Revolutions - 11.19-The Independence Days

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

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Hello and welcome to revolutions. Episode 11.19, The Independence Days. We left off last time in May 2250, with the shocking revelation that Omnicor had armed several container ships in Convoy Group 11 with nuclear devices. As Convoy Group 11 made its way towards Mars, the Gemini Vids raced ahead of them, landing on the desk of Mabel Dor about two weeks after the ships departed Earth. Commander of the Martian Guard, Jose Calderon saw the vids and believed Dor needed to immediately declare a state of emergency. But despite this apparent proof that Omnicor was preparing to threaten Mars with total destruction, Dore was at that moment, more suspicious of Calderon than she was of Omnicor. Radicals on Mars had been trying to undermine the agreement of 2248 since it had been signed.

Calderon himself had been quick to believe other implausible plots that turned out not to be true, And it made absolutely no sense for Omnicor to destroy phosphi production on Mars by dropping a bunch of nuclear bombs on it. So her conclusion was, come on, get real, next time at least make it plausible. When it came to the Gemini Vids, D'Or believed that her job was to make sure dangerous radicals did not exploit fear over a fake threat to destroy the peace and stability that had been secured by the agreement of 2248. Calderon was furious D'Or did not take the Gemini Vids seriously and he went from that meeting with Dore

straight to Marcus Leopold. He showed Leopold the vids, laid out the threat he believed was very real, and told Leopold we have a real emergency we need to deal with here. No, not the nukes carried by Convoy Group 11, but by the continued leadership of Mabel Dor. Now, as we discussed last time,

Leopold and the Monscafe group had their own reasons for disliking and distrusting Mabel Door. Her refusal to do anything about the Gemini vids seemed to fit a pattern where she was more aligned with earthling interests than Martian interests. So Calderon and Leopold convened a further meeting

at the Mons Cafe on May the 31st, 2250, consisting of all the key leaders of the Mons group, Leopold, Avana Darby, Zhaoin, etc., etc., along with Calderon and his chief lieutenants. Also present was Alexandra Claire, who was deeply disappointed to learn Doorwere, was so determined to bury her head in the sand about this imminent threat to Mars in the Revolution. The conclusion of this meeting was that Door needed to be removed from power as soon as

possible. Now, in the casual telling of the Martian Revolution, this meeting is often portrayed as them agreeing to the revolutionary overthrow of Mabel Dor. But that's not really true. She served as director of Mars because the Martian Assembly had elected her. So really what they had agreed to that night was to commence a crash campaign to turn Martians against Doar and get her voted out of office as soon as possible. And they had to act fast because Convoy Group 11 was growing closer every day, and if Door was still in power when it arrived, they were all doomed. So the first thing they did was not grab their neutron guns and storm the Prime Dome, but publicly released the Gemini Vids in a hastily cobbled together package produced by Zhao Lin that included statements from both Calderon and

Leopold, saying this is a real threat. Earth is preparing to drop nuclear devices on us from orbit if we don't figure out a way to stop them, and Mabel Doer is refusing to do anything to stop them. Now it was Doors turned to be furious. She was more convinced than ever this was all concocted by Calderon, and apparently Marcus Leopold, to fatally undermine the agreement of 2248 and induce the Martians to rashly embrace full independence. So she released. least her own vid statements, saying, contrary to what you might be hearing, the Gemini vids are fake. They are meant to fill you with fear and panic. Don't let yourselves be manipulated. She also attempted to get the Gemini vids removed from the networks, which sure seemed like

a good and responsible thing to do at the time, but which would come back to haunt her. The reaction among the Martians was, thus a mix of confusion, fear, and panic. People already inclined to think the worst of Earth's intentions were immediately convinced the Gemini Vids were real, and they demanded Door do something. Those inclined to suspect radicals were willing to go to any lengths, including fabricating evidence, to push Mars to independence, believe Dore was doing the right thing. And in between those groups were Martians who didn't know what to think, but they did tend to be like, well, maybe it's prudent to not let the convoy group enter orbit around Mars, at least until we can figure out what's real and what's not. Back on Earth, the publication of the

