Chapter 26: Tech Support

Shamus and Ian set up the folding table in the habitat and covered it with a sheet as a tablecloth. Tom and Daria were doing the cooking and Julie was setting up the chairs. Tonight they were going to have a good cooked meal to celebrate their discovery. They would also be making plans for what to do next.

Beef steak strips, roasted potatoes, creamed spinach, and strawberry shortcake made for an excellent dinner. One thing about Mars, Daria thought, was that when you had to go out on an extended mission at least they sent some of the best food items with you! That certainly kept morale up and you were unlikely to have a mutiny because of the food!

During dinner Shamus remarked, "We probably ought to talk about what to do with all of this knowledge we are about to receive!"

"What do you mean," Ian asked.

Shamus looked at each person in the group, "What is it we have before us? If I understand the list we have: anti-gravity devices, interstellar propulsion, an interstellar navigation system, and force fields. Is mankind ready for this? Should we blow up this whole place, because in mankind's hands these technologies would be a menace? What will happen as the nations of the Earth get these technologies into their hands? Will they lead to self-destruction?"

Daria jumped in with, "Using the same logic and absence of information, I could argue that these technologies will lead to world peace and harmony among peoples. We want to develop solutions to these problems and overcome these obstacles. Why not now?"

Julie set down her knife and fork and wiped her mouth on a napkin. Then she cleared her throat. Quietly she stated, "First and foremost we are explorers and scientists. It is not our role to determine what happens with something that we find. Nuclear weapons were a terrible discovery and a terrible threat. Yet, it is nuclear weapons on Earth that kept the peace for nearly a century. Even when we did have the next major war it was not nuclear weapons that were the curse. They weren't even used! It was the robots that waged war that were the curse. Yet, just look at what horrors resulted in our being able to create Herman! No, we need to open the 'gifts' being given to us by these aliens. Others will decide how to put the information to use. If we do not bring this information to light, then we will have willingly squandered the greatest opportunity for humanity to explore and expand even more in this universe.

Ian nodded and added, "I agree with Julie. Exploration and science have resulted in good and bad throughout history. Alfred Nobel wanted to help with mining and earthmoving not war making. Yet, dynamite revolutionized both. We need to move forward."

Tom looked around the table. "I guess it is my turn," he said. "I think we should move forward. But, I think we need to look to our leadership to make some decisions. Our little discussion here has made me think."

"I guess my influence has rubbed off on you," Daria deadpanned without looking at Tom.

Tom chuckled, "It only took 40 years my love." Everybody had a good laugh.

"Seriously," Tom went on. "I think we should look at the possibility of keeping these technologies Martian property. The value of these technologies – if they actually work – is far too great to just hand them over to the public domain. We know how fickle funding can be. Right now we have people lining up to come to Mars. What about a decade from now? How do we ensure that there is a financial future for the Martian colony. While we have reduced the cost of operating the colony to those on Earth, this is still a hugely expensive undertaking. We are just now reaching the point where we might be able to survive without resupply from Earth. However, in that case we could be wiped out from some unforeseen event just as easily. Thus, I plan to talk with Mia and suggest that we hold this technology and force payment to license it – non-exclusively of course. That way we can have our own funding and don't have to rely on the governments of Earth to fund us out of their 'largess.'"

"You really are an accountant at heart, dear," Daria quipped.

Ian became quite animated saying, "You are right Tom. Not only could we license this technology, but if we build viable transports with it first, then we will have demonstrated it, which further increases the value!"

"Now you're thinking, Ian," Tom retorted and slapping his palm on the table. "It occurs to me that if we could be the sole manufacturers of key components, then we would have a monopoly position."

Shamus chimed in saying, "You realize this could still be the most important moral, political, and social decision of this century."

Tom turned to Shamus and responded, "I am not denying that. However, if that is the case, then perhaps we Martians should keep the basic technology out of the hands of Earth. We can find ways to promote exploration and science and try to keep them from using the technologies against us or possibly the aliens who are giving it to us."

At this Daria jumped in and deadpanned, "How long do you think these technologies will be ours alone? Aren't secrets – especially military ones – fleeting at best? How long until some power on Earth manages to obtain the technologies through espionage or reverse engineering? How will we control what people say when they get back to Earth? There is an old Chinese saying to the effect that if you take only one matchstick at a time you eventually get the whole house!"

"Wow, you make a good point, Daria," Julie exclaimed.

Looking at Daria, Tom said, "Just because theft may be inevitable doesn't mean you shouldn't have the technology. The challenges are to make it very hard for the thief and to keep on top of technology and make improvements. Then they will have stolen old technology at best."

Ian added, "However, that assumes we even understand what we are given. We could be creating things we do not even understand. That is the problem with using alien technology."

Daria cleared her throat and everyone turned to her. Again in her total deadpan she stated, "The key to making this work the way it is evolving in this conversation is through secret, compartmentalized information. That way no one has enough of the information to make use of it. In terms of what we might fabricate, well it is the same thing. Units will fabricate their specific parts, but not understand or necessarily even know about the other parts. At the integration level there is assembly of parts and even testing, but no knowledge of what is inside what are essentially black boxes to them. The parts need to fit and perform in a certain way, but there is no knowledge at the higher level of what is inside. In this way we may be able to fabricate without risking too much leakage."

Shamus looked at Daria and remarked, "How did an English professor get so knowledgeable about the ways of intelligence agencies?"

Daria looked back at Shamus and simply said, "Reading, of course. And there are things in Tom's and my background that have taught us much about such things."

There were nods around the table and everyone went back to eating. It was silent for several minutes. Then Julie looked up, "Of course this is all just speculation. We haven't seen what they are offering to us yet. This may at best just be premature speculation."

Tom looked at Julie and replied, "Well, we will see tomorrow. Tomorrow we take Herman to record and start getting lessons in interstellar systems."

Again, heads nodded. Everyone finished the rest of their dinner in silence. As they ate their dessert, Shamus chimed in with, "You know, what we really need is a native Martian sport. Americans have their football and Canada invented hockey. What should be the true native Martian sport?"

Daria deadpanned, "Probably something that involves stopping suit decompression before the player dies. That is what seems to draw the most excitement around here. Maybe making it like the running of the bulls in Pamplona."

Her comment brought a round of laughter.