the Juna spacecraft landed on the surface of Mars. The first colony was also named Juna in honor of the ship. The crew began building residential, industrial, scientific, agricultural, and medical blocks, using the ship's structures, the resources and equipment they had brought, as well as metals and food gathered during the flight. Some resources were distributed among the colonists in proportion to the J-credits they had earned. Some used these to start their own businesses, some deposited them in the planetary bank, others donated them to various colony development projects, and some simply saved them and went into hibernation for a few years, eager to see how the colony would develop during that time.

Over time, the Juna colony grew into the first major city on Mars. The governance system, conflict resolution strategies, and economic model devised during the flight evolved and became a successful foundation for survival, planet terraforming, and societal prosperity. Later, more ships arrived with new colonists who joined the Juna society, enriching it with their talents, experience, labor, and stories. Where would this society go from here? Perhaps it would finally create a humanitarian artificial superintelligence, or maybe it would find a way to expand to other planets and stars, or perhaps it would fall into conflict and ignorance like their predecessors. Time would tell.

Whatever happens next with Earth, humanity, technology, the Juna spacecraft, and the first colony on Mars, it is dreams and ideas that drive people. The idea of justice, the dream of equality, stands in opposition to the essence of our world—competition, evolution, and the struggle for resources. No matter how humble the beginning of this new stage in humanity's life, it is inevitable. And it will depend on ideas whether this stage will be a step into darkness or a leap toward the stars. Who knows, maybe by collecting metal and food in a new game on your smartphone and studying the concept of a new economy, you're slowly preparing yourself to take part in the first expedition to Mars?