Gemini Vids was an obvious shock to Omnicor CEO Jin Wong, who had been kept in the dark about the nukes in Convoy Group 11. She was absolutely convinced that the Martians were intentionally trying to paint Omnicor as an irrational aggressor. She and Dor had several discussions where they both agreed that though it was unclear who had made the Gemini Vids, they had done it to undermine the agreement of 2248. Both committed to not letting that happen. the peace, stability, and prosperity of both Earth and Mars seemed to depend on it. The publication of the Gemini Vids also came as quite a shock to Kamal Singh, though for obviously different reasons. Because Singh was now looking at very real proof of the plot that he had put in motion

and was now scared it was all going to get blown up at the last minute. Like, they kind of had him dead to rights here. That was absolutely a video of nuclear devices being loaded onto the ships of convoy group 11 at Gemini Station. But he breathed the sigh of relief when Wong convened the Omnacore Board of Directors and said we cannot let the Martian sabotage the agreement with phony evidence of a non-existent plot, as if Omnicor would ever be so stupid as to bombard Mars from orbit with nuclear weapons. At this meeting, Kamal Singh and his allies on the board nodded wisely and said, yes, yes, you're right, we must downplay this and not take the bait. But there were people on

Earth who did believe the vids were real, and who were alarmed at what Omnicor appeared to be attempting. Among them was our old friend Commander Axel Cartwright, presently sitting behind his desk at fleet headquarters in the San Jose Dome. The idea that Omnacore would bomb Mars was, of course, as far-fetched to him as anyone. But he checked up on the list of officers in Convoy Group 11, and when he read the names, he was like, oh no. He knew these names. He knew their personalities and dispositions. He knew he was looking at a list of the most staunchly loyalist officers in the fleet, and that included captains like Winifred Lowe's, Hero Satoshi, and Stade Gimlet, who had been vocal opponents of the mutiny of the shippers back in 2247. Cartwright reached out to his

contacts at Bicor and T-Core to say, I actually think this is real. Omnicor is making a play to reconquer Mars, and if you want a shot at breaking Mars away from Omnacore, you might have to act fast, really fast. Both Bicor and T-Core were happy to take any opportunity to undermine Omnicor's monopoly over the solar system, and were already making public statements that Omnicor had clearly gone off the rails and now threatened the very survival of humanity. They would rather destroy their Martian colonies and with them the phosphide Earth so desperately needs, rather than give up their exclusive control over the supply. This is not just taking the ball and going home.

This is taking the ball and blowing it up along with all the players on the field. Anti-Ommnacor sentiment swelled among the people of the other major corporations. On Mars, anti-Ommacor sentiment swelled even faster, but now it was joined by anti-Dorr sentiment. Both the redcaps in the Martian Guard and the activists connected to the Monce Cafe group pushed the line that at best Mabel Dor was dangerously complacent, and at worst was literally in league with the Earthlings. The emerging radical polemicist Kenji Gru saw his audience increase considerably,

as he made the case that all of Doar's actions since the three days of red were explainable if her role was not to lead Mars to freedom, but to prevent it. Her demand that they remain under Omnicor's corporate umbrella, her refusal to abolish the class system, her pattern of putting earthling interests above Martian interests, and now here the Coutagros, letting Omnicor park nukes above their heads to force the restoration of Omnicore supremacy. Mabel Dor was not the greatest Martian of them all.

She was the greatest earthworm of them all. After several weeks of heated debate that became more intense each day as Convoy Group 11 grew closer and closer, the committee managing the Martian Assembly's calendar announced that at the next session, scheduled for June 18, 2250, the assembly would debate and vote on a motion of no confidence in Mabel Dorr. Like many things in history, defining exactly what the Independence Day is, encompasses as a matter of some debate. I have, for example, two different books called The Independence Days. The first is by Valis Quincy and the latter by Muhammad Drawl. Quincy's book follows the traditional limited frame, covering events between the Martian

Assembly session on June 18th and the redecloration of independence on June 20th. But Drall's book takes a wider view and includes in his framework everything from the meeting at the Monce Cafe on May the 31st, all the way through the Battle of Phobos. and essentially arguing we should be calling this the independence weeks, not the independence days. But whichever framework you use, the June 18 session of the Martian Assembly is when all hell truly broke loose. That session was one of the largest attended sessions in the history of the assembly, both in person and over the networks. The critics of Mabel Dor had been successfully beating the drums against her, but it's not like all Martians were against her. Doar had supporters who believed that this was all being manipulated by irresponsible radicals.

