Before reading this post, it helps to read the previous ones: Martian Humanity #1 - The Beginning of History Martian Humanity #2 - Land of Opportunity Martian Humanity #3 - Seeds of Conflict Martian Humanity #4 - Declaration of War Martian Humanity #5 - The Thousand-Day War Martian Humanity #6 - Ceasefire 7. The Hour of Destiny For seven centuries after the Thousand-Day War, Mars and Earth went through difficult times. From Mars’s perspective, it was a fortunate time; from Earth’s, it was a regrettable one. It was, perhaps, the time during which their respective destinies were completed. ...

It’s been over six months since we left Earth. A few years ago, after the Earth Alliance declared war on Mars, the fleet that set out for the Mars assault was apparently turned to ash in space before even reaching Mars’s vicinity. It took roughly another year to hastily organize a second assault fleet, smaller than the first. We launched again — but the result was poor once more. The fact that three ships, including ours, survived suggests the rumor that Deimos space base was running low on missiles is true. ...

Before reading this post, it helps to read the previous ones: Martian Humanity #1 - The Beginning of History Martian Humanity #2 - Land of Opportunity Martian Humanity #3 - Seeds of Conflict Martian Humanity #4 - Declaration of War Martian Humanity #5 - The Thousand-Day War 6. The Counterstrike The second attack came from Mars. Five nuclear missiles — originally designed to intercept asteroids and stationed at the Martian space base — were launched. But this attack was different from Earth’s first strike. Mars’s nuclear missiles, riding the Sun’s gravitational pull, reached the lunar base in just one month. The Moon, which had no laser interception system, had no way to defend against them. Of the five missiles, three were shot down by missiles already loaded on spacecraft preparing to attack Mars; one collided with a spacecraft and detonated above the Moon; and one detonated in a location entirely unrelated to the lunar base. Although Earth’s military suffered no critical damage, the shock was enormous. As a result, the lunar base was hastily put on wartime footing, and defensive systems were urgently constructed. ...

Before reading this post, it helps to read the previous ones: Martian Humanity #1 - The Beginning of History Martian Humanity #2 - Land of Opportunity Martian Humanity #3 - Seeds of Conflict Martian Humanity #4 - Declaration of War 5. The Thousand-Day War The reality of the war between Earth and Mars looked like this: the only nation on Earth with a Space Force was, at this point, still the United States. And Mars had no military. Yet half of the U.S. Space Force was stationed at the Mars base. It looked like David versus Goliath, but in practice it was more like two neighborhood kids in a fistfight. ...

In the year 2323 AD, the space elevator connecting “Phobos” — Mars’s moon — to the Martian surface was completed. From then on, people migrating to Mars descended via the terminal on Phobos. Our family has just boarded the elevator at the terminal, on our way down to Mars. We will arrive on the surface soon. GFDL permission granted by Liftport (www.liftport.com) As the elevator began its descent, I gradually started to feel gravity again. After nearly a year in zero gravity, it was a wonderfully welcome sensation. But it didn’t feel as heavy as Earth. I’m going to be living like this from now on — will I be able to manage? Beside me, my young son sleeps peacefully in my wife’s arms. My wife’s expression is tense — she must be feeling anxious. ...

Before reading this post, it helps to read the previous ones: Martian Humanity #1 - The Beginning of History *Martian Humanity #2 - Land of Opportunity* *Martian Humanity #3 - Seeds of Conflict* 4. Declaration of War The United States, which led the early development of Mars, did not restrict participation by other nations but demanded contribution fees from those joining. From the U.S. perspective — having taken on the entire terraforming effort — this was a natural demand, and no country was in a position to refuse, given that the U.S. controlled nearly all of Mars’s infrastructure. The trouble began with what came after. ...

Before reading this post, it helps to read the previous one: Martian Humanity #1 - The Beginning of History 2. Land of Opportunity Mars — humanity’s second home. The average temperature near the equator is about 5°C, and just outside the residential zones lies barren wasteland with not a blade of grass in sight. Mars’s gravity is only one-third of Earth’s, and the atmosphere still has high CO2 concentrations, so Martian residents typically wear protective suits that assist with daily activity. Experts say that for humans to breathe on Mars without protective gear, another ten centuries will need to pass. Mars is still desolate, unattractive, and inconvenient. ...

1. The Beginning of History In the early 21st century, humanity finally set foot on Mars. The colonization of Mars carries even greater meaning than being the third manned planet after Earth and the Moon — it represents humanity’s stepping stone to becoming a true space-faring species, and our second home. The method humanity chose for living beyond Earth was neither building rows of space colonies in orbit and packing in like sardines, nor papering the lunar surface with elaborate space bases. Instead, we chose to transform the planet most similar to Earth — Mars — to make it even more Earth-like. In the 21st century, humanity began the “terraforming” of Mars. ...