The Darwinian Extension: Completion

By Hylton Smith

The Darwinian Extension: Completion is the third volume in The Nexus Odyssey. Over twenty years have passed since the Martian colony was founded and the planet has a thin but breathable atmosphere, and more than 50,000 citizens. The efforts to develop interstellar propulsion seem to stagnate when a breakthrough is achieved. Nuclear weapon proliferation on Earth raises the tension to flash point.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hylton Smith
• Release date: Aug 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466078178

Hylton Smith

Born in the Northeast of England, I graduated from Newcastle University in Chemistry. My entire career has been in the manufacturing industry, first in research, then general management. After a number of years as the chief executive of a UK division of an American multinational corporation, I set up my own company, and in less than five years I was able to retire and turn to a boyhood yearning to write science fiction stories. This has gradually expanded to other genres such as alternate history and crime fiction.

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Prologue

Roberto Xiang’s funeral marked the beginning of the end of an era. It was attended by all of the astronauts who had been involved in the missions to Mars over which he had presided as Controller, and later as the Chief Executive of the Council for Human Exploration. His passing had hit Daniel Carvalho every bit as hard as it did his own family. During the memorial service, Carvalho reflected on just how much Xiang had influenced his career and indeed his life.

They had first met during the selection and training for the first manned mission on Copernicus. They had crossed swords initially because of his immaturity and naivety, but Commander Magnusson and Xiang had found the right balance of tolerance and discipline which brought out the best in him. Daniel recalled the unilateral act by Roberto in appropriating a pod to travel to meet Copernicus, with water to save the lives of the crew. He then ‘became’ the father figure Daniel had been deprived of when his real father perished in an air disaster.

In subsequent Mars missions Carvalho quietly gravitated to the senior presence of the Martian colony. He owed most of this ascension to his relationship with Xiang, in the way they were able to deal with rifts in the developing rationale, to steer the up-scaling of the colonisation. It was however a mutually beneficial bridge, Xiang was assisted on several occasions by Carvalho in overturning the conventional Terran wisdom.

This had ultimately led to Carvalho to negotiate a charter of independent citizenship for Martians. This was achievable because some of the Martians were non-human. The Continuance had been discovered on the original Copernicus mission and had become essential developers of the Martian terraforming advance. The Axis had lived on Mars for three thousand years, almost three million years ago. During that period they had observed evolution on Earth but maintained a policy of non-interference. They had built phenomenally sophisticated nuclear energy plants, manufacturing infrastructure and raw material extraction facilities. They had been driven away from Mars by a massive assault from Legionella bacteria. Having settled at an underground habitat on Europa, they kept a vigil on Earth life and maintained their Martian legacy until humanity discovered it. They then visited the now red and green planet to meet the species which had crawled out of the primordial soup they had observed.

The advanced intelligence of both the Continuance and the Axis had worried Earth politicians for a number of years, especially as Carvalho had invited the Axis to return to live on Mars. However this fear was eventually replaced by dependence on their continued help in driving back the ecological damage Earth had inflicted upon itself. The Martian society had demonstrated the multicultural harmony that Earth had only talked about. Ratification of the charter was the crowning achievement of Xiang and Carvalho in their long association. Carvalho could not hold back his emotions any longer. He welled up and visibly convulsed as tears flowed uncontrollably. Nobody had witnessed this side of his character before and they were confused, concerned and sympathetic in equal measure.

This special relationship must have figured in the offer to Carvalho of continuing the work as Xiang’s successor. Carvalho knew this, and he also knew his now departed friend would understand why he refused. He sidestepped the honour by convincing the faceless ones that he had a lot more to achieve off-world.

Although the Earth’s trust had been won by obtaining Martian technology and guidance, one area of trepidation still existed.

The accounts of the Axis inheritance of interstellar travel, courtesy of the Continuance, illustrated how it backfired spectacularly, and struck fear into Earth’s governing elite. This was not however, the most significant hurdle to overcome. The Axis had also related a division in their ranks, with regard to deliberate modification of their physiology, in order to withstand the rigours of interstellar flight. This issue had been debated before the disaster inflicted by the spatial distortion which opened the wormhole. Four million perished on their home planet Nexus.

Subsequently they agreed to ban all such manipulation of cosmic forces. Groups of them, having arrived at three separate exits from the wormhole renewed communication. It reinforced this directive, and also declared that the alteration of their physiology should no longer be required. Their citizens had a free choice, to continue replenishment and live in perpetuity, or allow mortality to prevail after about 555 Earth years.

The unease which had already existed on Earth was now underpinned by a species which had ‘been there and done it’. The issues were complex. Replacement of organs such as hearts, livers, cornea, kidneys etc. also had their detractors back in the twentieth century. Compassion for the suffering individuals had ultimately won through, helped by organ donor involvement. When the first brain, developed under the guidance of Alex 2, was available, a similar outcry surfaced. The additional complication was that a different person was being created. Alex 2 was the first generation replicant of Alex Redgrave – the science officer on the first Copernicus mission.

