Glossary of terms and concepts used in the Mars trilogy.

For a list of groups, organizations and political parties see here.

A

Accelerando: the new renaissance at the end of the 22nd century.

Aerobraking: a manoeuvre to decelerate spacecraft when they enter a planetary body’s orbit by flying the craft in close proximity of the planet’s atmosphere. The resulting air friction reduces the craft’s speed. “Aero-” is Greek for air.

Areoformation: term first used by John Boone to describe the process by which humans are changed by Mars after their arrival on the planet. Portmanteau of “Ares” (Greek for Mars) and “transformation”. As opposed to terraformation.

Areology: the study of Mars, or Martian geology. Areological eras:

• Noachian (planet formation and Big Hit)
• Hesperian (warm and wet)
• Amazonian (cold and windy)
• Holocene (inhabited period)

First three eras named after Martian regions; holocene (meaning “entirely new” in Greek) is also the current geological period for Earth.

Areophany

Ares: meaning “Mars” in Greek. The prefix “areo-” is added to many words to designate their special use on Mars, often replacing the prefix “geo-” for Earth (“areosynchronous orbit”, “areology”).

• The Ares: The spaceship the First Hundred used to travel to Mars. Main article.

Amor asteroid: water/ice asteroids.

• Asteroid Amor 2051B: the asteroid that was moved into Mars space and melt over Mars’s atmosphere in M-15, during the festivity in Crater Zp (Olympus Mons).

Astroturf: artificial ground used to cover Martian terrain in the early domed cities.

Ataturkism: political ideology named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), the first president of Turkey after the Ottoman Empire, who introduced many dramatic reforms seeking to secularize Turkey and emphasize European culture over that of the former Ottoman Empire. John Boone’s vision of a novel indigenous Martian culture created out of the Terran cultures was accused by some to be a form of Ataturkism; in particular Arabs and Zeyk Tuqan feared that their culture would be attacked while others promoted.

Azania: ex-South Africa, after 2061.

B

Biotique: Praxis affiliate specialized in biological engineering that grew to a separate political party. Represented at the Pavonis constitutional congress. Sax Russell worked in it as Stephen Lindholm.

Bulkheads: molecule-thick clear curtains used to fix tent fabric punctures.

C

Clarke: Space station. Main article.

Common Band: radio frequency used by all colonists during suited off-tent walks.

D

Deimos: Mars’s moon. Main article.

The Demimonde

Dome: A hollow hemisphere in architecture. In Martian settlements, a clear fabric of resistant material that is used to cover large surfaces in airtight pressurized bubbles.

Domed city: see Tented city.

Dorsa Brevia Conference: Main article.

Duma: branch of the Martian government established in the Pavonis Mons Congress constitution, named after its Russian counterpart. See Martian government.

E

Eco-economics: alternative economy system developed by Vlad Taneev and Marina Tokareva.

Ecopoesis: areobiospheres.

Ectogene

Executive council: branch of the Martian government established in the Pavonis Mons Congress constitution. See Martian government.

F

First Hundred Band: radio frequency exclusively used and known by the First Hundred.

First Martian Revolution: Main article.

G

Gift economy: supplementary economic system used in the Martian underground based on a nitrogen standard.

Global Environmental Court (GEC): branch of the Martian government established in the Pavonis Mons Congress constitution. See Martian government.

The Great Flood

H

I

Issei: meaning “first generation” in Japanese. Refers to the first generation of settlers on Mars, the original colonists, including the First Hundred.

J

The Journal of Areological Studies: respected scientific magazine with Red views. Its editorial board was represented at the Pavonis constitutional congress.

K

Ka: the name the legendary Martian natives. Main article.

Korea: appearently a union of both North & South into one country.

L

Longevity treatment: Main article.

Luna: Common name for the Moon, Earth’s natural satellite.

M

M-year: a Martian year, which lasts 687 Terran days. See Martian calendar.

Mangalavid TV: the Martian Television. Based in South Fossa. Portmanteau of “Mangala” (“Mars” in Hindi) and Latin “video”.

Mars: Main article.

Mars Treaty

Martian calendar: Main article.

Metanationals: private giga-corporations that became the new Terran order following the third World War. Main article.

Mohole: great cylindrical excavation, artificial shaft created for mining and thermal purposes. Main article.

