Ayesha read through the report as she sat in her office inside Future Building.
Zhu Yu, director of the Domestic Anti-Intelligence Office, stood in front of her and was reporting to her the findings on the recent investigation.
“When she was a war correspondent in Iraq, she may have been trained by the CIB. According to the information collected by Bernice in the UA, there is evidence that the CIB, the FBA and other intelligence agencies have issued a special document to train field reporters and diplomats in anti-investigation training in response to a possible hostage crisis.”
“She is from the CIB?” Ayesha looked to Zhu Yu.
“It’s unlikely,” Zhu Yu, shook her head, and then continued, “but we have reason to believe that the UA has received her message.”
The number 071 alone would not reveal any valuable information. However, what concerned Ayesha was that they could use the recent news to generate some bewildering thoughts.
While Ayesha was silent, Zhu Yu added.
“At present we have sent an inquiry letter to Celestial Trade and the Space Department. Based on Kelvin’s reply, they immediately controlled the individuals involved in the incident… do we need to implement disciplinary measures for her observer?”
There were no Ghost Agents on Mars. The UA astronauts were under the surveillance of Celestial Trade Army Intelligence Division, not professional intelligence personnel. He could know Morse code, but he could not relate Morse code with the frequency of blinking, and he could never have thought that the person he monitored passed sensitive information by blinking.
Maybe the person didn’t need to be Sherlock Holmes, but that person would have to be at least a Conan to notice the subtle details. Zhu Yu tried to put herself in the position and thought that even she could not do a better job in this scenario. Like the FBA, she also found problems in the countless replays.
However, discipline existed for a reason. Personal accountability must exist, and there was no excuse for this.
“The personnel involved from Celestial Trade will be handled in accordance with military regulations, and we will not intervene,” Ayesha’s slender finger gently tapped on the document, and she thought for a moment before she said, “In the future, terminate real-time communication services for stranded UA astronauts and change it to delayed transmission of video.”
“In addition, all videos, whether they enter or leave the colony, must be double-checked by Ghost Agents and the Celestial Trade Army Intelligence Division. No matter where the problem is found, the person involved will be immediately disqualified from contact with their family. It is better to be safe than sorry.”
“Roger,” Zhu Yu stood straight and responded with certainty.
“Last thing,” Ayesha paused for a second before she ordered, “send a truth-telling serum to the Mars colony. I’m curious, where did she hear about number 071?”
…
The Apocalypse; in the mansion.
Lilith, sitting on the sofa, complied with Jiang Chen’s request and introduced him to the history of Pan-Asia Cooperation’s colonization of Mars.
“The Mars plan could be traced back to the middle of the 21st century. At that time, the three major forces, Soviet Union, NATO, and Pan-Asia had successfully delivered astronauts to the surface of Mars. However, the Pan-Asia Cooperation Mars Scientific Research Station was built in the early 22nd century. NATO took the lead in announcing the launch of the Mars colonization plan, and successfully sent a 500,000-ton class research ship to the Mars orbit. The Pan-Asia Parliament immediately issued the colonization plan to more than 20 scientific institutions, and the first Mars colony was finally built in 2110…”
“Wait, I remember that the three major forces did not establish a Mars colony?” Jiang Chen frowned, interrupting Lilith’s words.
“Because of political reasons,” Lilith shrugged. “All countries were condemning each other’s colonial behavior, emphasizing that outer space resources must be shared by all human beings. Of course, they could not slap their own face. The official name of all colonies were XXX Scientific Research Station. According to the data in my database, by 2120, in less than ten years, Pan-Asia Cooperation built more than 20 ‘scientific research stations’ with more than 1,000 personnel on Mars.”
Jiang Chen was shocked by the number.
As the president of Celestial Trade, no one knew the cost of Mars colony better than him. From the budget he received from the Mars colony, even with his financial power, he felt pain every time he received the report.
With more than 20 colonies built and no profit achieved, Pan-Asia Cooperation was probably losing more than a space elevator every year.
However, even if it was the case, Jiang Chen still understood their intention.
To give an example, it was like Uber and Lyft competing for business. Everyone was burning money at the start, and burning money at an incredible rate, but it was for the purpose to gain market share. Perhaps Pan-Asia Cooperation officials also knew that every colony built was going to lose money, but no one could wait until the colonies turned profitable. If they decided to wait until Mars turned profitable, their own enterprises would have already lost at the starting point.
Even just for a possibility, sending people their first to claim land was the best starting point!
In contrast, Celestial Trade was extremely lucky as the company entered the Mars colonization era one century in advance. Without a single competitor, there was enough time and space to rationally develop the entire “market”.
“So, the major forces did not just built a research station on Mars? They built dozens of them? And each scientific research station is actually a colony in disguise?” Jiang Chen asked.
“Yes.” Lilith nodded. “That’s been the case since the early twenty-second century.”
“Why are there no news from all the colonies?” Lin Lin, who was sitting next to Jiang Chen, frowned. She muttered in confusion, “In my memory, there were no reports of colonies at all.”
“This is very easy to explain. You were born in the fifties, right?” Lilith asked.
“Yes.” Lin Lin nodded.
“Then you should have heard of the economic crisis of 2150.”
Even Jiang Chen nodded this time.
When he first arrived in the apocalypse, he learned about the economic crisis that was generally considered to be the cause of the World War in 2171. (Note: if you forget the plot, you can go back to Chapter 2)
“In the recorded history in my database, as of 2149, the number of scientific research stations for Pan-Asia Cooperation had reached 41, and for the Soviet Union and NATO, the numbers were similar. When the economic crisis happened, countries were unable to sustain those bottomless pits. Therefore, the “Houston Convention” was signed in 2150. In addition to outlining zones on Mars, it also reduced its respective colonies… or scientific research stations to 15.
“However, this doesn’t explain why I haven’t heard of those scientific research stations at all?” Lin Lin said and held the same frown on her face.
“Of course it can explain it,” Lilith looked at Jiang Chen, “because it involved another problem about the colonies. It was also related to the Gaia civilization you mentioned before.”