In fact, Doar went into this session determined to survive the vote of no confidence and then turn the tables on Calderon by having the assembly vote on whether he should remain head of the Martian Guard. But it never got that far. In fact, it did not even make it as far as the vote of no confidence. The atmosphere was charged that day on the fields of earth. When the session commenced, every Martian leader of import. was there. Leopold, Darby, and Calderon all delivered addresses laying out Doors' failures and hammering the immediate threat posed by Convoy Group 11. Door had allies like Kinder James and Clarice Boe delivered denunciations

of the anti-Dor faction and accused them of deliberately misleading the Martian people and attacking the most honest and steadfast Martian patriot who had ever walked the Red Planet. But ominously for Dor, the cheers for Leopold, Darby, and Calderon were much louder than those who were, for James and Bo. Then Dore herself got up to speak. In the Minutes of the Martian Assembly, helpfully made available by the Martian archives and a huge compendium called

the Minutes of the Martian Assembly, Dore is officially recorded as saying simply, my fellow Martians. And that's it. After that, it says, disruptions to the assembly ensued, which, yeah, they sure did. A group of anti-door activists had camped out in front and started heckling her as soon as she started talking,

shouting things like earthworm and traitor. A group of door loyalists attempted to stop these hecklers, which led to pushing and shoving in front of the rostrum. The Martian Guard were supposed to be keeping an eye on security, but they appeared conspicuously nonchalant about the fighting breaking out at Doar's feet. From this growing scrum, a few people pushed their way forward and mounted this, stage upon which Dorr stood, and when they did, she beat a hasty retreat to the safety of her own entourage. This entourage included friends and allies, but also the contingent to the Martian guard who had served as her personal bodyguard since the three days of Red, and who had been

selected and retained for their steadfast and reliable loyalty to Dor herself. The fighting on and around the stage now spread wider, and Dorr's group decided it obviously wasn't safe here anymore, and it was time to leave. But by now, her entourage was being menaced by anti-Dor Martians screaming at her and trying to surround her and block any attempt to get her out of there. Dor's bodyguards were not having any of this. When the angry crowd refused to get out of their way, they pulled out their guns. When the crowd responded by not falling back but trying to push forward, the jostled and menace bodyguards did that fateful thing. They opened fire. Now this time, the neutron guns were not set to fatal. The Martians hit by the initial barrage were not killed. They were just stunned

or knocked out. But once again, we have in front of us a large crowd with shots being fired, and the recoil spasm of people trying to get away from the shooting triggered another panic stampede. As everyone rushed to clear the fields of Earth, Doors Entourage used the release of pressure to themselves break for the relative safety of headquarters. What they left behind was a damning mess. When the fields of Earth were finally emptied, 156 people lay dead. What became known as the massacre of the fields of Earth would be tacked on to the list of charges against Doar, the accusation being that she orchestrated all this

to prevent the vote of no confidence that she was about to surely lose. According to this accusation, Dor now had the blood of dead Martians on her hands. Of course, Mabel Doer did not orchestrate any of this. That's absurd. but that was hardly going to matter throughout her coming ordeal. Her entourage made it back to headquarters, where they promptly locked the doors and posted guards to keep lookout

in case the chaotic mass of people who had fled the fields of Earth, and were now loose in the Prime Dome, came calling, which they did. After several hours, a crowd coalesced in front of headquarters. As this crowd grew, some tried to break into the building, leading to clashes with the guards inside. It was lost on no one, then or now. that this was effectively a replay out the third day of red. Except this time it was not Ava Zhang

holed up in the director's suite, but Mabel Dorr. As the standoff continued, Jose Calderon ordered Martian guard units to the scene and had them surround the building. Then he commenced negotiations with Dor. He told her the dead body strewn across the fields of Earth were her responsibility. He said if she did not surrender,

he would order his guard to storm the building, and any Martians who died in the fighting would be her responsibility as well. Inside the director's suite, Dora surveyed the situation and her options. She did not, in fact, want any more Martians to die, but she also believed, not unreasonably, that Calderon had been behind all of this, and that what she was facing was a coup d'etat. She said, absent any vote by the Martian Assembly,