The replication occurred when red Martian crystals, nicknamed Scarlet O’Hara, switched to an amorphous form and accidently penetrated Redgrave’s skin and then his bloodstream. These crystals had been prised from West Candor chasm, or as it became known – Pandora’s Rift. The Cosmos had been seeded with these crystals billions of years ago and the Martian source had, because of the extreme cold, ‘hibernated’ for almost as long as the planet had existed. The warmer lab conditions had triggered a return to the active amorphous form and it had sought out a host which offered ‘data’ in abundance. The Continuance, as the species was known, replicated life forms as data cells rather than biological types. Being virtually exclusively inorganic, they had immense strength, immunity to radiation and no requirement for nutrients or breathable atmosphere. Their programming was simply to encourage and assist promising species. They were programmed by the Progenitors, highly sophisticated entities, residing in and controlling dark matter. Further replications could occur by design or accident, and with other species.

As a member of the Continuance, Alex 2, at that time, was still earning trust from the human race and this was to delay such transplants for several years. Resistance was eventually eroded and indeed helped by the new brain being artificial, and being capable of inheriting much of the memory of the outgoing defective one. This was something Alex 2 had predicted at the height of the resistance and it had been totally ignored. The remaining moral hang-up was not about the other modifications to rid the species of the need for digestion, waste management, oxygen dependency or temperature resistance. It was very simply put as the redundancy of procreation as we know it.

The Axis contributed to the debate, by revealing that the reason for trying to leave Nexus was instability in the orbits of three gas giants around one of the 55 Cancri stars. The impending cataclysm was preceded by increased radiation rendering the species sterile. While this made the initial decision to transform their biology to a primarily inorganic structure an easy one, time had altered that view for many of them. Their contrived procreative substitute was to sequentially replace the brain (artificial sphere in their case) then the carcass. This mimicked a new generation but the core memory had to be transferred. They concluded that although it was a technical achievement of the highest order, it did not deliver lasting satisfaction.

Having decided to terminate, many had now changed their minds since meeting humans. A sense of purpose had offered a timeout.

Earth objections finally rested on this single point of procreation. It embodied moral, religious and non-religious need for ‘belonging’, and this craving for purpose.

For Alex 2, purpose was difficult to grasp in this context. He was an agent of the Progenitors, the life form residing in dark matter. Their struggle was with balance in the cosmos, particularly with dark energy. A see-saw of gravitational tug-of-war with accelerating expansion had to be maintained rather than won. Winning in this case would be losing, as neither victor would be accompanied by a favourable outcome. Alex 2’s point was that if the big bang was an accident rather than a masterpiece of design, then it was difficult to ascribe purpose to anything, let alone something as insignificant as deliberate mutation.

He had, in pursuing this line of reasoning, for once, assisted the opposition by being asked why he supported the ‘purpose’ of the Progenitors. The Earth discomfort was echoed by the Axis. The debate would not go away. Humanity also felt it had the dimension of time, unlike the Axis, to give appropriate respect to a departure of this magnitude for the species. It was for this reason that Daniel Carvalho knew that his dear friend Roberto Xiang would have endorsed his decision to remain a Martian.

Chapter 1

It was almost a quarter of a century since the Copernicus crew first set foot on Mars. Carvalho was twenty-seven at the time; he neither looked nor felt fifty-one. Apart from a little grey around the temples, his thick black hair and athletic build would have placed him no more than late thirties. He had never married, convincing himself that he had no time for anything other than his passion of steering the colony to make the breakthrough – interstellar propulsion capability. Only now did he have some regret that he had no offspring, and this was gnawing at his disposition of the species in general.

The Axis technology and the Symbiants’ implementation had transformed Mars into a pleasant environment. Symbiant was the affectionate term for the individual members of the Continuance. They had replicated various Humans and Axis personnel over the years and combined the inherited knowledge with their own prodigious capabilities.

The population of Mars was nudging sixty one thousand in 2057. The vast majority was human and many of those were Martian born. The Axis had decided in 2045 that they would consent to fabrication of totally ‘artificial’ citizens. The decision was taken because their numbers could otherwise only decrease – due to the mass sterilisation which had occurred on their home planet, Nexus.

Initially this had caused mild panic on Earth, but the influence of Carvalho had prevailed when he repeatedly stated that mankind may face precisely the same dilemma in the future. This gave breathing space to the Axis but re-ignited unrest concerning the ‘spectre’ of deleting humanity’.

