Author's Note: For some reason, Mass Effect 3 lists Benning's average surface temperature as 63 degrees Celsius (145 Fahrenheit). I'm re-imagining it as having a hot but still manageable 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) average temperature.
Chapter 7 - Break On Through (To The Other Side)
The Solar System Colonization Agreement
After over a month of negotiations, the Admiralty Board and the governments of Earth announced on September 1, 1968 that they had reached an agreement regarding ownership and governance of the soon-to-be solar colonies. The salient points of the agreement are as follows:
* The Tonbay will begin a tour of the Solar System on October 1, 1968, bringing along with it famous scientists, politicians, and artists from various Earth nations. The Tonbay will return to earth in mid-1969.
* Quarians will begin setting up solar habitats on Mars and the gas giant moons during and after the Tonbay's tour, with the expectation that colonists will begin to move in by the end of 1969.
* Mars is designated an "international planet". Any nation may - with quarian guidance - settle on Mars and establish colonies there. The Prothean ruins remain off-limits to human civilians.
* Europa is given to the United States.
* Titan is given to the Soviet Union.
* Enceladus is managed by the Migrant Fleet (now mostly just called the Flotilla since it isn't migrant anymore), but resources from the planet are delivered to Earth and distributed equally among nations.
* The asteroid belts are given to the quarians, with the stipulation that 10% of the resources extracted from them be given to Earth. The significance of this was not realized at first.
* The nearest known garden world with levo-amino acid based life, dubbed "Paradise" [actually Benning], will be colonized no later than the year 2000. Like Mars, it is to be an international planet, with territories belonging to their parent Earth nations. Many humans are upset at the slow pace of colonization for a "second Earth".
* Several civilian ships will continue to search nearby star systems for a habitable world with dextro-amino acid based life, separate from the rest of the Flotilla. As a gesture of goodwill, human astronauts from around the world are invited to join the mission on a small passenger freighter (with a quarian captain). The ship is renamed Explorer and Wally Schirra - the astronaut that made first contact with the quarians - is assigned as XO to the ship's captain, Merr'Erral vas Explorer. The mission will launch prior to the Tonbay expedition and is to include humanity's first visit to the Moon.
At the beginning of the latter mission there was a considerable behind-the-scenes argument between the United States and the Soviet Union as to which of their nationals would receive the honor of being the first to set foot on Earth's satellite. Ultimately, Wally Schirra and his Soviet counterpart Valery Bykovsky shut down the arguments when they agreed to simply flip a coin for the privilege. Bykovsky won the coin toss, and thus became the first human being to walk on a celestial body.
Near Saturn, Solar System
September 18, 1968
"You know," Wally Schirra said as he stared out the Explorer's window, "I'm really glad I'm not on Earth right now."
Valery Bykovsky chuckled. "Agreed. Back home, everything is a mess. Your country, mine, doesn't matter. Out here, we need not worry about it."
"And back home they don't have this scenery."
As the XO said that, Saturn came into clear view for everyone on the ship. There weren't as many gasps of shock this time around, but they nonetheless all took a moment to stop and admire the sight of the gas giant. Everyone had seen the pictures from the Flotilla, but those just didn't do it justice.
The past few months had been a busy time for XO Schirra (the translation didn't quite fit, so "XO" worked for him). His fellow Americans had been relieved to see him return home unharmed, and then had spent most of the next month bombarding him with endless questions. It was starting to get a bit annoying - after all, he hadn't really spent that much time on the Tonbay and knew only slightly more than what the quarians had told everyone else.
He had jumped at the opportunity to become a pioneer in human exploration for so many reasons. To see the planets ahead of the official diplomatic trip, to learn how to pilot an alien ship, to put his name in the history books yet again...but most of all, to get away from Earth. Valery was right.
"I knew Betra'Oor before first contact," one of the handful of quarian advisors on the Explorer chimed in. "She was always a rash one. Prone to thinking before acting. I hope her sacrifice is enough for Americans to put Montgomery behind them."
Schirra hoped so too. Quarians were outraged at the execution of one of their own, but there were just so many crying for blood.
"XO Schirra and Ensign Bykovsky, please report to the control room."
Both men acknowledged the intercom and began walking towards the front of the ship, making conversation with one another along the way. With the now-ubiquitous translators, they and the other astronauts had been able to get to know each other without a language barrier, something they were all thankful for. There was a sense of unity among them that was very lacking on Earth these days. They were pioneers not just of their nations, but of humanity.
The door slid open and they immediately understood why Merr'Erral called them in. Titan, the moon of Saturn that had been given to the USSR, was coming into full, glorious view.
"Ensign Bykovsky, your country was given a fine moon," Merr'Erral said in greeting. "With a few centuries of work, Titan could be given a breathable atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen."
"I hope you didn't short us in the negotiations, sir," Schirra replied before Bykovsky could, his tone making it clear there was no problem.
"Hardly. You saw Europa, didn't you? The colonies will be in the sea, under the ice...they will be breathtaking."
"You sound in awe, captain," Bykovsky observed.