I am still the director of Mars Division. I'm not just going to let you arrest me. Calderon said, fine, you've read. rejected my offer, what happens next is on your head, not mine. And he wasn't bluffing. Calderon was not waiting around through protracted negotiations. His threat was not some opening bid. It was what he was going to do if she refused to come out, and now she refused to come out. So he ordered his red caps to go in and get her. After Calderon issued this order, the Martian Guard surrounding headquarters advanced on the building. And for the next five minutes, a 360-degree

shootout ensued as both sides opened fire on each other. The red caps did not come particularly close to breaching the building, but that did not matter. Because around minute six, Mabel Dor signaled around and said, you fracking maniac, fine, I surrender myself into your custody if that will stop the fighting. I'm still the director of Mars Division. This isn't over, but fine, I'm coming out. And she did. And that is when Mabel Dor was taken into custody by Cal Alderone's redcaps. Doar was not giving up. She absolutely planned to keep fighting.

And she did fight, to the very end. But she would never be a free woman again. Now this would seem to be the climactic conclusion of events. But we are not even close to the climactic conclusion because just as Dor was being taken into custody, the whole second act of the independence days unfolded. Down in his quarters on the sea level, Bruno October had been following everything with a mix of aggravation and nervous excitement. He'd barely slept since the publication of the Gemini vids

because of how badly that was going to screw up months of careful planning. Originally, the plan was to have Convoy Group 11 show up innocuously and hover over Mars without anybody knowing the threat it contained. Then, back on Earth, Kamal Singh would make his move against Jin Wang and initiate the attack on the digital firewall protecting Martian servers. As soon as that was accomplished, October would lead his people in an armed insurrection to take control of the primedown. That is when the existence of the orbital nukes would be revealed, and the Martians would have no choice but to capitulate or die.

But that now all looked potentially wrecked because of the Gemini vids. So it was a gift from the gods that both Mabledor and Jin Wong did not believe the Gemini Vids were real. So even though Convoy Group 11 had been flagged and would never be able to just appear innocuously, if things held together for a few more weeks, they could still crack the digital firewall and stage their loyalist coup on schedule. But instead, the Martians started protesting against Mabel Dor and looked like they might kick her out of office. If that happened, October knew it would be the Calderon-Leopold axis that would take over, and that would be very bad for loyalist plans.

So whatever the timetable was meant to be, October got a message to Kamal Singh saying, you need to initiate the attack on the firewall now before the entire colony is locked down so tight I can't move a muscle. Back on Earth, Singh got this message on June 16th, but hesitated to act. His plans were perfect. First this, then that, then that. And now the first thing was still weeks from happening, and he was being told he had to go through with the then-that before the first thing had he had to be.

even happened. He hemmed and hawed and paced his offices for the next two days, and probably would have kept hemming and hawing and pacing his offices if he did not get news that the Olympus colony had gone crazy again. A session of the Martian Assembly had blown up into chaos, and Mabel Dorr was holed up at headquarters besieged by her own people. It was all spinning out of control at the worst possible moment. So, Singh stopped pacing and decided he had to go for it. If he flinched now, he'd surely be exposed, arrested, and stripped of everything. The only way out was through. So Singh sent the code word signal to his collaborators and followers,

telling them to launch the operation. And what was that operation? Well, it was staging a coup against Jin Wong and her allies on the board of directors. He first demanded Wong call a meeting of the board to address the crisis on Mars. This, she did, because, well, they probably should have a meeting of the board to address the crisis on Mars. But when the board convened, they barely formed a quorum, and as Wong looked around, she could see that most of the people who weren't there were her closest allies. That was because Singh had suborn parts of the security services to prevent those members from attending the meeting.