N

Nisei: “second generation” in Japanese. Refers to the original colonists’ children, the first generation of native Martians.

Novy Mir: Second Russian Space Station after Mir, in the beginning of the 21st century. Meaning “new world”, or “new truth”.

Novy Pravda: Russian media group, following the Soviet Pravda. Meaning “new truth”.

O

Omegendorph: drug designed in Acheron by Vlad Taneev’s medical group in the 2030-2040s. A synthetic mix of all the endorphins and opiates found in the brain’s natural chemistry processed into capsules. Provide an analgesic effect and a sensation of well-being, the best feel-good drug imaginable. John Boone was a great consumer of omegendorphs to the point of addiction.

Ouroboros: Praxis affiliate specialized in resource recovery. Operated two large robots, the “Beasts”, that reprocessed the material of the fallen cable of the first space elevator. Art Randolph used it as an entry to Mars from which he was contacted by the underground. Means “a being that eats its own tail” in Greek, a mythological snake.

P

Pandorph

Pavonis Mons Congress: Main article.

Phobos: Mars’s moon. Main article.

Pulsed fusion: type of spaceship propulsion streamlined in the second half of the 22nd century. Spheres of deuterium and helium-3 of 1 cm of radius are struck by laser, implode, and are directed by electromagnetic field and mirrors outside of the reactor. The entire solar system became as big as 19th century Europe with the steam train in terms of travel times. This revolutionized space travel and allowed the Accelerando and travel outside the solar system.

Q

Qahiran Mahjaris: Arab for “Martian Arabs”. Represented at the Pavonis constitutional congress.

R

Rickover: type of a compact nuclear fission reactor developed by the United States Navy for use by the First Hundred on Mars, and later widely used in Martian settlements. It was presumably named after Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, who is commonly known as the father of the Nuclear Navy for his efforts to establish nuclear marine propulsion in Navy ships. Arkady Bogdanov was the most vocal against using the reactors, but the need for a greater energy supply and lack of another readily available source overrode any concerns of safety and aesthetics. The hidden colony at Zygote was eventually able to build their own Rickover, presumably with spare and stolen parts from the surface colonies.

Russell cocktail: cocktail of greenhouse gases that was instrumental in terraforming. First created by Sax Russell. Mainly based on fluoride derivates.

S

Sansei: “third generation” in Japanese. Refers to the original colonists’ grand-children, the second generation of native Martians.

Second Martian Revolution: Main article.

Semantic rectangle: structuralist schema on which Michel Duval based a categorization of characters.

Senate: branch of the Martian government established in the Pavonis Mons Congress constitution. See Martian government.

Shikata ga nai: Japanese expression for “there is no other choice”, phrase used by Hiroko Ai later often used among the First Hundred.

Solar Lens: floating lens concentrating sunlight on the Martian surface. See Soletta.

Solar system: Main article.

Soletta: large mirror focusing sunlight on Mars. Main article.

Space elevator: Main article.

Spasspolizei: In Mercury, Terminator’s local law enforcement.

T

Tented city: form of city that was common in the 21st century.

Terra: common name for Earth. Main article.

Terraforming: the process of making a planet Earth-like. Main article.

Third Martian Revolution: Main article.

Timeslip: the time period between 12:00 am and 12:01 am Martian time, lasting some 39 min 40 sec. This is a convention so that a Martian day, which lasts that much longer than a Terran day, can be timed with the 24-hour Terran system. Named after Philip K. Dick’s novel “The Martian Time-Slip” (1964). See Martian calendar.

Transnationals: giant private corporations that ruled the Earth economy during most of the 21st century (often shortened to ‘transnats’). Main article.

U

V

Vega: presumably an asteroid brought in Martian orbit to serve as a communications satellite prior to 2061.

Viriditas: meaning “greening force” in Latin. Basic concept of Areophany.

W

Werteswandel: meaning “mutation of values” in German. Term used by the Martians after the Second Martian Revolution.

World Court: Organization resembling the UNO, essentially initiated by Praxis after the Great Flood of 2126. Aims at solving problems between metanationals. Faintly respected or recognized as legitimate by the other metanationals.

World War Three

X

Y

Yonsei: “fourth generation” in Japanese. Refers to the original colonists’ great-grand-children, the third generation of native Martians.

