NationStates Jolt Archive

"This is Arvad Sileas with the Martin News Network. We have just received word from the C.B. Tarsus of a new joint project between the Chiron Multipurpose Conglomerate, the corporation behind the Planet Centaur Project, Oren Moore mining, and TransCorp, Wazzu's most prominent ship builder."

"These three well-known companies are apparently taking on an even greater project than the multi-government sponsored Terraformation and Ecosynthesis projects long underway on Mars and Venus. Before I go on, I'll give our audience time to sit down. Remember, you heard it first on MNN: The Conglomerate is moving Mars. Yes, that's right, moving the planets Mars and Venus into more favorable orbits. Details are sketchy, but we will bring you more as the information flows in."

"This has been a special report of MNN. We now return to your regularly scheduled programming...."

<tag... this is not pleasing... nor, luckily, all that feasible>

(Ah, you think it is unfeasible, but do you know?)

Between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, a Centaur-Mover quite suddenly stopped what it was doing and began applying a minute amount of torsional thrust. Approximately a day later, the CM started up again, now thrusting in a different direction.

Similarly, two KBO mining ships much further out put off burrowing in favor of continued thrust- one headed for a second, larger KBO, the other just nudging towards a more eliptical orbit.

AUBC: "...and in other news the Eniqciri government has announced that it is going to attempt to shift the planet Mars into a more 'favourable' orbit. The Aumanii government has not released an official position on the subject, but they have expressed some concern, particularly that the planet may spiral uncontrollably into the sun."

OOC:

Say whaaaaaaaaa?

"Earlier today, the Kajal Mars Military Command threatened to "rain burning thermonuclear death down upon those crazy Eniqciri." The government itself, while not exactly as concerned as the military, has released a statement finding it odd that the parties responsible for such a project did not inform the inhabitants of Mars before they decided to get underway.

In other news, Kajal Mars is understandably worried, as military officials around the planet continue to state that they have "monitored an event" that may be of some consequence in the near future..."

OOC: ACK.

Allow me to say WTF?

Would moving both Mars AND Venus to "more favorable orbits" not screw things up on earth a bit?

{Tag; For Intelligence Purposes}

OOC: Before I continue- note that the Eniqciri government has nothing to do with it, and is just as surprised as everybody else. It is purely a corporate undertaking, designed by CMC, which happens to be based in Eniqcir, and the Wazzu companies Oren Moore and TransCorp.

If it is done correctly, it shouldn't screw things up on Earth at all... although Mercury might get a little more unpleasant. The optimal result is to put Venus, Mars, and Earth into a Klemperer Rosette, but that is extremely difficult- all that is aimed for is to bring Mars just close enough to make solettes unnecessary, and move Venus far enough away to make cooling the atmosphere easier, adding higher rotation in the process. And how will this be done, you ask? Patience. All will become crystal clear in time.

Menelmacar has yet to receive any application for the shipping permits to move these planets, as is required for any shipment massing over one hundred metric tons. Since Menelmacari territory exists on both worlds, moving the planets would constitute shipping within Menelmacari territory.

The standard fines for failing to file proper shipping permits with the Imperial Menelmacari government are levied at one millicredit per kilogram of shipped cargo.

The mass of Venus is estimated at 4.869 x 10^24 kg, while Mars is estimated to mass 6.421 x 10^23 kg. Thusly, the Chiron Multipurpose Conglomerate, Oren Moore, and TransCorp are hereby required to remit to the Menelmacari Imperial government a fine in the amount of M€ 5,511,100,000,000,000,000,000,000, payable immediately. They may divide up the cost however they please, provided we receive the full amount.

(Yes, that's about five and a half septillion credits.)

Of course, if you'd rather not pay the fine, you can always fight it in court. I recommend starting with the Carnili Court of Appeals and the Eärendili Court of Appeals. As the offense was committed in two jurisdictions, separate appeals will have to be filed in each. Should their rulings not please you, you can go to the Carnili Colonial High Court and the Eärendili Colonial High Court. After that, your next recourse is the Imperial Supreme Court, and after that, it's Siri herself. In the end, should the fine be upheld, all legal costs will be added to the fine. Getting that far may take years or even decades. In the interests of justice, of course, all shipping would have to cease until the case is finally settled.

Should shipping continue prior to payment of the fine or filing of appeals, Menelmacar will be forced to confiscate CMC assets, including ships.

Lord Curundil nos Menelmehn
Legal Attaché to the Menelmacari Crown
Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar

"This is utterly ludicrous. Leave the planets right the hell where they are or We'll cave your skulls in."

--Foreign Minister Jay Reaven

"They're doing... what?" Jon Hertzfeldt's face turns an almost fruity shade of red as he looks over the reports. "Moving planets? Inhabited planets? Please tell me they asked the people on 'em first. Please please oh Lord God please..."

Intelligence Advisor Janus Garbo scoffs slightly and shakes his head, afro following suit with minor delay. "All indications point to 'no.'"

"Mmmmpfff..." Jon grimaces and makes odd little hyperventilation noises while PseudoEmperor Razak bows his head, right thumb and forefinger massaging the bridge of his nose. "Let's just watch for now, 'kay? Bob, drop a line to the Eniqciri government and see what their angle is."

Alshai chuckles. On it, Colonel. He starts to walk off, then pauses and looks over his shoulder. Hey, Jon, are you gonna live?

The Science Advisor simply continues to foam at the mouth.