All of them were waylaid by visits to their homes and offices, where they were told they had to remain no matter what because of unspecified global security concerns. Then the meeting started, and instead of discussing events on Mars, Singh immediately put on the table a motion to remove Wong as CEO of Omnicor. He charged her with essentially the mirror image of what Doar faced on Mars, that Wong was in league with the Martians, and all her commitments to their autonomy was simply paving away for the true outcome she desired, Martian independence. Wong protested that that was crazy, but then Singh dropped a little bombshell. He knew the CISTEX had discovered a way to breach the Martian firewall, and that Wong had chosen

not to use it or inform anyone of its existence. Most of the members present at this meeting were already with Singh, but the rest were shocked into silence by this revelation. Singh moved that Wang be removed. It was seconded. The vote was called, and just like that, she was out. As she angrily protested and called the vote illegitimate, someone moved that Kamal Singh be named the new CEO. That was seconded, then a vote was taken, and just like that, he was in.

Kamal Singh was now the CEO of Omnicor. This all happened in less than 10 minutes. But unfortunately for Bruno October, this all came like 12 hours too late. Because while Calderon had part of the Martian Guard surrounding Mabel Door up in the Prime Dome, he'd put the rest of them on emergency alert. Door was getting tossed overboard so they could deal with the threat posed by Omnicor. That threat would obviously include some kind of fifth column on Mars, that would have to be shut down immediately.

So he ordered his guard to get out there and lock everything down. Round up every single person who's ever even been remotely connected to a loyalist plot, even if it's just having the same name as someone remotely connected to a loyalist plot. And it went without saying that the movement and activities of all earthlings on Mars would be heavily restricted and monitored. When October started getting reports, the Martian Guard was fanning out throughout the colony. He knew they'd be coming for him soon enough. may be coming for everyone soon enough.

So on the morning of June 19th, he sent out his code word flash to all his collaborators and followers. The insurrection is on right now. October's loyalist insurrectionaries did not match the numbers of the Martian Guard by a long shot, and that was a liability that was meant to be cancelled out by Earth cracking the Martian firewall

and taking control of the Martian servers. But October couldn't wait for that now. He could only hope that same, would get to the firewall before October's people were all arrested or killed. But right now, they had to rise up or be smashed down forever. October's hope was that, since Olympus was already in chaos, that they'd be able to evade a really coordinated response, at least long enough for the firewall to respond. It was not clear to anyone who was actually calling the shots up in the prime dome. After calling for the insurrection to commence, October personally led a group of about 50 loyalists.

They successfully accessed their assigned weapons cache on the sea level and then advanced as quickly and quietly as they could up to the B level, hoping to evade detection for as long as possible. In the chaos, the Loyalist groups had trouble staying in contact with each other. Several groups were able to get to their weapons caches and arm themselves, but others were swept up in the Martian Guard dragnets before they could mobilize. Still others ran into Martian Guard patrols immediately and were pinned down and couldn't advance further. Bruno October and his group had no clear idea whether anything was going right,

and their first inkling that nothing was going right was when the emergency sirens started blaring, and the lift shafts and doors were locked. Sir, I think they might be on to us. By then they had made it to the upper B levels and took cover in a nearby drink hole. They barged in, took the few patrons hostage, and fortified the doors and windows as best they could.

But even in these increasingly dire straits, the Omnicore supremacists still nearly pulled it out. As soon as he became CEO, Singh ordered the CISTEX to exploit the flaw they discovered in the Martian firewall. Breach the firewall. Take control of the Martian systems. Do it right now. Which? They did. In the Prime Dome, Jose Calderon and the Mon's leadership were organizing the recall of the Martian Assembly to complete the vote of no confidence. in Mabel Dor from the day before. But as they were hashing this all out, they discovered they suddenly couldn't access their computer systems. They were locked out of key communications networks.

Engineering controls became inaccessible. They had no idea what was going on, until they received a broadcast that had been transmitted on Earth. It was Kamal Singh addressing the people of Earth. He said, Martian radicals have been planning an uprising on Mars for some time, and that as soon as they were in power, they would withhold phosphi from Earth.

But Omnicor had taken decisive, preventative action. Despite his own personal wish for the agreement of 2248 to continue, that was no longer tenable, because now the Martian radicals have launched their revolt, and they must be defeated. So in response, we have taken drastic steps. We have, as of this moment, taken control of the Martian servers.

I can now also reveal that the nuclear devices on-board convoy Group 11 are real, and they were dispatched to guarantee the permanent future obedience of the Martians. From now on, they will be allowed to do the only thing they are on Mars to do, extract and deliver Fos Vive to Earth. And then he told the people of Earth to not be alarmed. Everything is under control. But they weren't. The Martian Sistex, they were good.