Z

The Second Martian Revolution happened in 2127, simultaneously with the Great Flood on Terra. With this global revolution, Mars successfully acquired independence from Terra.

The causes and the preparation

Since none of the issues that caused the First Martian Revolution had been resolved, the Second Revolution had similar causes.

• Desire to be independent from Terra.
• Transnational/metanational rule over Martian affairs.
• Disregard of the Martian environment by the transnationals.
• General incompatibility of the life style provided by the transnational system with the precepts commonly agreed upon by the Martian underground in the Dorsa Brevia Declaration.

The underground meticulously prepared this revolution. Of outmost importance was not to begin the revolution too early; coordinators had the task to moderate premature revolutionary movements. The principal organizers were Maya Toitovna, Nadia Cherneshevsky, Sax Russell, Nirgal and Jackie.

The revolution

The revolution began when news came from Terra of a major volcanic eruption in Antarctica which, in addition to two centuries worth of global warming, had destabilised the West Antarctic icesheet and caused most of it to collapse into the ocean. This would result in a global sea level rise of about seven metres, much of which would occur within as little as a few days. The ensuing flooding of every coastline in the world would greatly disrupt Terran affairs. The rebels took advantage of this diversion to start mass demonstrations on the streets of Martian towns.

Much of the retaliation capabilities of UNTA and transnational forces were destroyed by a barrage of ground-to-space rockets created by Sax’s team in Da Vinci. This gave the Martian revolutionaries unprecedented freedom to manoeuvre in combating transnational forces on the ground. Security forces in many cities, suddenly lacking the threat of an orbital bombardment to maintain control over the Martian populace, quickly lost their authority across much of the planet.

Unlike the disorganised chaos of the first Martian revolution, the second unfolded with much less (though still considerable) bloodshed due to the fairly tight-knit organisation of the Martian underground. The first town to be liberated was Underhill, the original settlement of the first hundred, and occurred without any actual fighting. It began when a large crowd of armed protestors surrounded the local metanat security officials who were then given the choice by Nadia Cherneshevsky of either joining the revolution right then and there, or leaving peacefully in a train to Sheffield. They chose the latter option. A similar tactic was used by revolutionary groups all over Mars.

Within days most of Mars’s settlements had been liberated, usually peacefully. Most of the Elysium region including its large towns of South Fossa, Hephaestus and Elysium Fossa declared their support for a free Mars. Senzeni Na, Korolyov, Nicosia and most of the Hellas region including Odessa likewise fell into the hands of various rebel groups and before long most metanational police forces had withdrawn back to the planet’s two largest cities, Burroughs and Sheffield, and several other towns such as Cairo, Lasswitz and Sudbury.

Also during these first few days of the revolution the rebels, under Sax’s guidance, lit a bushfire upwind of Kasei Vallis where the most secure metanat security compounds on Mars were located. Over the last few years Sax had overseen the releasing of certain strains of bacteria on Mars to excessively increase the oxygen content of the Martian atmosphere to facilitate just this attack, and the metanat compounds were soon destroyed in the subsequent inferno. Upon seeing Nadia’s shock at this action Sax justified it by saying “this was the training site for all their secret police. The ones who would never give up. The torturers. We’re better off without them.”

A setback then occurred in Sabishii, previously the largest non metanat-dominated city on Mars. A several-hundred strong UNTA expeditionary force that had previously been scouring the southern highlands for rebel hideouts attacked the city on their journey back north towards the main contested areas. While the surface portion of the city was taken in a bitter all-night fight with the local red guerrillas, the UNTA forces quickly decided their position there was untenable due to the extent of the underground maze beneath Sabishii, which they found they could not secure. They continued northward to Burroughs.

The situation in Burroughs, then the largest city on Mars with a population of some 200,000 people and recently swollen by refugees and security forces fleeing from neighbouring towns, quickly turned into a stalemate. The situation changed dramatically during a fight between security forces and the Kakaze which resulted in the breaking of the major dam north of the city which had been built to protect Burroughs from the growing sea (then still mainly composed of ice) forming across the Vastitas Borealis basin in Mars’s northern hemisphere as the planet was terraformed.