"I am," he said while bringing up the readings for Titan. "I've never seen a planetary system quite like yours. Only one pure garden world, but four celestial bodies that can be colonized using prefabricated habitats. Had we not discovered you, you likely would have settled them on your own eventually."
"Is that a big deal?" Schirra asked.
"It is. Every known species on record has had to perfect mass effect technology before colonizing other worlds. 'Uplifting' will be much easier with these moons and Mars to work with as a basis."
The conversation continued as the scouting expedition sailed past Saturn and its moons. While the Explorer and its crew were making history, the best laid plans of quarians and men were beginning to run into some unexpected complications.
San Francisco, California
October 12, 1968
The pungent fragrance of marijuana consumed the park in all directions. First Contact had only seemed to increase the hippie enthusiasm for drugs, if that were possible. Quarians (all in envirosuits) observed the scene with amusement, sometimes joining in on the laughter but keeping themselves sealed off from the smoke (toxic for them). Here, an experiment in collective living was being overseen by a few quirky Flotilla "experts". And here, history would be made.
"It's such bullshit!" One said. "You guys find another Earth out there but now the Man says we have to wait thirty years to live on it!"
"You're a young species," a quarian countered. "Colonizing a world is a huge commitment-"
"We could do it!" Someone replied. "We could colonize Paradise ourselves! Put our own natural towns there, and do it without hurting that planet! When the corporations get to it it'll be soiled, just like Earth was. Why do we have to wait for that to happen?!"
Several quarians replied that it wasn't that simple, that you couldn't just set up a colony on another planet like you could a commune. But the idea had been planted, and slowly, the quarians there became more receptive to it.
Prothean Research Outpost, Mars
November 3, 1968
Some things, at least, were going according to plan. While humans on Earth argued with quarians over Paradise and their less-than-idyllic global situation, scientists and archaeologists of both species were making astonishing discoveries on the red planet. The quarians observed that salarian scientists would be very jealous of them if they knew this outpost existed, a fact they seemed to derive pleasure from.
"These ruins are incredible," Kathleen Kenyon remarked to a quarian colleague as she continued dusting off an exterior column of the outpost. She found her environmental suit to be awkward and ill-fitting, apparently it had originally been designed for those 'krogan' biped reptiles and retrofitted for her. Annoying, but to study alien ruins she would tolerate it.
"Yes, all the more so for its interior contents," Narra'Shael replied. "Most sentient species were observed by the Protheans, but this outpost is more extensive than any discovered in a home system."
"How fortunate we are." As she finished cleaning off a support column, she noticed writing on it - recognizable as Prothean after several months of study - but could not decipher it.
"Ancestors..." Narra'Shael whispered under her breath. "I've got a translation...it says 'Beware the machines.'"
Beware the machines? These "Protheans" were the closest thing humanity had to tangible gods. They had watched the humans grow, and likely planned to uplift them had they not vanished. But where had they gone? Kathleen had immediately scoured quarian databases for information on the Protheans as soon as she learned about the Martian ruins and the information had been made accessible. But there was so little information! Barely anything to make an educated guess from, even. But this...
"Are there any messages similar to this in Citadel space?" She asked.
"Not exactly," Narra replied. "In several extinct cultures throughout the galaxy, historians have discovered a recurring belief in enormous space monsters that consumed entire stars. Nothing about 'machines' though."
When Narra said "consumed entire stars," Kathleen knew all she needed to. Perhaps she was the best choice to study the Martian ruins after all.
"On Earth, my field of research was focused on Jericho and Jerusalem," she began. "Cities considered sacred to several Earth religions. I found the story of our spiritual forefathers buried in the Earth. I believe I understand why I was asked to participate in this excavation."
"Why?"
"To search for the bodies of gods," she replied in a cold tone. "To bring physical form to ancient beliefs. God rested in the Holy Land, and the Protheans rest here. But our gods are largely ones of faith. We have found artifacts of religion, but not God's 'autograph', so to speak. But these ruins show us those who came before, in great detail. And this..."
She stepped forward and placed a hand on the column. Even through the suit, she felt a chill.
"I believe this is the dying message of the Protheans."
The New York Times, December 15th, 1968:
FLOTILLA: 'NO EXPLANATION' FOR INCREASE IN RELAY UFOS
As the nation continues to grip with the uncertain results of the 1968 election, government officials around the world have expressed concern at unexplained activity centering around the Charon Mass Relay.
Since the beginning of December, five quarian ships have diverted from their normal location in the Solar System to investigate "anomalous readings" from the Relay, each time returning a week later after reporting that nothing was amiss. The Flotilla Admiralty Board has denied rumors that humans are abducted and taken to outer space against their will - an inference made from the fact that all five ships landed on Earth shortly before their Relay trips.
"I understand why there is concern about this activity, but I can assure everyone there is no reason to panic," Neel'Koris vas Relnara said in a statement to the Times. "Occasionally Relays will give out odd readings, but we thoroughly investigated each instance and concluded they were just that, odd readings. There were no humans present on any of those ships."
