Pedestrians In Traffic Signs In Europe (corrected)

Pedestrians in traffic signs in Europe (corrected)

The bus is late. You tug uncomfortably at the mask of your pressure suit. This isn't your first time wearing one by any means, but it certainly doesn't help make the walls of the city leaning in around you feel any less stifling. An old man lowers himself onto the bench next to you. "Y'on't look like yer from here. Mariner Valley?" You reflexively jump in your seat a little, alarmed by the unprompted attempt at conversation. "Y-yeah. How could you tell?" "Ah, all you communists look the feckin same." You open your mouth as if to speak, before electing not to respond.

WELCOME TO MARS MOTHERFUCKERS

It is two hundred and fifty-odd years in the future. Mars, once a cold dead husk, is now a developed world with bustling industry and a contested legal status that hasn't become a problem yet because everyone chooses to ignore it. The planet has slowly been gaining a breathable atmosphere, not through any concerted terraforming effort, but instead because oxygen is produced as a byproduct of many metal refining processes. After over a century of heavy industry, the parts of the planet's surface at low elevation have a high enough atmospheric pressure that crops can be grown in the open air, and humans can survive without needing a pressure suit.

Which parts of the planet become breathable first has a huge impact on Martian socioeconomics, leading me to perhaps my strangest science fiction writing project yet:

THE REGIONAL STEREOTYPES OF MARS

EAT MY TAINT YOU GODDAMN MARINER HIPPIES

Hellas

Hellas is a large impact basin surrounded by the southern highlands. Its very low elevation means it was one of the first parts of the Martian surface to have arable land, and provided the majority of the planet's food before most agriculture moved north. The height of the surrounding terrain traps in moisture, resulting in it being the most lush part of Mars, containing its only wild grasslands. Hellas is the most populous region of Mars, and is home to the planets colonial administrative capital of Badwater.

Hellas' habitability and developed infrastructure means it is the region of Mars most frequently visited by outsiders. Its culture and general appearance have become Earth's main conception of the planet.

Hellas is positioned on the opposite side of the planet to Mars' other major population centers, so overland travel is inconvenient and uncomfortable. This has made it quite culturally isolated, with much of the planet seeing the region's citizens as stuck up, backwards, and blind to the plight of the average Martian. Having the planet's oldest settlements, Hellas' residents view themselves as being the "real" Martians, and hold some resentment towards the rest of the planet for being so weak-willed and forgetting their roots.

Chryse

Chryse is a large, flat plain in the northern hemisphere. Its elevation is mostly not low enough to be habitable to humans without pressure suits, but genetically modified plants thrive in the nutrient-rich alluvial soil. Though Chryse's population is quite small, only having a couple of dense towns located in deep craters, it provides a majority of the planet's food.

Chryse's inhabitants are commonly perceived as easygoing, hospitable and a bit simple-minded. That is, if they are perceived at all. Despite its importance, the region is often forgotten in discussions of Mars.

As its exports are mostly local to Mars and occasionally to the outer solar system, the region finds itself largely isolated from Earth politics. This is a point of pride for its inhabitants, who consider themselves for this reason to be truest Martians, embodying a spirit of independence and self-reliance.

Mariner Valley

Mariner Valley is a system of rift valleys near Mars' equator. Its higher elevation means that it became habitable slightly later than Hellas, but the moderate climate and abundant water make it highly desirable as a place of habitation. Originally it served as a staging point for people and cargo moving to and from mining settlements on Tharsis, but it slowly evolved into a highly developed center for manufacturing and industry.

The region's value as a manufacturing hub which is easily accessible to the outer solar system makes it highly desirable to Earth corporations, who have long been vying for political influence in the area. This is met with resistance from many of the locals, upset that the fruits of their labor are largely spent on the interests of Earth instead of bettering their own planet. Mariner Valley is the nucleus of a socialist independence movement, and is currently under partial administration by the Martial Coalition. This is allowed to exist as it serves to take some administrative burden off of the colonial government and doesn't inconvenience them, though any acknowledgment of its existence is completely informal and under very vaguely defined terms.

Depending on who you ask, Mariner Valley is either a place for well-meaning but starry-eyed and unrealistic idealists, or a rotting trench full of communists. Its anyone's guess, really. Broadly, Mariner Valley sees itself as the future of Mars: real, red-blooded Martians who truly believe in their people.

Tharsis

Tharsis Rise, often simply "the rise", is a massive plateau around the Martian equator. Its high altitude and harsh winds render it uninhabitable. Its valuable deposits of highly accessible ore minerals mean that people live there anyways. A pressure suit is needed to be outside here. At moderate altitudes, a partial counterpressure suit to assist with breathing is sufficient. In the mountains, full body pressures suits are necessary to prevent bodily fluids from flash boiling.

Settlements in this region are largely run by Earth corporations and structured entirely around resource extraction. Despite the huge value of the area's resources, it remains among the planet's poorest. Escaping poverty proves particularly difficult when your boss sets the price of oxygen. Public perception is largely divided, with some people seeing the struggles of Tharsis as a symbol of Mars' oppression, and others seeing it as their just comeuppance for being lazy and reliant on handouts from Earth.

The population of Tharsis is spread out, and apart from a few large settlements with good transportation, isolated from the rest of the planet. They are not linked by kinship nor ideology, but are together in their misery. They're born in the dirt, they work in the dirt, and they die in the dirt. In the dirt, they're one people, and what's more truly Martian than that?

All elevation maps were made with MOLA data using JMARS

I love jumping spiders so much. There's something about the way they move that belies their incredible intelligence. The way their cephalothorax swivels about; the way they take small, thoughtful steps between contemplative pauses. You can tell they're examining and considering their surroundings, and when they make eye contact you FEEL it. I adore these little guys.

Had the pleasure to bump into this wonderful creature ✨️

worldanvil.com

Astra Planeta

An overview of Astra Planeta from a metacanonical perspective.

Gave the Astra Planeta overview article a HUGE rework. Like... 2000 words' worth of rework. Have a look!

Have I mentioned that The CryptoNaturalist podcast

returns on December 15th?

Suddenly, that's just a few days away!

If you're not familiar,

the podcast is a scripted show about real love

for fictional nature. It's about cryptids.

It's about an odd, enthusiastic expert in strange wildlife.

worldanvil.com

Astra Planeta

An overview of Astra Planeta from a metacanonical perspective.

Gave the Astra Planeta overview article a HUGE rework. Like... 2000 words' worth of rework. Have a look!