* - * - *

###BEGIN TRANSMISSION###
~>Route: Automata AK1 - Angelus Mainframe - Eniqciri Government Channels
:
{We've heard that some of your companies are working with Wazzu to}
{move Venus and Mars. The first question in our minds is universal:}

{What the hell?}
:
~>Route closed
###END TRANSMISSION###

---
http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/scolopendra/alshai_kommetrez2.gif (http://www.silentrequiem.net/triumvirate)
Advisor Automata Alshai Kommetrez
International Relations Section
Federation of Scolopendra

###BEGIN TRANSMISSION###
~>Route: Automata AK1 - Angelus Mainframe -
:
{We've heard that some of your companies are working with Wazzu to}
{move Venus and Mars. The first question in our minds is universal:}

{What the hell?}
:
~>Route closed
###END TRANSMISSION###

---
http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/scolopendra/alshai_kommetrez2.gif (http://www.silentrequiem.net/triumvirate)
Advisor Automata Alshai Kommetrez
International Relations Section
Federation of Scolopendra

Advisor Kommetrez,
Yes, that seems to be the case. Somewhat ambitious, no? To say the least, I am surprised, although not as much as I might've been had they not been practicing shifting giant icecubes for the last decade or so. We're waiting for word from Oren Moore, but the Conglomerate so far has been rather secretive on everything except for the fact that it involves those icecubes, and something called 'dynamic compression members'. Don't ask me what that means, maybe I can get Down Under Labs to explain it to me later on. We're attempting to contact the Spacers as well, given that the Conglomerate has of late had much closer relations with Tripolis than ourselves. Of course, I was a little a little freaked that they didn't ask anyone first, but we've been assured that they'll be contacting the appropraite governments in, quote, "due time", and that the planned methods won't cause any effects on the surface beyond occasional high tides. Whether that confuses you as much as it does me, I don't know. I hope not, because I could really use some explaining.
~Inbhailígh Crzleídzí,
High Steward of Eniqcir

(wouldn't mind a response.)

~Siri

[stinky Siri stole my idea! curse you clever elves ;)]

The Mangalan Minister of transportation formally filed a lawsuit against CMC, which happens to be based in Eniqcir, and the Wazzu companies Oren Moore and TransCorp on behalf of the Imperial Council of Mangala. Claiming that the companies were engaging in a series of offenses against the imperium, including illegal transport of government property, illegal transport of private property, violation of Mangalan sovereignty, illegally altering a waterway, solar systemic vandalism, and defacing government property.

An insanity defense is expected.

Mangala's delegation to the Duma also protested loudly, decrying the lack of any apparent effort by the companies involved to even inform the populace of either world.

Well known xenophobe activist Billy Maleyson was heard to comment, "we should try moving Eniqcir and Wazzu, atom by atom, INTO THE STRATOSPHERE!" Mr. Mayleyson was then sedated by his nurse.

Moving Planets, Are They Mad?
by MNN News Correspondant Jim Thorpe

The Sol System was shocked by news earlier today of a multi-corporate effort to move the planets Mars and Venus. As threats of destruction and sudden lawsuits pile up, the involved corporations have been unnaturally silent. This is in stark contrast to the seemingly confused antics of the Wazzuian and Eniqciri governments. But not all are buying it.

"Oh common," suggests Janet Murphy, "the Wazzuian government is MADE of corporations. Hell, our leader is an Oren Moore brat. And they are confused?"

One report did manage to smuggle itself out of TransCorp from a well paid and now jobless informant. Apparantly, the corporate coalition is making to present a bill of M€ 5,511,100,000,000,000,000,000,001 to the Menelmacari government for services towards terraforming...payable immediately.

Menelmacar will not pay such a bill, of course, given that we never contracted the services of CMC, Oren Moore, or TransCorp for terraforming. If we had, we would of course pay whatever was stipulated in the contract. But this is difficult given that no such contract exists. Any CMC, Oren Moore, or TransCorp ship that approaches Mars or Venus will henceforth be seized by the Menelmacari government.

~Lady Serindë nos Eärendil
Prefect of Trade
Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar

"You want me to be gone for HOW long?" Jordan West exclaimed into his pocket-phone. "My family too? Common now, what could take so -- Oh. I see. Doubletime? For each family member?" A grin started to spread across his face.

"What about the piracy threats? You can't honestly expect me to take my family into that! Well, right, there is that. Yes, and that. OK already! Can I get a bit of time to think about this? Yea, a week will be enough. OK, bye boss."

Jordan hung up the phone and stared off into space, shocked. Could they really be serious? I thought this was some sort of joke. Or is it?

Marge is goinna kill me. Question is, will she do it in bed? And will she wait out the years?

Capital City of Severovolost,
Taraskovyan Martian Fiefdom of Svarog,
Mars.

The Governor read the reports. Reread them. Looked at the calendar. Shook his head and went back to serious business.

Capital City of Severovolost,
Taraskovyan Martian Fiefdom of Svarog,
Mars.

The Governor read the reports. Reread them. Looked at the calendar. Shook his head and went back to serious business.

Menelmacar will not pay such a bill, of course, given that we never contracted the services of CMC, Oren Moore, or TransCorp for terraforming. If we had, we would of course pay whatever was stipulated in the contract. But this is difficult given that no such contract exists. Any CMC, Oren Moore, or TransCorp ship that approaches Mars or Venus will henceforth be seized by the Menelmacari government.