The Axis infrastructure had ensured a high degree of Martian self-sufficiency. In fact Earth was in deficit with trade, especially synthetic food production techniques and sophisticated nuclear plant licences. The seeds of meritocracy sown on Earth when Alex 2 had returned with Copernicus had struggled to make an impact. The position of the consumer at the apex of the Terran pyramid had proven difficult to dislodge. The progress was slow and would remain so while promissory notes alone continued to drive investment.

By contrast Mars was a genuine meritocracy. Currency had never been employed; even trade with Earth had been on an exchange principle. If there was no immediate inventory or technology requirement it accrued against the next one to emerge. Luxuries were available, subordinated to necessities, and shared. Apart from particular remit driven accessories, citizens had an equal stake in the creation of ‘a better place’. This was puzzling to many Earth citizens in view of the macro differences in the participating species. It also had a knock-on effect of increasing the waiting list to exit the home planet.

Carvalho was mulling over his forthcoming meeting with two visitors from Terra. Xiang’s successor was Brady Logan, a former Governor of Oceania and before that C.E. of World Food Developments Inc. The second individual was an old friend in propulsion theory – Karel Sevicek. He felt there would be difficulties in spreading his time with them. Some delegation would be required and as he did not want Logan to suffer any distraction, he would assign Red and Dan to Sevicek and try to persuade him to take a later shuttle back to Earth.

When the Axis had accepted the invitation to move back to Mars from Europa, the message had been delivered by Al (an abbreviation of Always Precise – the closest translation of his Axis designation). Al was the leader of the caretakers on their 555 year cycle to maintain Martian legacy. The overall leader was the one who ratified the decision to return – his translated designation was ‘Far Vision’ and the obligatory abbreviation became ‘Fav’.

The Axis spoken language had been too difficult for humans to master so the Axis had altered their voice apparatus with the assistance of the medical Symbiant, Pascal 2, first generation replicant of Pascal Dupree, the Copernicus Doctor. They had become fluent in human conversation, but retained pledges to preserve their own clicking language.

Carvalho had requested Fav to assign his foremost propulsion theorist to the meeting with Sevicek, and it was agreed. His reasoning was to provide counterbalance in view of the disastrous results of the accidental genocide of the occupants of Nexus. There was no critical urgency to blast out of the solar system, so it was important to keep safety as the overriding arbiter of experimentation.

On Earth the Council for Human Exploration was under considerable pressure to increase the rate of migration to Mars, by the governments of the big five. This was as much to help deliver election promises to their voters as it was to beef up the Martian effort. It could not be projected so truthfully in the murky world of politics. Carvalho knew this would be top of Logan’s agenda if he had produced one. He didn’t however want an uncontrolled Earth exodus to fracture the social and industrial accord on Mars. It would therefore come as a surprise for Logan to be confronted with Alex 2 and Fav as well as himself.

There was an even bigger surprise for Carvalho. The Terran phobia that had accompanied replication by the amorphous form of the red Martian crystals had been quelled over the years. Now Logan was about to arrive with a request for Scarlet to become part of the trading agreement.

This could become a thorny issue as over 80% of the resource had been consumed in building the giant and mini-domes as well as propagation of the immense forests around the planet. The atmosphere now had a micro-greenhouse effect and the surface temperature during the day often reached 9 degrees Celsius. The consequent water vapour retention allowed liquid water to weave its own ecological agenda. Oxygen level was at 7%, almost perfect for the Axis, although still a little thin for humans; it was at a similar level to that at Everest’s Himalayan peak. The trend however was now partly self-generating and exponential change had been established. Radiation was still an issue. The remaining quantities of Scarlet had been extracted and cold-stored in a highly secure location. The notion that it would become a tool of profligate politicians, to bolster their economies by replicants displacing the lower paid, and creating an illusory hike in quality of living, was distinctly unacceptable to all Martians.

The arrival of the visitors’ shuttle was officially an opportunity for Martians to take a vacation on Earth. There was no clamour for this; a few normally did take it, but considering the many who had left family behind it was a disturbing judgement of Terran society that most did not.

The visitors disembarked from the descent vehicle. Logan appeared much more relieved than Sevicek when they were greeted by Carvalho. A quick safety induction video was sufficient for Logan to recover his poise, and Carvalho explained the separate sessions, assuring Sevicek that they would get some one-on-one time in the evenings.

Although both men had heard of the advances in colonisation they were highly impressed with everything they saw. No fossil fuel was used for heating or transport. The appetising appearance of the cuisine was entirely courtesy of the Axis technology. The absence of money and plastic cards stood out. The recreation dome halfway between Marineris Central and Echus Chasma contained an impressive lake with water sports and street cafes. The PA system infrequently interrupted Echus 1 TV broadcasts. There was another social networking dome near the fissure on the road to Utopia Planitia, for buildings facilitating other leisure pursuits such as libraries, cinemas, dancing and restaurants. Other domes were under construction. Access between these distant points was by Axis-designed underground trains. They were incredibly high speed, high precision vehicles with virtually no sensation of movement.

