System 2.0 - Division of Powers

Mars 2

'What's the atmosphere like now?' she asked.

'Well, the planet-formers certainly added a lot of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and this is still an issue for non-native species. There are high concentrations of methane and ammonia. The levels of extrinsic flourine compounds are going down due to natural decay, and we're also seeing an unexpected increase in nitrogen. I wouldn't want to spend too long in this soup, but it's less nasty than it was.'

'I heard there was a plan to stop terraformation?'

He shook his head.

'We'll never be able to stop the process of planet forming,' he said. 'This world will always be vulnerable to atmospheric loss or temperature fluctuations. We're a little too far from the sun, and this rock is just a bit too small.'

He gestured at the rich forest of multi-coloured plants around them.

'It's a reasonably stable ecosystem now, but we'll always need to keep an eye on things, just to maintain what we have.'

'You're not pushing towards a fully earth-like atmosphere any more?'

'No,' he conceded. 'The general feeling is that we've gone far enough.'

An alien figure was now strolling towards them along a well trodden path. The surface-dwelling Martian was tall and thin with a delicate neck emerging from a thick brown coat. It had blue tiger stripes where its eyebrows would have been, and large expressive eyes which blinked in the sunlight.

'Good morning,' the figure greeted them in a tuneful voice as it stepped up onto the landing field.

'This is Reveen Vee Ocean,' Marcus said, introducing the Martian to the floating head. 'He's one of my colleagues.'

The alien figure bowed slightly and smiled with its thin mouth.

'Pleased to meet you,' he said pleasantly.

'Reveen works for the Biological Advocacy group on the Green Council,' Marcus announced. 'He was appointed to this investigation because his group is responsible for this area.'

Esther's projected face seemed puzzled, so he sensed the need for further explanation. Esther was clearly a stranger to Martian politics - that or her avatar had been given a rather limited declarative memory.

'There are two houses in the Martian Council,' he pointed out. 'The Blue Council represents mechanical or virtual life forms, of which we have many...'

'And the Green Council represents biological life,' Reveen continued. 'The delegates on the Green Council are then subdivided according to geographical area, and also according to species.'

'Different representatives for surface and city types?' Esther asked.

'And for plant and animal life,' the Martian pointed out.

'Plants and animals?' Esther asked, sounding puzzled.

'Absolutely,' Reveen replied. 'There are members of the Council who are nominated to represent the interests of non-sentient life on the planet, and they are legally required to take their role seriously.'

'How do they know which way to vote?' Esther asked.

'To a certain extent, they need to use their own wisdom', Reveen explained. 'But their votes can be challenged, and often are, so they employ people like me to carry out careful research. Decisions are frequently examined and defended in a Court of Appeal.'

Although he could only see a projection of her head, Marcus could sense her reaction.

She simply said, 'Fascinating...'