~Lady Serindë nos Eärendil
Prefect of Trade
Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar
<Encrypted Transmission>
<Strength: 1024Qbit>
<FROM: Centaur Station>
<TO: Serindë nos Eärendil, Menelmacar>
Obviously, the, ah, proposal by Transcorp is not to be taken seriously. However, we believe that we have something that you want, and which was made unavailable by some greivous miscalculations the last time around. If you will agree to a meeting, perhaps we can come to a mutually beneficial compromise. If not, note that moving actual territory has no precedent, and our opinion that it does not constitute shipment within itself is just as valid as your opinion that it does. Consequently, we refuse to recognise such a large bill. And should you decide to begin seizing CMC assets, remember... you're not the one with several billion tonnes of uranium.
~The Board of Directors
<END>

http://members.cox.net/sincityraiders/images/Beta2.jpg

"Mommy, look!" Little Megan pointed at the Hermes Spacelines superfreighter hanging in space above them. "Are we really going to ride on that?"

"Yes we are dear."

"Will it be fun?"

"No, I'm afraid not. It will be long and boring." But Marge smiled at her daughter. "But there will be other kids."

"And school?" Megan's voice was dreadfull, her mother laughed.

"Yes, and school. And play, and homework, and rides, and naps, and a whole lot of stars."

Megan thought about this for a moment. "How many kids?" she asked, her mother laughed again....

******
******

The very next day, Megan played with her new friends as the refitted transport started on its journey to the Oort Cloud.

"All right, that's it. I'm done," Gregor growls as he turns off his desk with a wave of his hand. Across the room, Tarvi Andivar looks up from where he's writing at his own desk.

"What?"

"This Eniqciri stuff is the last straw. I'm leaving. The empire can take care of itself for a few days. I'm going back to bed until this damned day is over."

"Gregor, its only ten o'clock. You can't just sleep for -"

"I don't care. I'm the emperor, I can sleep all day if I want. BOLT! See to it no one bothers me with any official business!"

"Yes, my lord," replies the palace EI.

"Well, you know, if you're so set on a vacation, maybe I'll just come with you. I'm sure we can find something to do," says Tarvi, raising an eyebrow.

Gregor pauses at the door a moment, then smiles. "Well, if you put it like that..." He bolts down the hall, the other man close behind.

The Newsline

While rumors continue to circulate that the recent, apparent intentions by Wazzu- and Eniqcir-based corporations to move the planets Mars and Venus is just one big April Fool's joke, not everyone is laughing. CoFedCo Foreign Minister High Lady Executive Jenna Timothy clearly states the Santa Barbaran position:

"While we do not oppose, and indeed have supported past terraforming projects on Mars, this matter of moving planets around is something else entirely. Well, first, it's not feasible, economically or technologically. But more importantly, the unwanted, unannounced and unilateral movement of our Martian assets-- including those of the ITDO-- can be seen as a direct threat to our interests and security. If indeed these corporations can, in fact, do what they intend, we will respond to it accordingly. If the Eniqciri and Wazzu governments are unable or unwilling to exert control over their corporations and stop this nonsense, it should be known that the Corporate Federal Conglomerate is neither unwilling nor unable."

Since CoFedCo has, like the PCC before it, not made idle threats before, we can be sure CoFedCo is taking this situation very seriously indeed. Anyone looking through a telescope right now will be able to see the ITDO warships already in orbit around Mars, and clearly more pressure will be coming from the government to force a resolution.

More on this exciting and, hopefully, very very funny story as it progresses...

Doctor Wee’s Laboratory, Military Special Projects Facility 0401, Secret Location, FSP

“Well, Doctor Wee? Are we ready for the test?”

A small, older woman, of Asiatic descent, black hair slightly streaked with grey, looked up at the sound of the voice that violated the silence of her domain, and a fulminating gaze passed over the young man in the black and khaki of the Federation’s duty uniform. “You cannot rush science, Lieutenant. The system will be ready when it is ready, and not before.”

The young officer flushed. “Of course, Doctor. But we need the system now.”

“Are all the satellites deployed?”

“Yes, Doctor, they are.”

“Good.”

Control Room, Military Special Projects Facility 0401, Secret Location, FSP

A large hologram dominated the center of the room, displaying in great detail the inner Sol System, with small green dots representing the satellites deployed for the project. Around each planet was a small web pattern of satellites whose purpose was not immediately obvious. For all the world, they could have been standard Federation Communications Satellites, except for the large object holding a stationary position above the North Pole of each planet.

A commanding female voice shattered the quiet hum of people working at computer terminals. “Alright, people. Perform your final system readiness tests. We begin the operation in five minutes.”

The noise level abruptly rose, then tapered off as the people manning the stations bent to their tasks. Soon, the voice came again from a slight woman in Fleet uniform. “Let’s do this. Go, or No Go. Astro?”

“Go.”

“OrTrack?”

“Go.”

“ShipComm?”

“Go, Skip.”

“MerSatCon?”

“Go, Skipper.”

“VenSatCon?”

“Go, Captain.”

“EarSatCon?”

“Go.”

“MarSatCon?”

“Go, Skip.”

“ConSatCon?”

“Go.”

“This is Control, green board, I say again, green board.” The captain stepped forward towards her own console. “MerSatCon, initiate procedure.” A small moment passed, and the pattern of satellites began to grow into a true web, wrapping Mercury in its green embrace. As the web moved towards completion, she spoke again. “VenSatCon, go.” The process began to repeat itself around the sun’s second planet.

“EarSatCon, initiate,” was next, followed soon by, “MarSatCon, go.” Ten minutes after the first web beagan to weave itself, all four were completed, wrapping each orb of the inner system in glowing green lines.

“MerSatCon, web status?”

“All systems show green, Skipper.”

“VenSatCon?”

“All go for phase two.”

“EarSatCon?”

“Good to go.”

“MarSatCon?”

“Green Board, Captain.”

A rare smile creased the captain’s face. “Very well. Are we clear for Phase Two, OrTrack?”

“Yes, ma’am. No interference plotted.”

