The Martian Prelude

According to NASA's announcement last week, we will send people to Mars by 2030. That event will signal the beginning of a new era, continuing to turn science fiction into science reality. Technological advancements have always created sociological disruption. Think about our long history of organized religion's resistance to most all scientific discoveries. Our first crewed trip to Mars will likely be another watershed moment in that history. This book is a look into the future. Taking normal trajectories of both scientific and political/sociological trends in their logical directions, it is more forecasting than it is fiction. To be sure, it is a science fiction novel. But it also has the potential of becoming a non-fiction description of our future. The book starts in the year 2088. As a result of intractable differences in Washington, the people of the United States decided to divide into two nations. One, the Progressive States of America, a secular democracy and the other, the Heartland States of America, a Christian Theocracy, maintain a cool but mutually beneficial relationship. Unencumbered by political obstructions, the Progressive States establishes the first fully functioning colony on Mars. At about the same time the Mars colony is established, continuing mass migrations from failed states in the Mideast intensify and spread religious extremism to the rest of the world. The rest of the world responds with its own forms of extremist violence to protect their status quo. Even so, governments begin to fail and humanity lives in the balance, struggling to keep a lid on the most troubling conditions since World War II Now while sociopolitical conditions on the rest of the Earth continue to deteriorate, a team of exobiologists on Mars discovers evidence for other intelligent life in the universe. The question is, will this discovery bring about peace or will it create more turmoil. Keeping in mind, our intellect lives in the twenty-first century while our emotions still dwell in the jungle, turmoil will prevail. On Earth nuclear weapons have fallen into the hands of radicals and with the exception the 400 colonists who live on Mars, threaten the very existence of all humanity, . Will this discovery unite humanity or will it ignite the fuse to set off the final conflagration? Exobiologist Dr. Vance Davison, and his science team have their hands full as they attempt to keep the Progressives and the Heartlanders talking, while they try to make sense of their discoveries. But Dr. Davison has secrets of his own that add another complicating dimension to their discovery. In the meantime, his team finds even more compelling evidence and a story begins to emerge that links these findings to humanity's ancient history. Finally the colonists must make a decision that could mean the end of humanity or be a prelude to a new way of living . Struggling to overcome their emotions, they reach a conclusion; a conclusion that is both understandable and unthinkable at the same time.