The ‘tour’ ended with the phenomenal refurbished manufacturing operation at Echus Chasma. When looking at the spacecraft assembly lines and the sophistication of the robotics, Sevicek proclaimed that nothing he had seen of this on TV had prepared him for this moment. The meetings would start after sleep and breakfast.

Chapter 2

The two Earthlings exhibited starkly contrasting appearances as well as agendas. Logan was a burly figure with over-subscribed and under-groomed nasal hair. His eyebrows were thick and joined up. Sevicek was on the scrawny side and sported designer cornea of blue-green. He appeared to be suffering nutrition deprivation and an overdose of VDU exposure.

Dan and Red introduced themselves to Sevicek and then explained that ‘Jet’ was the leading Axis authority on propulsion technology and spatial distortion. Dan was the first generation replicant of Carvalho himself, and Red was the second generation equivalent of Alex Redgrave – Alex 2 being the first. Redgrave was a saboteur aboard Copernicus and had committed a planned suicide on Mars to destabilise the confidence in the colonisation programme.

I hope you slept well Mr. Logan. Sometimes the first night is a restless one, even for shuttle veterans.

The reply was cautious yet verbose. Well, I took a while to settle – nothing to do with the accommodation though; I think my sleep aids are not so effective here. On the other hand I sometimes have trouble sleeping at home and......

Why don’t I get Pascal 2 to prescribe something for you tonight? He’s very good. Now, looking at the agenda you sent, I suppose it’s prioritised in the order you wish discussion?

Yes, I have an additional item which is actually the most important. It was felt to be too sensitive to put it in a transmission.

Ok, said Carvalho, go ahead.

Logan wasn’t at ease and nervously began. There’s a desire to add the red crystal to our regular trading list, in fact to raise it to the top. Please, before you respond, let me sketch in the rationale. Quite a pronounced silence prevailed then Logan admitted he was not necessarily a supporter of this request; he was a spokesman not an advocate.

What the hell is that supposed to mean? challenged Carvalho.

It means there is a division of ethics involved. You must know from my predecessor that the Council has very strong objections to bringing the crystal to Earth, for any reason. The most influential nations – the Big Five however, remind us that in fact they fundamentally support that purist view, but practical considerations require flexibility. They also added that they didn’t see any need to procrastinate over this, as the independent views of the Council are recorded and understood, but they pay our salaries and would like to continue that contribution. We have been ‘warned’ not to rock the boat.

Carvalho bit his tongue. He instinctively knew that it was a waste of time sharing his Martian perspective on this. He also wondered how much of Logan’s selection had been influenced by this initiative. I see. Well, I will of course need to acquaint Alex 2 and Fav of this and... He was cut off. That is another concern; they don’t want to involve any non-humans in this trade. I’m not authorised to discuss this with anyone other than you.

Carvalho decided the moment had arrived. With respect Mr. Logan, you have no concrete jurisdiction on Mars, or haven’t you heard of the Mars Charter? Your predecessor not only accepted this – he embraced it. The answer to such a strident demand from Terran Capitalistas, whether directly or via a quisling conduit like you, is a definite negative. Does any of that seem ambiguous to you?

No response. Have I made myself clear?

Certainly, was the eventual reply, I fear that it is so unambiguous that it won’t be well received, and that may precipitate certain sanctions towards Mars.

Carvalho consciously reeled in his contempt. Yes, I can appreciate that but we cannot pretend we will be inconvenienced by such petulance - in any material way. It would however be a dangerous route for humans in the long term, both here and on Earth. I urge you to return and convey my sincere wish for proper dialogue on all issues, especially one such as this. Without being apprised of the real reasons for such a volte-face, it’s impossible for me to convey any genuine support to my non-human fellow leaders. Social cohesion is the bedrock of our philosophy Mr. Logan. A comfort break was appreciated.

Logan took a long time to return. It had given them both some time to think. Carvalho was reflecting on how Xiang had always managed to keep the populous onside even when the ruling class was troublesome. There was another factor at play now. As long as Mars was seen as the tottering infant and Earth as the tolerant parent, Xiang had capitalised on the moral persuasion at opportune moments. Now that the wayward, headstrong youth had outstripped the parents in technological and social development, such familial sympathy was evaporating. Carvalho deduced that governments and industrialists had grasped the significance of this shift and had decided to nurture it. He could imagine that religion would also be roped into the campaign at some juncture. The most surprising aspect of the request was the absence of discussion on safeguards and restrictions related to the use of Scarlet. The barons who had failed so far to locate red crystal of Earth origin would be either incredulous at such manna from heaven or involved somewhere along the line. When Logan re-entered he merely asked if this was Carvalho’s final position on the matter.

The reply was calculated and less