“Excellent. Let’s begin Phase Two, gentlemen.” A long silent moment passed, and then, the green webs began to extend tenuous strands down to the surfaces below them, slowly darkening, until the whole web on each planet flashed once. “Phase Two status, MerSatCon?”

“All green still, ma’am.”

“VenSatCon?”

“Nothing but green.”

“EarSatCon?”

“System is fully online, Skipper.”

“MarSatCon?”

“Still all go lights.”

“Well, that is good news, gentlemen. Astro, are we clear for Phase Three?”

A moment of silence as the full display flashed, the computers working overtime as they plotted ship movements and planetary movements. And then…

“Yes, Captain. All vectors are clear.”

“Very good. ConSatCon, begin Phase Three.”

“Ayeaye, Skipper. Beginning Phase Three now.” On the display, from the larger satellites sitting at the North Poles, a new web began to grow, crawling across the light minutes separating the planets in a series of green lines, slowing connecting them together. It took nearly forty-five minutes as they all watched, and then, the entire system turned a blue-green color, flowing into the once more green lines of Federation signals. “Phase Three completed, Captain.”

“Very good. ShipComm, contact the Second and the Fifth Task Groups and ask for their status reports on the system.”

“Ayeaye, Skipper.”

Bridge, S.P.S. Darkstar, Second Task Group, Mars Orbit

“Commander, we’re getting a signal from MSPF0401, to perform scan 5e6Pop.”

“Well, we better do it then.” The Lieutenant Commander with the bridge watch turned to the tactical station. “Petty Officer?”

“Calling up the scan now, sir.”

“Good. Inform me when it is done.”

“Ayeaye, sir.” The scan only took a few minutes, and the signal registered soon in the ship’s hull. There was no detectable change in the satellites allocated to the project, except for the very slightest increase in background radiation. “Scan complete, Commander.”

“Very good, send the results back to MSPF0401, and continue normal operational patterns.”

Office of the Imperial President, Imperial House, Griffin, Commonwealth of Sentient Peoples, FSP

“Mister President, you have a priority call on line fourteen from MSPF0401.”

“Thank you, Cyrano. Transfer it to the holodisplay.”

The female commanding officer of MSPF0401 appeared in the display. “Good afternoon, Mister President.”

“Good afternoon, Captain. What can I do for you?”

“I am calling to formally report that as of fifteen minutes ago, the Federation Orthogonal Orbital Laser Stabilizer System became fully operational.”

“Very good, Captain. I will sleep better at night knowing that the planet I live on isn’t going to break up on me without warning, or suddenly shift orbits. Give my congratulations to your people.”

“Thank you, Mister President, and I shall,” the FOOLS System Commanding Officer said with a grin.

Malissa sprayed orange juice all over the council table. "WHAT?" She said, staring down the table at the Minister for Extra-Terrestrial Matters.

"The nation of Enigcir and Wazzu are planning to move Venus and Mars."

"And that affects us how?" she asked, as servants sponged her drink off her dress, and the suits of those councillors unfortunate enough to be next to her.

"It means that your palace, built in the centre of the Roanian desert on a continent that is surrounded by cliffs and roughly half a mile above sea-level at it's lowest point..." the advisor blinked, "could become... um... beachside property."

Every Roanian in the room stared in shock. "We have to evacuate the capital! All that... *eugh* salt water!" Premier Darien said, cursing.

The Aguan Duke blinked, and checked those papers. "And my duchy might end up under the ocean. What about Altara? And Derricks? And those crazy jungle people?"

"I'll have to run some tests. I'd advise us priming an orbital nuclear sattelite or something, just in case."

<=======>

Coded messages were sent to the Roanian embassies in Menelmacar and Arda.

[code:1:89f655bf1e]Politely request from our two...friends, what it is they plan to do about this disturbing event.

Also check to see if they have room for over 5 billion refugees from all over the Pacific, because if our numbers check out, everyone is running.[/code:1:89f655bf1e]

"Good evening, I'm once again Arvad Sileas with a special MNN report on the plans to move Mars and Venus. We have recently recieved a video from Tarsus, which will be played immediately."
[Cut to an image of a sideways man in a blue flightsuit emblazoned with a stylized image of the mythical centaur Chiron. A moment later, the camera rotates to show him right side up.]

"Greetings! With all of the worrying and threatening being done, we at CMC find it hard to believe that very few people have actually tried to find out exactly what we're doing before flipping out and making rash assumptions. In order to attempt to bring a measure of sanity to all of this, we have prepared the following presentation."
[Cut to CG of inner solar system, centered at the midpoint between Venus and Sol. 60 statites float relatively close to the solar surface. Begin narration.]

"Here we see the basics of the original orbital engineering plan. A ring of statites supporting magnetic accelerators is used to gather solar energy and use it to accelerate a number of dynamic compression components to c-fractional velocities around the sun, before they are released tangent to the Venerian surface..."
[Zoom on Venerian equator. A CG of an accelerator track with a large carriage riding on it appears.]
"Where they are picked up by a second accelerator track at the Venerian terminator. The injection point rides along the track so as to always remain in line with the pellet stream."
[Camera follows the track around the planet to the opposing terminator, passing an unexplained U-bend.]
"A second carriage on the other side of the planet ejects pellets back into the solar accelerator system, thereby transferring a minute amount of additional orbital energy to the planet with each pellet."
[Zoom to Mercury, where a similar track runs around the equator.]
"A third accelerator installed on Mercury passes pellets between the two planets, assisting in orbit circularization. Further tracks would be installed on Callisto and one or two trans-Saturnian moons or Centaurs to ensure that at least one pellet source is always in sight. Passing pellets between Mars and Venus would serve both to decrease Mars's orbit and increase Venus's at the same time- however, we quickly realized that politics would prevent the acquisition of the necessary land on Mars, and this original plan was abandoned."
[Cut to blue-suited man.]

