Martian Terraforming
Mars is the fourth innermost planet within the Solar System and the outermost planet of The Core. The planet has been the source of many major conflicts over the history of The Society, and many prominent Martians have played key roles in significant events throughout the Red Rising saga.
Composition[]
Mars is approximately half the size of Earth. Due to it's significantly lower volume and mass, the planet's gravity is 37.6%[1] of Earth's. Prior to terraforming, Mars was known for its red coloration, resulting from iron oxide in the planet's atmosphere. This trait was lost during the terraforming of the surface, after which the planet appeared green and white from orbit, with clouds and a breathable atmosphere.
The planet is orbited by two small moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Terrain[]
Mars is predominantly known for its highlands, which are located primarily in the planet's southern hemisphere and equatorial regions. The northern hemisphere is dominated by a lowland basin, known as the Borealis Basin, which was converted into an ocean during the terraforming process. This resulted in the north polar plane being isolated from the rest of the planet, which was used to keep the Obsidian population contained. A second lowland region was created around the planet's southern polar landmass to form a body of water that would achieve the same results at the south pole.
There are at least four seas on the surface of Mars: The Thermic Sea, the Gorgon Sea, the Amazonian Sea, and the unnamed sea that separates the southern polar landmass from the surrounding continents. The Thermic and Amazonian are located in the planet’s western hemisphere and are presumably part of the Borealis Basin.[2][3]
Excluding the polar regions, the remaining land on Mars located above sea level is divided into at least four continents: Cimmeria, Apollonia, Sirenia, and Arabia Terra.
Apollonia is home to the famous Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the solar system, whose walls reach up to 7 kilometers tall. The continent is home to at least one mountain range south of the Valles that extends down to the southern end of the continent,[4] with at least one lake and dormant volcano near the northern coast.[3][5]
Cimmeria is home to multiple shield volcanoes, including the Olympus Mons, one of the tallest mountains in the solar system, as well as at least one mountain range. Because it extends north of the planet's equator, the continent also has at least one series of fjords along its coast.
Climate[]
Due to the extensive terraforming, much of Mars has a temperate climate, except for the poles, which have harsh icy and stormy weather to raise the Obsidians. Due to the sparse plains, dust devils periodically occur and destroy topsoil and croplands.
Ecology[]
There were no native flora and fauna on Mars until it was terraformed. Even after the terraforming, there are not a lot of vegetation. However, there were many lakes that formed in the craters of Mars, and the entire Borealis Basin is filled with freshwater. Plants and animals found on Mars after the terraforming include:
- Haemanthus flower, commonly known as a “blood lily”
- Cimmerian cebola trees
- Pitvipers
- Spiderworms
- Various unspecified marine species
Culture[]
There are one thousand cities on the surface of Mars, each at the center of a hundred subterranean mining colonies, which they are connected to by a network of underground tunnels.
Economy[]
Mars' two biggest exports are Helium-3 and Obsidian slave knights. Martian Obsidians are considered to be the highest caliber warriors in the Society, and the planet's Helium mines make it the energy capital of the solar system.
Because of these exports, Mars serves as a major trading hub between the Rim and the Core, with the Julii-Agos trade routes linking Mars to the Rim.
Government[]
There are one thousand cities on Mars, each ruled by a Governor, the ArchGovernor presiding over all. Each city is set in the center of a hundred mining colonies. The Governors manages these colonies, with the individual MineMagistrates managing the day-to-day affairs. The citadel of the ArchGovernor is located in Agea, in the Valles Marineris.
Military[]
Under the dominion of The Society, the military of Mars consists of two Societal Garrison Fleets stationed on the planet. The fifth fleet, commonly known as the Classis Liberatas, is also assigned to patrol the inner Asteroid Belt, and is under the direct command of the ArchGovernor. The sixth fleet is commanded by House Bellona. Under Society rule, the Martian military is permitted 20 5-megaton nukes in its arsenal for ship-to-ship warfare per standard military regulation.
Cities on Mars are heavily fortified, with disc-shaped shields projected two hundred meters above the surface to protect each city from orbital bombardment.[5]
Agea and Corinth supplement their shields with massive perimeter walls two hundred meters high, while other cities' perimeter walls leave a small gap below the edge of their shield due to the high costs. Each perimeter wall is lined with turrets.[6]
Each city is surrounded by railgun installations aimed at the sky for targeting enemy air and spacecraft.[7]
Under the Solar Republic, the military forces of Mars consist primary of the Republic's fourth fleet, known as the Ecliptic Guard.