And the exploit Kamal Singh believed would be a kill shot was not. The digital firewall was not going to be down for long. If you're interested in all the details, the whole middle third of the firewallers, that book about the War of Digital Independence, covers this moment in minute technical detail. But within 90 minutes of the breach, the Martian Cystex closed it and drove the earthlings back out. Kamal Singh never really even had a chance to issue ultimatums or outline the ways he'd punish the Martians for refusing to capitulate. The entire loyalist uprising, months in the making, was completely,

flaming out. Throughout Olympus, the Martian Guard was successfully cornering, pinning down, and rounding up loyalist insurrectionaries. Several full-blown firefights broke out, but the loyalists were outmanned, outgunned, and outmatched. Like I said, success had always been contingent on the greater threats posed by the firewall breach and the orbital nukes. Absent those, this insurrection was totally hopeless. Bruno October's group was finally discovered in that B-level drink hole by patrol and surrounded. October hoped to keep it together until the firewall was breached, but then Calderon issued a general announcement to all loyalists saying, the firewall held, we are still in control of our computer systems, and Convoy Group 11 is never going to be

allowed to enter orbit around Mars. So, give up. Bruno October wanted to fight to the last man, but most of the others he was with believed it was hopeless, and they were right. This was only ever going to work with the servers and the nukes, and now we have neither. What's the point? October ordered them to get their weapons ready and prepare to fight it out, but instead a group of them effectively mutinied, turn their neutron guns on October, and before he could react, stunned him cold. Then they shouted to the guards surrounding the drink hole, hey, we surrender, and also we've got the leader of the insurrection in here, and we'll hand him over peacefully in exchange for leniency. All we want is a ticket back to Earth, and you'll never hear from us again. The commander of

the guard unit said, okay. And so they laid down their weapons and came out with their hands up. Well, except for the two dragging the unconscious body of Bruno October, an indelible image that marks the end of the Loyalist insurrection. By June 20th order was mostly restored in Olympus. The Loyalist uprising had become the aborted Loyalist uprising. The Martian servers remained under Martian control. Kamal Singh's attempt to reconquer Mars was looking like a complete bust. There were still the matter of Convoy Group 11, of course, but they were still weeks away. Instead of bringing Mars back under Earth control, Singh effectively guaranteed it would be lost forever. Because on that 20th of June 2250, the Martian Assembly reconvened at the fields of Earth,

the vote of no confidence in Doar would now be an uncontested formality. She'd staked everything to the argument that Omnicor would never do what Omnicor just did. She was wrong. Her critics were right. Mabel Doors' reputation was in shambles and no one stood to defend her. When the vote of no confidence was called, it passed by unanimous acclamation. Then, before anyone could take a breath, Ivana Darby walked out to the rostrum and gave a stirring speech outlining the many crimes of Omnacor, the latest of which was this blatant attempt to resubjugate them by force.

Omnicor could not be trusted. Omnicor could never be trusted. Mars would never be safe until Mars was free. So she called upon her fellow Martians to do the only reasonable thing they could do in that moment. Declare independence. Full, complete, and total independence. Let us do it right here, right now, and for all time. The Assembly roared its approval.

Those watching on screens flooded the system with yes votes. There was no question about it now. Mars was free. Mars was independent. The redecoration of Martian independence on June 20, 22, was obviously a watershed moment in the history of the Martian Revolution and the history of the solar system in general. It's why this whole series of dramatic events came to be called the Independence Days. Though, as I've mentioned, a small but committed faction would always date Martian independence to the declaration in the commissary in July 2247, not to the fields of Earth here in 2250.

But whatever one thinks about the period between 2247 and 2250, the reality after 2250 was the same. same. Mars was independent. Of course, as I said earlier, there's a reasonable case to be made that the independence days don't truly end until the Battle of Phobos. Convoy Group 11 is still on the way. Something still has to be done about those nukes. And so next week, we will turn our attention to the final dramatic events of this phase of the revolution, final events which will secure Martian independence for good, and bring to the stage the man who you've all been waiting for, Captain Booth Gonzalez.