"While this method could transfer Venus into the target orbit within 50 years, we wished to find a method of orbital engineering that would be less invasive... in other words, possible to pull off on the inhabited planet Mars, and be less expensive at the same time."
[Cut to CG of the entire solar system, massive Centaurs, TNOs, and KBOs highlighted. Begin narration.]

"The Chiron Multipurpose Conglomerate, as part of the Planet Centaur Project, has been slowly altering the orbits of massive Centaur objects for many years. As was pointed out to us by our associates at TransCorp, suitably altering the orbits of objects even further out, though they would take longer to reach the inner system, would require much less effort. Suitable for what, though? Observe."
[Green vector lines appear connecting to the highlighted bodies, followed by long red hyperbolic curves leading towards Jupiter.]

"Initially, these massive snowballs will be directed on gravity-assist paths in front of Jupiter, dumping a fraction of their energy in order to slow them to manageable velocities in the inner system and boosting Jupiter's orbit by a few thousands of an AU."
[More red curves appear, leading behind Mars.]

"Fine tuned via solar sails, ion accelerators, and autophagic gas jets, a procession of these objects will then use a Martian gravity-assist to slightly boost their own velocity while stealing orbital energy from Mars."
[The red curves extend around the sun and along hyperbolic paths in front of Venus.]

"From there, they will proceed to intersect the Venerian orbit on a third gravity-assist, dumping the energy gained at Mars on Venus, after which they will cycle back to remove more energy from Mars. Ultimately, this will require no major engineering projects on either planet."
[Cut to blue-suited man.]

"Many have said that moving a planet is not feasible, as it requires far too much energy. Well, those people all proposed to do it by brute force. We have circumvented the problem by making use of the energy that is already there, and simply moving it to where it is more beneficial. With the gravity-assist method, we may be able to obtain similar project times on the order of 50 years, but only with extremely close passes. These would, of course, have a massive and likely detrimental effect on tides. Consequently, we have decided to place a limit on the minimum acceptable distance per unit mass for gravity assists. What exactly this limit is we shall leave for the Martians to decide, but we tentatively propose a distance of 75% the Earth-Selene separation."
[End video.]

"Well, there you have it, folks. Good night, this has been Arvad Sileas on MNN."

[code:1:7ad134953f]-begin transmission-
Source: Aesirgronde Military Command
Destination: Asgard Station, KMOS

Government has approved Operation Celestial Dawn. Phase 1 authorization has been obtained; proceed accordingly.

-transmission ends-[/code:1:7ad134953f]

The Duchess sighed. For all she knew, a large Kajali battlefleet was enroute, and was likely preceeded by a bomb, and now this...

It was not a good week.

TMIT Broadcaster
Encryption: Triumvirate Standard
Broadcast type: Urgent
To: Eniqcir
Return transmission band: Secure
IDENT: Devon Treznor - Empire of Treznor

When I first heard the news, I thought it was an April Fools joke. The more I'm hearing, the more my hopes are disappearing. You are serious, aren't you?

I've had my scientists throw together some preliminary numbers on this project of yours. You created quite a stir, I might add. Half a dozen theories were thrown together, from the outrageous to the mildly plausible. Of the ones judged most likely to succeed, the energy costs were described as "prohibitive," and the time frames "geological."

However, that's not what concerns me. What concerns me most is if you actually manage to succeed. All of my scientists agree that the effects of moving Mars and Venus closer together will have significant consequences for life on Earth, let alone anybody living on those planets. At the very least, we're looking at tidal effects that make yearly highs look like gentle swells. Several models predicted tidal effects that would make life uninhabitable on Earth once all three planets come into conjunction.

Please, please tell me you're just joking. If so I'll buy you a beer and toast the scope of your sense of humour. If not, please tell me your scientists have worked out math that refutes these predictions. The risks are far too great for me to ignore this.

Devon Treznor
Emperor
<End Transmission>

The following is a Sol-System wide advertisement broadcast on Radio, Television, and Tri-D.


http://members.cox.net/davage/images/DavidWestSmall.jpg (http://members.cox.net/davage/images/Zunshiro(X-Projects).jpg)

"Hello, I'm David West, Senior Project Manager for Wazzu TransCorp.

"The world was stunned earlier this week by the Martian News Network (http://s4.invisionfree.com/The_Planet_Mars/index.php?showforum=1), who reported a Chiron Multipurpose Conglomerate announcement to move the planets Venus and Mars. Reactions varied between praise, disbelief, mocking, and even threats of violence and piracy.

"In an attempt to put fears at ease, CMC made a presentation explaining the plan which appeared on MNN yesterday. But I'm afraid the good collegue of mine who explained it all is a scientist not used to dealing with people...and a bit overzealous. A recent MNN poll showed people were still confused and fearful, so I am here to clear everything up.

"There are two seperate projects going on here, and I intend to cover them both. Since moving the planets is creating the largest controversy, let me touch on that first."


http://members.cox.net/davage/images/Bulldog1.jpg

"For centuries now, nations have used the gravity of planets as slingshots for satelites and spaceships. Each time it is used, a planet gives a tiny bit of its energy to the spacecraft, which help them save fuel and time. What our corporate coalition is proposing is the same thing, in reverse.

"Instead of using a tiny bit of a planet's energy to make a small ship go faster, we are going to use most of a large asteroid's energy to move two planets. Up to two dozen large planetoids will be sped by both Venus and Mars to move them both closer to Earth. There are two main concerns here.