Following the planet's liberation during the Solar War, a series of two hundred orbital battle stations were constructed around the planet to form two staggered shells known as the Obrital Battle-Station Complex. Shell One orbits at six thousand kilometers from the surface, while Shell Two orbits at three thousand. The OBC
History[]
Pre-Saga[]
The first lowRed colonists were sent to Mars in the mid-2nd Century PCE to initiate the terraforming process by mining for helium-3. The Gold house Bellona migrated to Mars soon after, and began construction of their estate in Eagle Rest by the end of the century. Around the same time, House Augustus bribed and killed their way into owning most of the governmental contracts for the mines, and gained considerable political influence while their pockets swelled.
When colonization of the planet first began, the ArchGovernorship of Mars was controlled by House Cylus, who were one of the most powerful Gold families on the planet alongside Augustus, Bellona, and Arcos.
Following the end of the Dark Revolt, the surviving Obsidians were imprisoned on the planet's polar landmasses, the terrain of which was dramatically altered to punish the Obsidians and test the prowess of their descendants.
The other Colors migrated to Mars in the mid-5th Century and lived on the surface in para-terraformed cities with bubbles of atmosphere around them as the rest of the planet' terraforming was slowly completed. The lowReds mining beneath the surface were kept ignorant of these developments, and were instead led to believe that they were continuing to help terraform the surface, unaware that their mission had already been completed.
In 656 PCE, the father of Nero au Augustus attempted to assassinate Julius au Bellona and the rest of the Bellona family by poisoning their dinner. The attempt failed, leading to a war between Augustus and Bellona. House Cylus sided with Bellona, and exterminated House Augustus, devastating the capital city of Agea in the process. Only seven-year-old Nero was spared on the orders of the reigning Sovereign Ovidius au Lune.
Red Rising[]
Golden Son[]
Mars became the site of a civil war between House Augustus and House Bellona following The Gala Massacre of December 741. Bellona forces seized control of Luna with the aid of Octavia au Lune and Agrippina au Julii.
Morning Star[]
The Solar War[]
Mars served as the primary theater of the Solar War from 747 to 749 PCE. One of the first major battles of the campaign was the Siege of Olympia, which marked Atlas au Raa's return from the Kuiper Belt and his debut as an operative of the Society Remnant. The Battle of Mars in 749 marked the Society Remnant's largest military operation in terms of materiel and manpower until the Battle of the Ladon in January 754.
Iron Gold[]
Dark Age[]
Light Bringer[]
Population[]
As of 736 PCE, Mars has a total population numbering several billions, with around 1 billion lowReds living in the underground mining colonies[8], as well as over 1 million Golds living on the surface[9] and 800 thousand Obsidians in the antarctic.[10]
Locations[]
Notable Regions and Cities[]
- Borealis Basin - an ocean basin that stretches across the Northern hemisphere and encircles the north polar plain.
- Cimmeria - One of the major continents of Mars and the richest source of helium-3.
- For a list of cities, landmarks, and other locations on the Cimmerian continent, read more at: Cimmeria
- Amazonian Sea - a sea within the Borealis Basin, located west of Cimmeria.[11]
- Apollonia - One of the major continents of Mars, located east of Cimmeria.
- For a list of cities, landmarks, and other locations on the Apollonian continent, read more at: Apollonia
- Thermic Sea - A sea within the Borealis Basin that extends south past the planet’s equator. Located east of Cimmeria and Apollonia.[3]
- Thermic Command Center - a Society military outpost in the Thermic Sea or on the coast of one of the neighboring continents.
- Corinth - a major spaceport city located on an island in the middle of the Thermic Sea.
- Vengo Station - a mining nexus located approximately 500 kilometers south of the Thermic Sea.[12]
- Tinos - An underground city that functions as a headquarters for the lowColor branch of the Sons of Ares. Located 500 kilometers south of the Thermic Sea and 3 kilometers beneath Vengo Station.[12]
- Varos - located 500 kilometers from Tinos.[13]
- Arabia Terra - A continent on Mars located north of Tinos.[14]
- Ismenia - a port city on the coast of Arabia Terra, destroyed by The Jackal during The Rising.
- Sirenia - One of the continents on Mars, occupied by Society Remnant troops during Iron Gold.
- New Thebes - A city located west of the Thermic Sea. The ancestral home of House Fabii.
- Aventine Peninsula - a region located west of the Thermic Sea, north of New Thebes.
