Al Steiner: Greenies

"If we do not negotiate now, from a position of strength, WestHem is going to send more troops here and forcibly take Mars back from those who fought so hard to keep it. They are going to take over the labor rolls again and cut everything to the bare minimum, bringing us back to the unemployment levels we had before. They are going to sever the ties we recently established with EastHem and force us back into the monopoly of buying only their coffee, only their alcohol, only their tobacco. Did we sacrifice so much these past months just to have it all taken away from us? Just to subject ourselves to occupation by the very WestHem marines we just ejected from this place?

"I say that is not an acceptable answer. We are in the position of strength now and it is time to start negotiating an acceptable peace with WestHem. We can give them back their corporate holdings but regulate how they are allowed to run them on Mars. We can keep our government intact and insure that the majority of this planet's wealth stays here. This is the only answer, people. Becoming a communistic, isolated planet that does not accept WestHem money for the goods we provide is Governor Whiting's way. Being realistic in our goals and ambitions is my way. Now I want to know what you, the Martian people, think about all of this.

"We must pick one path or the other and we must do it soon. For this reason I am challenging Governor Whiting to put our respective ideologies to a vote. I suggest we schedule it for the second Tuesday in January. The question will be a simple one. Do we remain committed to complete independence — which would entail fighting for this planet's freedom again and again until the WestHems either give up or defeat us — or do we open negotiations for the peaceful reconciliation of our two planets in such a way that guarantees us de facto independence?

"I'm awaiting Governor Whiting's reply."

He ended the press conference a moment later, not staying to answer questions.

Laura Whiting's reply was an angry one.

"Did we not already vote on this?" she asked the public the next day. "In the very beginning, after the MPG secured this planet from WestHem, we voted on this issue. I don't think the wording of that particular ballet was ambiguous in any way. It read: Will the Planet of Mars declare independence from the Federal Alliance of the Western Hemisphere and enforce this declaration by any means available? Yes or no. The vote was overwhelmingly 'yes'. We did not vote for 'de facto independence'. Our soldiers did not fight and die for 'de facto independence'. Jack Strough is trying to divide this planet at a time when we most need to be unified."

But Jack Strough remained persistent in his insistence on a new vote. The other labor union heads in his federation — of all whom had long been on record as opposing Martian independence — added their voices to his. They bombarded their members with emails, speeches, and video files, stating their position over and over. Eventually much of the blue-collar work force began to respond to their words, began to believe that maybe Jack Strough's way really was the better way. These workers began to send emails to Laura Whiting and the legislature demanding that the vote take place "in the interests of all Martians".

"Things have changed," was the most common quote in these emails — a quote supplied to them by Strough and the other labor heads. "We have achieved the respect we were looking for and can regulate our own destiny now. There is no more need for bloody battles out in the wastelands to keep corporate influence minimized. Now is the time for good old-fashioned diplomacy and negotiation to have its turn."

Interestingly enough, the MPG soldiers who had actually fought the WestHems were almost unanimously opposed to the vote or to settling for anything other than complete autonomy from WestHem.

"Those fuckin' factory workers, agricultural workers, miners, and dock workers are trying to throw away everything we just fought for," Jeff Creek complained to Belinda and Xenia one night. "And they're doing it in our name! They want to throw everything away so that we in the MPG don't have to fight the WestHems anymore? Bring those fuckin' marines on, I say! Bring 'em the fuck on!"

But the MPG, as popular as it was among the Martian populace, was outnumbered by the blue-collar workers by more than fifty to one. Their voice was not powerful enough to be heard, their vote unimportant to people such as Jack Strough. Eventually, Laura Whiting was forced to call another special election, scheduled — as requested by Strough — for the second Tuesday in January. The wording of the ballet was simple and straightforward. The voter was asked to make one of two choices.

The first read: I wish for Mars to remain an autonomous and independent planet, free of all WestHem influence and control, and that we will use any means at our disposal, including the use of our armed forces, to keep this planet out of WestHem hands .

The second read: I wish for Mars to be reconciled with WestHem on Martian terms and authorize immediate negotiation by a committee of government representatives and organized labor representatives with WestHem authorities to bring about such a reconciliation.

Golden Tower Housing Complex, New Pittsburgh

January 3, 2147

0255 hours.

The buzzing of his Internet terminal awoke General Jackson from the fitful sleep he'd been engaged in. He pulled himself out of bed, grumbling under his breath, and walked naked to the terminal, seeing that the call was from Captain Warren, the head of Laura Whiting's security detail (which had been reduced to little more than a surveillance detail since the governor refused to have anyone guard her anymore).

Jackson sighed and told the computer to answer. Warren's worried face appeared. "Sorry to wake you, General," he said.

"That's okay," Jackson said. "Where is she now?"

"She's on a train to Eden," Warren said. "She boarded the red-eye less than an hour ago. One of the men I have following her managed to make it on board with her. He reports she's talking to the passengers that are awake, telling them why they should vote for continued independence."

"Eden?" he said, looking up at the ceiling. "What in the hell is she doing now?"

"We looked through the planner on her computer," Warren said. "Apparently she's going to meet personally with members of the Agricultural Workers union as they go on shift in the morning. She's alerted MarsGroup so they can have a crew down at the deployment docks for the morning shift."

"Damn that woman," he said. "She's going to give me a fucking ulcer yet. Is it public knowledge what she's doing?"

"Not as far as I can tell," Warren said. "It sounds just like the same deal as with the miners and the manufacturing union members she met with here in NP."

He nodded. "Very well," he said. "See if you can scare up a few special forces members from Eden to go in plain clothes and keep an eye on things. That's about all we can do."

"Right, General," Warren promised. "I'll get right on it."

Warren signed off and Jackson, knowing that further sleep would be impossible, got up and walked to his pantry. He opened it and removed a small box full of Agricorp Greenbud. He walked to one of the kitchen cabinets and removed an electric bong. He filled it with fresh water, cut a slice of lemon and dropped it into the water, and then carried it to the seat by his window, which looked out over two other housing buildings. He took a few hits and tried to relax, his mind spinning with worry over several different things.

The vote was only a week away. It was anyone's call how it would turn out. Jack Strough, in the tradition of WestHem special interests dating back to the late twentieth century, had used a large portion of his organization's available funding (which came from the dues paid by the workers) to produce slickly done commercials touting his side of the ballet issue and then buying up hundreds of hours on every MarsGroup Internet channel to air these commercials. Jackson had seen many of these productions personally. One could hardly turn on any show on MarsGroup without seeing one at every break.