"The first is of one of these crashing into a planet. Let me assure you this will not happen. Millions of spacecraft fill our solar system, often taking high-risk manuvers near planets in trade or war. Yet we rarely see crashes. The few planetoids we will use will never get as close to the planets, and will never take risky manuvers.

"If that is not enough for you, then ask yourself this. Are the corporations involved really willing to risk their capital and cunsumer markets? The obvious answer is no.

"The second concern is that we could never produce enough energy to actually move planets. This is true, we can't. But we don't need to. Since we are moving Venus away from the Sun, and Mars towards the sun, all we have to do is transfer energy between them. One has the energy the other will need.

"In the end, the only fuel used will be that needed to make minor corrections to a few planetoids over very large distances. It will take centuries, but we have everything we need.

"Other concerns include massive flooding, danger to space shipping, planet impacting asteroids, and complete collapse of the solar system. These are the hystarical dreams of alarmists who have not done their homework. These dangers do not exist, and we hope to prove it to you.


Venus Image (http://members.cox.net/sincityraiders/images/thenewsun.jpg)

"The second project is aimed at increasing the spin of Venus. While I am somewhat skeptical of CMC's timeframe, it is a much more realistic method then Wazzu's failed attempt over a century ago.

"The method here is simple. A large electromagnetic accelerator will be built around the planet along the equator. The Gaussian loop will use solar energy collected in space and beamed down by microwave satelites. Because the energy is free, very little investment will be needed after the track is built. And because the track is so large, comparitively little mass will be needed to spin the planet.


http://www.pacifier.com/~cziller/duma2.jpg

"Calls for a meeting (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2982557) in the Martian Duma (http://s4.invisionfree.com/The_Planet_Mars/index.php?showtopic=65) have recently been announced to the international community. We in TransCorp feel this is a great idea, and hope the Duma will oblige the international community by allowing non-Duma members in as active observers. If the Duma sees fit to accept this request, we would like to be there to answer your questions, ease your concerns, and show what a great oppertunity this is for everyone in the solar system.

"Until then, thank you for your time, and I hope to see you there."

We do not really wish Mars or Venus moved, we are quite content with their solar orbits for the forseeable future, however, we approve of the concept of increasing the angular velocity of Venus, however we demand the right to supervise this operation, to ensure that it is implemented correctly.

http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/iimperium/Dragonav4.JPG

The Dragon (http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/iimperium/Dragonav3.jpg)
Supreme Commander of the Necron Fleet, Director of Operations in the Solar System and Chief-Lieutenant of Mephet'ran.

-Wideband Message from Lucifer Rielly, Speaker for the Imperatrix.

-Citizens of the Solar System, it has come to our attention that certain unscrupulous parties have deemed it necessary to shift the orbits of both Mars and Venus. to what Aim, you ask? brand recognition. they will endanger the lives of every single person in the inner system, all in the hope of increasing their market share. entire inhabited worlds are to be wrenched from their existing spheres of movement, all so that Oren Moore can say "yes, I moved a Planet."

the Empire will not stand idly by while this maniac tampers with the mechanisms of the cosmos. the Imperatrix has ordered the construction of spacegoing heavy weapons craft, which will be charged with the elimination of inbound orbit-altering objects in martian proximity. if this fool's errand is NOT called off, then we will see to it that it does not succeed. one way or another!

*End Transmission*

#ComRelay : S-14 Colony Vessel Command > "CMC" OPEN#

This is unacceptable. Our deceleration profile is set for the rocky body known as Eärendil (alternate designation Venus) and a change in its orbit at this juncture would be unacceptable; we do not have the delta-vee required to change our course in time so close to our destination. With only a hundred years of our four-hundred year orbital insertion maneuver left, we find this intolerable. We lack the resources to press further.

We beseech you, do not destroy us.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/s14/blue1.jpg
AdminCoordinator 67521 of the Blue Mother of Us All
Speaking on behalf of the Mothers of Us All
Alpha Colony Vessel (S-14)

#ComRelay TRANSFERRED S-14 Defense Command#

The inhabitants of Alpha will not let this threat to the survival of the pan-Norm stand.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/s14/red1.jpg
WarCoordinator 73411 of the Red Mother of Us All
Speaking on behalf of the Mothers of Us All
Alpha Colony Vessel (S-14)

#ComRelay CLOSED#

#ComRelay : S-14 Colony Vessel Command > "CMC" OPEN#

This is unacceptable. Our deceleration profile is set for the rocky body known as Eärendil (alternate designation Venus) and a change in its orbit at this juncture would be unacceptable; we do not have the delta-vee required to change our course in time so close to our destination. With only a hundred years of our four-hundred year orbital insertion maneuver complete, we find this intolerable. We lack the resources to press further.

We beseech you, do not destroy us.


We withdraw our support to any programmes for the alteration of the speed, angular velocity, axial tilt or orbit of Venus. Concern for sentient life far outweighs the desire for any such changes to the planet's motion characteristics. We will be taking action, which we will not disclose at this time, to prevent any alteration of Venus' motion characteristics.

Incidentally, we would be most interested in learning more about our future neighbours from the Colony Vessel of S-14.

http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/iimperium/Dragonav4.JPG

The Dragon (http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/iimperium/Dragonav3.jpg)
Supreme Commander of the Necron Fleet, Director of Operations in the Solar System and Chief-Lieutenant of Mephet'ran.

((No, it's not a late April Fools day prank.))

<CoFedCo Statement>

"Mars cannot be moved. Venus cannot be moved.

