M&M

 

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/planet-earth-87651/

M&M had been operational for three centuries. The Moon to Mars base station was a sprawling human settlement of a hundred and fifty thousand people on planet Earth's only satellite. It was built around the base station whose sole purpose of existence was to facilitate the transfer of people and materials between Earth and Mars, thereby helping in the rapid colonization of the red planet. Ever since humans had managed to travel to Mars and back to Earth safely and figured out a way to give it an atmosphere that was a replica of the one back home on Earth, they had managed to colonise and settle it in about a century or so and made it into almost another Earth in half a millennia. Much like the discovery of the New World back in time on Earth had spurred industry and commerce across the globe and witnessed the emergence of new powerful nations, the settlement of Mars had led to the emergence of the Martians (the humans on Mars were now called that) as the ones who were going to lead mankind forward in a bold new multi-planet world.

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/gray-and-white-robot-73910/

The people living on the Moon were largely involved in serving the needs of the people transiting through the base station and had built a thriving economy around it. Though they lived entirely inside buildings that simulated earth-like living conditions and moved around in vehicles wearing a kind of a very light version of a space suit which let them breathe, and work in the sterile environment, they were quite happy with their lives. Many of them had lived there for decades and had even had children and raised them on the barren satellite of Mother Earth.

The inhabitants of M&M hailed from all parts of the old world on Earth and had over the years developed a hybrid culture of their own which was an amalgam of the diverse cultures back on Earth as well as the influences of the Martians who had been traversing through their land over the years. Life on M&M was anything but easy, what with gravity being a sixth of Earth's and the constraints placed by having to live indoors all of the time. But over the years the people of M&M had managed to create a vibrant and diverse community that lived life on its own terms and was happy doing so.

Photo by SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS: https://www.pexels.com/photo/half-moon-at-nighttime-399946/

They built schools, hospitals, shopping malls and entertainment zones to give themselves as much of a normal life as was possible on the Moon. These people were, above all very astute business people and traders who successfully ran a range of businesses like mining, manufacturing, agriculture and even some tourism. The defining feature of life at M&M was their desire to improve their lives. In order to accomplish that the people living there were always trying to develop new technologies that would make life on the Moon easier, better and more sustainable. In this, they endeavoured to establish closer ties with both the people of Earth and Mars.

There wasn't that much interest, however, in the lives of the small number of "support staff" amongst people on Earth and Mars. They acknowledged the importance of the work they did, but also took them for granted and were a little condescending in their interactions with them. There was a healthy rivalry between people on Earth and Mars about who was doing better at things like economy, quality of life, scientific research and so on, which left very little time to think about what the "service community" on the Moon was up to. This was till the time the people on Moon struck work.

They had over the years been feeling increasingly ignored and unappreciated by their brethren on Earth and Mars. While they toiled for the greater glory of mankind, keeping the base station running and ensuring that transit between the two planets was smooth, efficient and seamless, very little credit ever accrued their way and they were often treated with casual indifference.

The people on M&M bore the slights for years but simmered inside till the day they decided that they had had enough. They went on strike, refusing to work until their contributions in the service of mankind were recognized and they were given the respect that they deserved. The strike totally disrupted travel between Earth and Mars. Despite the entreaties and veiled threats by people on Earth and Mars, the people of M&M did not relent.

When the earthlings and Martians realized that there was no way they could continue to trade with each other or travel between their two planets without utilizing the services of the people on M&M, they were compelled to come to the table and negotiate with them. It was agreed that they would have a greater say in how the base station was run. They were also promised more resources to help develop M&M as a permanent place of human settlement.

Calling for the strike may have been an extremely risky move on the part of the Moon humans, for they could have been abandoned and left to their fate by vengeful powers that be, but they counted on everyone's common humanity to work out a solution that was in everyone's benefit. That is exactly what happened as the strike turned out to be a total success. They had finally been acknowledged and granted the respect they deserved and no longer would be taken for granted. In fact, the resolution provided by the strike had a very positive impact on the relationships among the people of M&M, Earth and Mars.

In the years that followed, the people of M&M continued to build a thriving community that grew manifold in numbers, leading to a huge expansion of their economy. That in turn fueled more development and prosperity. This was manifest in new technologies, an expansion in business and trade and a drive towards exploring the Moon in a way deeper manner than before. No longer were they just a service community, but an integral and vital part of the multi-planetary future of mankind.