Paradise
December 10, 1968
"Holy shit," Adam said as soon as he stepped foot on the ground. "This place is hot!"
Other soon-to-be colonists expressed similar sentiments as they made their way off the ship. There were around fifty of them in total, and getting them all off of Earth and onto the Verpana without anyone noticing was no small feat. But they were here. They were in Paradise.
"Well, is it everything you dreamed of?" Betra'Kar vas Verpana asked Adam after everyone had gotten off the ship and situated.
"It's definitely a lot hotter than a planet called 'Paradise' should be, but of course it is," Adam said. "This is a whole new world, just for us. We've got the seeds, the nearby water, everything we need. Like I said back on Earth, we can do this."
"I should hope so," Betra replied. "Your supplies will last you until your crops are grown, but you will be on your own. Return trips to this planet would make our activity obvious." Betra secretly thought that they had brought more marijuana seeds than was strictly necessary.
"Captain, we wouldn't have asked for this if we didn't know we could do it," Adam fired back confidently. "Nobody will know we are here. No advanced technology, just some simple shelters."
"And you want to live like that?"
"Totally. This is nature. This is how we're supposed to live."
After a few hours of assisting the colonists (thankfully, they had been wise enough to bring a master gardener), the quarians left. They were the first to transfer unauthorized human settlers to Paradise, but would not be the last. When the ship was gone, one man remarked that Paradise was "a little hot for heaven."
And thus, the town of Hotheaven became the first wildcat colony.
Excerpt from Pioneers of Paradise: The Story of the Wildcat Colonies by Francis Fukuyama (2001)
Of the "wildcat" colonies (the origin of the term is uncertain) founded on Paradise, the first continues to receive the most interest from historians and the general public. Hotheaven, despite its age, maintains a modest population of 50,000 and has yet to see the massive growth the rest of the planet currently enjoys. Baked in its ethos is the belief that the town and its inhabitants must coexist with nature: electricity remains scarce and is used primarily for agriculture, a fact that quarians were convinced would lead to the colony's failure. Much to the surprise of them and perhaps even the colonists themselves, that did not happen.
Why not? Simple: Good leaders made good decisions. Contrary to its Earth reputation, Hotheaven is not an anarchy where lovers of freedom can behave however they wish. Town founder Adam Johnson summed up the early rules of Hotheaven with the town motto: "Do Your Part." The town governing council required each citizen to work a certain number of hours on important tasks like farming, settlement construction and irrigation. Recognizing the unique challenges of being the first humans to settle on a garden world, Johnson had the foresight to bring specialists whose help the colony would need, ranging from master gardeners to a therapist. The planning paid off: despite a rough first two years, particularly during the autumn of 1969 when a heat wave killed several crops, Hotheaven survived and eventually thrived...
...in retrospect, the quarians transporting humans to Paradise likely knew they would be discovered. Although the disappearance of hundreds of humans throughout the world could not be kept a secret, they appear to have been surprised by how fast humanity uncovered the link. After the initial settlement wave of December 1968 was dismissed under the guise of "odd readings," the United States' FBI suggested a correlation between the disappearances and the Relay activity only a month later. Hard evidence was difficult to come by until April of 1969, when the second settlement wave was discovered and the existence of the "wildcat" colonies was revealed to the public.
The quarian plan for human colonization of the stars, so carefully constructed, was now in tatters beyond the Solar System. Their situation was not made easier by the fact that the residents of the wildcat colonies both refused to leave and dared the Flotilla and the governments of Earth to try and evict them.
New Rannoch
January 5, 1970
"After you, sir."
Merr'Erral acknowledged XO Schirra and took the first steps off of the Explorer and onto the surface of New Rannoch. It was wetter and cooler than the homeworld; they had landed near a jungle and the lush foliage seemed to stand in contrast with its namesake. Not that that mattered to Merr'Erral. Smiling, he took off his mask and breathed in the air, momentarily startling his shipmates.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Valery Bykovsky asked from behind Schirra.
"I don't care," he confidently replied. "We've finally found a world. A dextro world. Everything humans can do with their animals and plants, we now can as well. This is..."
He stepped down and picked a flower off the ground, deeply breathing in its aroma. "This is perfect."
Schirra smiled warmly. He was happy for his Captain. They had gotten to know each other well over the past year, and he had come to realize just how much this meant to the quarians. He couldn't imagine not being able to eat meat or vegetables from Earth because the food was toxic to your body, not having a world that was truly yours and nobody else's. After centuries, Merr'Erral had found that which the quarians longed for so deeply: a home that was in harmony with their biology.
"I hope all of you don't end up moving here," Schirra said. "A lot of people on Earth would miss you."
Merr'Erral turned around and faced him. The novelty of seeing a quarian's face certainly hadn't worn off.
"Wally, the humans are our friends," he said. "We would not have found this world without your help and support. Earth will always have a place in our minds and souls, and we will continue to help you develop your planet."
"But now you have a home as well," Bykovsky chimed in. "You're no longer our houseguests. You're our neighbors."
Merr's silver eyes lit up as bright as they could. "Precisely."