"While the corporations no doubt think they have the ability to do so, and their governments no doubt enjoy the promises of profits from the venture, the fact remains that the owners of Mars are not Transcorp, Chiron Conglomerate, or even Wazzu or Eniqcir. The owners of Mars are Mangala, Sunset, the Snel, Tor-Yvresse, Wazzu, Kajal, Menelmacar, Pilo, Auman, ArAreBee, DarkSith, Tannelorn, Os Sanglants, Bajon, Valinon, Kekkosmaa, Transhumanism, Santa Barbara, Aelosia, Syskeyia, United Indiastan, Nerdom, Cygan, Ravenspire, Kalessin, New York and New Jersey, Qaaolchouraav, Ur-Quan-Kohr-Ah, Tiburon, Rodriguezland, Rhaken-Kull... among others.

"These nations own sovereign, legally recognized territorial assets on Mars. These owners have not been contacted, consulted, or even notified of this plan to move the planet out of it's orbit. In fact, they have had to read in the news that another party intends to move their lands, peoples, assets; without permission or even a say in the matter.

"This is nothing less than an illegal action undertaken by CMC and endorsed by the governments of Wazzu and Eniqcir.

"CoFedCo will not tolerate this. This is an official warning. There will not be a second."

#ComRelay : S-14 Colony Vessel Command > "The Dragon" OPEN#

We would be interested in telling you our history--what we've been able to determine of it, rather--and ourselves, but will limit such a correspondance to a more appropriate venue than international announcement communication channels.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/s14/blue1.jpg
AdminCoordinator 67521 of the Blue Mother of Us All
Speaking on behalf of the Mothers of Us All
Alpha Colony Vessel (S-14)

#ComRelay CLOSED#

Council Room, Imperial House, Griffin, Commonwealth of Sentient Peoples, FSP

The entire Executive Council was 'present' in the room, but following the standards of security, only D'ron was physically present. All the rest were present by hologram, from their own offices. Even Governor Hershey, from Mars, was present by Anisible transmission.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. We seem to have a problem. These corporations seem intent on moving Mars and Venus, and while admittedly, the movement would be beneficial to the terraforming process, I want to know what everyone thinks of this." D'ron stood at the head of the room, dress in black, and was staring at a reproduction of the FOOLS Command Center display.

Cortana was the first to speak. "It is possible that what they describe will work the way they say it will. The energy is there. But I'm not entire sure they can harness it. With a couple hundred more years ot technological development, I might be willing to say we could attempt it, but I don't think it would work. Astro-manipulation is not really my strong suit, so I'd have to consult some friends about it."

"Alright, they're calling for a Duma meeting about this. What do we say?"

Hershey and Currey looked at each other, and then at the President. D'ron stared at them, and when neither spoke, "Well, one of you had better spit it out, gentlemen."

Currey then spoke. "We have no voice in the Duma. By the Mangala accords, a presence of one hundred million sentients on Mars is required to be a signatory, and thus participate in the Duma. We're about ninty-seven million short of that number."

"So we're don't have a voice in what happens, even though we've got colonies, or at least allocated lands, on both planets?"

"That's what it looks like at the moment, Mister President."

"That is unacceptable. John."

"Yes, Mister President?" the Minister of War responded.

"Can we prevent them from taking this action? Can we stop the planetary movement?"

"Militarily, you mean? Use the FOOLS System the way it was originally intended?" When D'ron nodded, John shook his head. "I don't think so. The Space Navy is too damaged at the moment. So we certainly couldn't do it on our own."

D'ron squeezed his eyes shut. "And what is this I here about the Space Ants?"

Cortana answered the question. "Apparently, their colony ship is set for Venus, and there is nothing that can be done to change their vector is Venus is moved. If Venus moves, they all die."

"Bloody hell. The operation cannot be allowed to commence. Billions of lives are at stake, and will be lost, even if it works perfectly. Begin crash priorty for rebuilding the Fleet. Concentrate on the least damaged ships first. We must be able to stop this if it is at all possible."

D'ron sighed. "This week has sucked, ladies and gentlemen. But operations against the Confederacy will kick off soon, and our other projects are coming along as well. So, dismissed."

(Imperial News Network)

"We interrupt our scheduled program to bring you a special intervention by our Emperor, Darth Thanatos. We connect with the Imperial Palace."

"Subjects, fellow sentients, ladies and gentlemen.

The sudden and imprudent move by part of some corporations has prompted DarkSith to step up the proceedings in the construction of the third Martian Moon, Thanatos.

But this moon wasn't intended only as the most promiment mark in the Martian Nightsky. It was also the DarkSithian contribution to the terraformation of Mars."

On the screen, the robed figure of the Emperor is replaced by a computer simulated drawing of the moon, with the projected external plating and a cut showing internal machinery.

"Though the total mass of this moon is unable to affect the planet, as it is mostly empty space, the core of Thanatos is the biggest fusion reactor ever built, with a radius of 15 kilometers. It will be used to power a complex gravity well generator that will emit a gravitational pull equivalent to Earth's Moon, proportional to Mars' size and to the distance of Thanatos' orbit to Mars.

The effects and benefits of this are several: first, it will make the martian core revolve faster, this increased core speed will make Mars more sismically active, and will thin the crust, bringing radioactives and other valuable metals closer to the surface. Second, the increased core speed will make the Martian Van Allen belt stronger, increasing the shielding of the surface from cosmic radiation. Also, this increase in the speed of the core will bring the gravity of Mars to aproximately 0.5g, thus making Mars more able to retain the atmosphere, and easing greatly any other terraforming effort. This has the side effect of increasing the escape velocity for ships, but we thought it to be a reasonable trade-off."