- Cyprion - a city on the Aventine Peninsula. Destroyed by The Jackal during The Rising.
- Daedalus Mountains - a mountain range on Mars. Presumably located southwest of the Valles Marineris.[15]
- Hippolyte - A seaside city located on an archipelago in the sea and the ancestral home of House Julii. Commonly known as The Jade City.
- Elysium - Ancestral home of House Arcos.
- Zephyria - Ancestral home of House Telemanus.
- Golan Basin - a region where Legio XIII Dracones was encamped in early 743 PCE.[16]
- Gorgon Sea - a sea on Mars where Harmony murdered a group of vacationing Senators.
- Mystos River Valley - a region of Mars that was flooded by the destruction of a dam during The Rising.[14]
- Martian Antarctic - the landmass at the planet's south pole.
- Asgard - the flying mountain station used by the Board of Quality Control to monitor and control the southern Obsidian population.
- The Shadowmouth Temple
- The Way of the Stains
- The Bleaking Moor
- The Blood Coast
- The Blooded Braves
- The Blooded Tents
- The Valkyrie Spires
- The Dragon's Spine - south of the Valkyrie Spires
- Fallen City - north of the Valkyrie Spires
- The North Coast
- The Rattling Caves
- The Shattered Spine
- The White Coast
- The Witch Pass
- Asgard - the flying mountain station used by the Board of Quality Control to monitor and control the southern Obsidian population.
Moons[]
- Phobos - the innermost moon of Mars.
- For locations on Phobos, read more at: Phobos
- Deimos - the outermost moon of Mars.
- For information about Deimos, read more at: Deimos
Gold Houses[]
- House Arcos (Until 741 PCE)
- House Aquillus
- House Augustus
- House Barca
- House Bellona
- House Caan
- House Cylus (Until 676 PCE)
- House Fabii
- House Faran
- House Julii
- House Sarna
- House Savag
- House Tanus
- House Telemanus
- House Trachus
- House Valii-Rath (until 743 PCE)
- House Vardan
Trivia[]
- A day on Mars is nearly the same as on Earth, at 24 hours and 37 minutes based on Earth's time scale.
- Many locations mentioned on Mars in the novels are named after and/or correspond to actual regions and locations that have been mapped on the planet:
- The northern continent Arabia Terra is an actual region on Mars in the northern hemisphere.
- Cimmeria is named for the Terra Cimmeria region in the eastern hemisphere.
- Alcidalia Provence comes from Acidalia Planitia.
- Zephyria is named for the Zephyria Planum within Terra Cimmeria.
- Elysium is named for the Elysium Mons and Elysium Planitia, north of Terra Cimmeria.
References[]
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 21
- ↑ The Amazonian Sea’s name comes from the Amazonis Planitia, commonly known as the Amazonian, a region of the Borealis Basin located west of the Olympus Mons.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Details in Dark Age establish that the Red Hand's base was located in the northern hemisphere of Mars, with Chapter 71 implying that the base is located 46 degrees North of the equator. Ephraim mentions in Chapter 74 that they traveled over the North Thermic while approaching the base. Since Virginia's descriptions of the Iron Circle in Chapter 91 place the Amazonian Sea on the west coast of Cimmeria, this indicates that the Thermic Sea is on the east coast. This would appear to contradict Golden Son chapter 38, where Darrow's party travels north to reach Agea during the Lion's Rain and passes the shores of the Thermic Sea on the left. However, from a tactical standpoint it makes more logical sense for this to be an error, because their staging area at The Institute was explicitly located north of Agea, which would require them to fly over the main canyon of Valles Marineris. Not only does Darrow's narration makes no mention of doing such a thing, but the main canyon's width of up to 200 km would require them to fly across, rather than skip as they were consistently depicted doing.
- ↑ Light Bringer, Chapter 14
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Golden Son, Chapter 38
- ↑ Golden Son, Chapter 39
- ↑ Golden Son, Chapter 36
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 12
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 20
- ↑ Darrow mentions in Morning Star chapter 38 that the migration of Obsidian from the south pole will involve moving 800,000 people, and chapter 42 indicates that the warriors who joined the Red Armada accounted for 100,000 of that number.
- ↑ Dark Age, Chapter 91
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Morning Star, Chapter 21
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 11
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Morning Star, Chapter 13
- ↑ The Daedalus Mountains are likely named after the Daedaelia Planum, a plain on Mars located south of Olympus Mons and southwest of the Valles Marineris.
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 02