Within hours the security forces had abandoned the doomed city and flown to Sheffield while the Martian rebels had to evacuate the population, mainly by foot, to Libya train station some 70km to the south. This was only made possible by Sax Russell and his team having previously created some half a million emergency breathing masks, designed to filter out CO2, just in case of such an eventuality as this. With these masks the atmosphere was otherwise just breathable, though still very thin and cold, and made the evacuation possible. Burroughs was submerged within days.

The transnational forces on Mars were thus reduced almost solely to controlling the space elevator and the area around its socket in central Sheffield. A major Red attack on the socket occurred several days later, but opposition from other rebel groups who did not want to see the elevator destroyed outright helped defeat the assault and Kasei, the leader of the Kakaze and son of Hiroko Ai and John Boone, was killed. Despite this loss however, the Martian revolutionaries were now in control of nearly all of Mars. 

The consequences

Martian independence was ensured. The Pavonis Mons Congress, where the Martian constitution was created, followed soon after.

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The Pavonis Mons Congress was held following the success of the Second Martian Revolution as a result of Mars’s newly acquired independence. It resulted in the creation of a Martian government and the drafting of a constitution for Mars, for which the work done at the Dorsa Brevia Conference of the underground was an important starting base. The constitution was put to vote on February 27, 2128, local year M-52, and passed with 78%; 95% of the voting Martian population participated to the vote.

The following participated in the congress:

Independent towns:

• Acheron
• Nicosia
• Cairo
• Odessa
• Harmakhis Vallis
• Sabishii
• Christianopolis
• Bogdanov Vishniac
• Hiranyagarba
• Mauss Hyda
• Sheffield
• Senzeni Na
• Echus Overlook
• Dorsa Brevia
• Dao Vallis
• South Fossa
• Rumi
• New Vanuatu
• Prometheus
• Gramsci
• New Clarke
• Bradbury Point
• Sergei Korolyov
• DuMartheray Crater
• South Station
• Reull Vallis southern caravanserai
• Nuova Bologna
• Nirgal Vallis
• Montepulciano
• Mareotis
• Burroughs refugees organization
• Libya Station
• Tharsus Tholus
• Overhangs
• Margaritifer Plinth
• Great Escarpment caravanserai
• Da Vinci
• The Elysian League
• Hell’s Gate

Political parties and organizations:

 

• Booneans
• Reds
• Bogdanovists
• Schnellingistas
• Marsfirst
• Free Mars
• The Ka
• Praxis
• Qahiran Mahjari League
• Green Mars
• UNTA
• Kakaze
• Editorial Board of The Journal of Areological Studies
• Space Elevator Authority
• Christian Democrats
• The Metanational Economic Activity Coordination Committee
• Bolognan Neomarxists
• Friends of the Earth
• Biotique
• Séparation de l’Atmosphère

 

27

The First Martian Revolution happened in 2061, simultaneously with World War Three on Terra.

The causes

• Desire to be independent from Terra.
• Transnational rule over Martian affairs.
• Discontent over living standards provided to workers by transnationals.
• Disregard of the Martian environment by the transnationals.
• Many riots and general unrest preceded the revolution. Frank Chalmers and Maya Toitovna tried to prevent things coming to a head without success.

The revolution

The revolution itself began with the destruction of Nicosia’s tent by The Coyote.

The revolution resulted in massive infrastructure destruction, either by the rebels who wanted to deprive the transnationals and UNOMA of the means to react, or by the transnational and UNOMA police forces on rebel-occupied settlements. Several cities were wrecked by tent explosions, burnings or guerrillas. The space elevator was destroyed by Bogdanovists. Phobos was driven out of its orbit and burned in Mars’s atmosphere by Nadia Cherneshevsky. Several aquifers were broken and their water was violently released on the surface.

The causes for the failure of the revolution were lack of coordinated preparation and lack of coordination during the revolution itself.

The consequences

Non-rebel civilians struggled to survive in wrecked cities. UNTA and the transnationals maintained control of Mars and Mars space.

The anti-transnational elements were either exterminated or driven into hiding and created the Martian underground. Some of them changed names and rejoined society undercover (the demimonde).

During the revolution, Arkady Bogdanov and Frank Chalmers died. Together with John Boone, who had died some years before, these three political icons were dead. Their influence would continue to be felt throughout Martian history.

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