Along with this explanation the images have been showing the intended effects on Mars, in the core and over the electromagnetic field. Now these images are replaced again with the robed figure of the Emperor.

"We don't want Mars moved from its orbit, so I have authorized the initiation of phase 3 of the project, and this will bring the moon to full operational power within five years, even though the external part of the moon is still incomplete.

Five years from now, the moon Thanatos will be able to launch gravitational waves destined to interfere with any effort intended to move Mars from its orbit. And we will do so.

I am dispatching Fleet Admiral Darth Nautas to command the bulk of the Imperial fleet, already stationed around Thanatos. DarkSith has kept most of the fleet of the Federal Empire there since the Melky Incident, that ended with the launching of ABC weapons on Mars.

Hate well."

"Now we get back to our scheduled flame-throwing..."

These owners have not been contacted, consulted, or even notified of this plan to move the planet out of it's orbit. In fact, they have had to read in the news that another party intends to move their lands, peoples, assets; without permission or even a say in the matter.

"We find this statement slightly comical. We are consulting you now. It is impossible to get feedback or permission without announcing what we want to do, and that is what we have done."
~The Board of Directors

OOC:
"This is nothing less than an illegal action undertaken by CMC and endorsed by the governments of Wazzu and Eniqcir.
'Tisn't endorsed by the government. Not yet, anyway.

Also, this increase in the speed of the core will bring the gravity of Mars to aproximately 0.5g, thus making Mars more able to retain the atmosphere, and easing greatly any other terraforming effort.
I have tried to think of a better way to say this... but I can't. So I'll just say it. That is crap. Spinning the core won't have any effect on gravity.

More comprehensive post to come when I have more time... lunch is nearly over.

[Quantum Encryption - Wazzu and Eniqcir]

Start

We still think that this must be an April Fool's joke, albeit a poor one. If it is, then I guess you got us. Har Har.

In the slight case that is it not, know this:

Any artificial alteration of Mars - of which we have interests there - will be seen as a direct violation of our sovereignty. As well, altering the orbit of Venus might affect our interests, and therefore our sovereignty, on Earth and Mercury. And we do not take violations of our sovereignty...lightly.

And we are most displeased with you, Wazzu. You were ready to take action when other nations wished to construct a space elevator yet seem blase when it comes to moving a planet?

End

"This is frelling unbelievable. It wasn't a joke at all," Gregor snarls the next day. "And we heard it from some news agency!"

"What do you intend to do about it, Gregor?"

"I'll send Lord Alton to this conference of theirs - we've got friends on both planets, and Terra could be trashed as well. While I'm thinking about it, I'll have the ship swing by S-14 on their way in and pick of some spacedy-ants. They're sure to be interested."

{Secure Comms}
x GCC Truth and Reconciliation (Ocean-class Contact Cruiser, IUoCetaganda}
o Queens of Alpha (S-14)

Hail! We're on our way to, hmm, discuss this situation of moving around planets, and believe you'd be interested in sending representatives of your own. Want a lift?

(OOC: This was supposed to come before my post in the other threads, but the forums didn't cooperate.)

Appreciated.

--The Blue Mother of us All
--The Red Mother of us All
--The Green Mother of us All
--The Collective Mini Mothers of us All

OOC: very curious.... people will try anything these days

"We find this statement slightly comical. We are consulting you now. It is impossible to get feedback or permission without announcing what we want to do, and that is what we have done."
~The Board of Directors

"Comical? Perhaps, in your playing of God, and presumptious announcements to illegally restructure the universe to benefit you, you have managed to forget that your plans-- even if they were as feasible as you hope-- would not be an automatic benefit to all."

(OOC: It is you that doesn't seem to be aware of the several physical and geological facts:

1) the core of a planet is the nucleus of an electric engine that generates an electromagnetic field. The faster the core revolves (actually the diferential of speed between the core and the rest of the planet), the more intense this field is. The "magnetic" part of the EM field does have an effect on gravity, but not as big as:
2) increasing the rotation of the planet will increase its centrifuge(sp?) force. And this is how is generated artificial gravity, even nowadays. This will make Mars' days and nights shorter, for instance.

DT's speech was directed to a broad audience (the whole Federal Empire) and it had to be easy to digest for even the most ignorant of them, so the explanations are not totally accurate, but let people have a general idea.)

(OOC: It is you that doesn't seem to be aware of the several physical and geological facts:

1) the core of a planet is the nucleus of an electric engine that generates an electromagnetic field. The faster the core revolves (actually the diferential of speed between the core and the rest of the planet), the more intense this field is. The "magnetic" part of the EM field does have an effect on gravity, but not as big as:
2) increasing the rotation of the planet will increase its centrifuge(sp?) force. And this is how is generated artificial gravity, even nowadays. This will make Mars' days and nights shorter, for instance.

DT's speech was directed to a broad audience (the whole Federal Empire) and it had to be easy to digest for even the most ignorant of them, so the explanations are not totally accurate, but let people have a general idea.)

That has got to be some of the most inaccurate BS I've ever seen. A planet's gravity is determined by its mass, not by its magnetic field (if it even has one), and certainly not by its rotation. It order for rotation to generate gravity, the planet would have to be hollow and we would have to be living on the insides. If gravity was really generated like you describe, we would be hurtling off the face of the planet as it breaks up, while the rest of the solar system goes flying into deep space.

In a recent poll, 100% of Syskeyian Mars residents opposed moving Mars from its traditional orbit.

OOC: What that?!?! Sorry if I'm a bit behind on the thread, but this is a "no time to lose" post and I still have to get sukothai off Mars. More to come tomorrow.

God bless,

The Republic of Syskeyia