Public Address, recorded live on synthevision 7-8-29, 04:18 SET
“Citizens of the Solar System.
“My name is James Berg, and I represent the people of the Privateers’ Alliance. For eight years, we have offered a save haven for those wishing to be free of the oppressive yoke of the System’s multi-planetary governments and their rules and regulations. We have found tolerance and respect within the ranks of the Allied Rimworld Military and Solar Patrol, and although these two authorities are currently at war over the possession of Earth, it is our earnest hope that they will reconcile, and join us in fulfilling our vision of a free and unified Solar System.
“As you may know, I stand before you today as a defendant accused of a heinous crime indeed: the seizure, by force, of the Jovian moon Io from its former owners, the Murasaki Corporation. I denounce this claim as a product of propaganda disseminated by any one of the many governments who would wish to silence us, and our message of peace.
“But what is perhaps even more heinous is the idea that a planetary body in our Solar System can be owned. It does not matter who makes this claim of ownership, be it an individual, a government, a military force or a corporation. The Murasaki Corporation has long sought ownership of a multitude of planets and moons within this system. Mars, Titan and my native world of Dione have all felt the force of their aggressive military expansion in the past decade.
“What happened on Io is simple. I landed on the world with the purpose of gathering resources, and bore witness to a battle. The private security forces of Murasaki were engaged in heavy combat with a unit bearing the comm signature of ARM Special Forces, and, to put it simply, annihilated each other. I have here an internal gyro mechanism that experts have confirmed as the remains of an M-Twenty-Nine-Eight-Fifty-Four Mobile Command Center, a model and make manufactured by Pluto-Charon Spaceworks and used by the ARM frequently. I submit it as proof of my account, and it will be available for collection and examination, should anyone wish to verify the story.
“After some deliberation, I came to a decision, one that will hopefully set an example to other governments, and help usher in an era of peace and tolerance in our war-torn solar system. I have decided to make Io an independent, free and ungoverned world, its rich resources available to all. No military presence will be permitted there. Permanent settlement will be tolerated, but large-scale industrialization, such as that of Ceres, Dione, Titania, Charon and Pluto, will not. A more specific draft of regulations is being drawn up as we speak, but hopefully they will only be a temporary necessity. In time, they will be effectively discarded as a remnant of these troubled times in the history of our race, when we struggle to find a foothold on our many new homes in the Solar System.
“Thank you.”
“Citizens of the Solar System.
“My name is James Berg, and I represent the people of the Privateers’ Alliance. For eight years, we have offered a save haven for those wishing to be free of the oppressive yoke of the System’s multi-planetary governments and their rules and regulations. We have found tolerance and respect within the ranks of the Allied Rimworld Military and Solar Patrol, and although these two authorities are currently at war over the possession of Earth, it is our earnest hope that they will reconcile, and join us in fulfilling our vision of a free and unified Solar System.
“As you may know, I stand before you today as a defendant accused of a heinous crime indeed: the seizure, by force, of the Jovian moon Io from its former owners, the Murasaki Corporation. I denounce this claim as a product of propaganda disseminated by any one of the many governments who would wish to silence us, and our message of peace.
“But what is perhaps even more heinous is the idea that a planetary body in our Solar System can be owned. It does not matter who makes this claim of ownership, be it an individual, a government, a military force or a corporation. The Murasaki Corporation has long sought ownership of a multitude of planets and moons within this system. Mars, Titan and my native world of Dione have all felt the force of their aggressive military expansion in the past decade.
“What happened on Io is simple. I landed on the world with the purpose of gathering resources, and bore witness to a battle. The private security forces of Murasaki were engaged in heavy combat with a unit bearing the comm signature of ARM Special Forces, and, to put it simply, annihilated each other. I have here an internal gyro mechanism that experts have confirmed as the remains of an M-Twenty-Nine-Eight-Fifty-Four Mobile Command Center, a model and make manufactured by Pluto-Charon Spaceworks and used by the ARM frequently. I submit it as proof of my account, and it will be available for collection and examination, should anyone wish to verify the story.
“After some deliberation, I came to a decision, one that will hopefully set an example to other governments, and help usher in an era of peace and tolerance in our war-torn solar system. I have decided to make Io an independent, free and ungoverned world, its rich resources available to all. No military presence will be permitted there. Permanent settlement will be tolerated, but large-scale industrialization, such as that of Ceres, Dione, Titania, Charon and Pluto, will not. A more specific draft of regulations is being drawn up as we speak, but hopefully they will only be a temporary necessity. In time, they will be effectively discarded as a remnant of these troubled times in the history of our race, when we struggle to find a foothold on our many new homes in the Solar System.
“Thank you.”
