Earth: 2150

[Wensleydale]

The Moon Colonies

The eight surviving moon colonies (out of eleven attempts) provide a fascinating look into social patterns when humans, all of the same culture, are cramped into a very small space with no escape. The eight colonies are New Liberty (USA), Constitution (USA), Columbus (USA), Klava (Russia), Nezavísimost (Russia), Zhōnghuá Zhí Mín Dì (China), Vie-Nouveau (EU) and London-on-the-Moon (EU). The three failed colonies, now empty and mostly scrapped, are Vivo Nova (EU - an attempt at an Esperanto-speaking colony), New Hope (USA) and City-in-the-Sky (USA). The eight colonies have very little contact with the other colonies with whom they share a language, let alone foreign colonies and almost no contact with Earth apart from the occasional shuttle which is sent back down.

 Quality of life in the Colonies

Despite the immense amount of wealth poured into the colonies, they are almost all economically crippled, and have been from the start. There are a few valuable materials found on the moon, as well as lots of useful research data, but this is most of the colonies' only valuable product, apart from (in New Liberty's case) meat from a large group of cloned pigs.

Within the Colonies, there is very little space. People are packed in four to a living space, at least - living spaces being, generally, two small rooms and a hygiene area. The 'luxury' areas are generally the size of a small house on Earth - abandoned scientists' working and living areas, converted. Few resources have been sent to the Moon in recent years, especially in proportion to the amount of immigrants, so living space is particularly short.

The basic requirements of life - food, air and water - are difficult to acquire. There are frozen water supplies in certain craters, which are melted and piped to all colonies by the Luna Treaty of 2134 by a mixed-nations task force - about the only co-operation the Lunar Colonies had until a short while ago. Food, and proper air, is usually acquired from Earth - although some of the colonies maintain hydrogen strainers on the surface of the moon, attempting to catch the small pockets of gas left over from meteorite impacts. Water in particular is usually rationed and provided by computer, although there is a thriving black market in many colonies - particularly London-on-the-Moon. In short, though, the quality of life on the Moon is pretty low by first-world standards.

 Population

Despite the low quality of life on the Moon, immigrants move there at a rate of about 20-25 a week. This is a slow, but constant trickle. Why? Generally because to a man the governments of Earth prefer to remain ignorant of conditions on the Moon, it is extremely difficult to move back from the Moon, and propaganda is constantly blasted at people on Earth about the brilliance of life outside of the atmosphere.

At present, New Liberty has a population of about 21,000, Constitution 9,000, Columbus 36,000, Klava 19,000, Nezavisimost 20,000, Zhōnghuá Zhí Mín Dì 25,000, Vie-Nouveau 11,000 and London-on-the-Moon 20,000. North Station, the Ice-Tap outpost, has a working population of 500. This brings the total population of the Moon to about 161,000-162,000.

 Legal Status

Currently speaking, none of the Colonies have any true political status at home. Anyone born in the EU and USA colonies is automatically a citizen of those nations, whilst legal clarification on this subject has not yet been given by China or Russia. Kalvin McNeilly, a moon-born American, has made several written requests for political representation in the Senate, something still under debate. An EU observer from London-on-the-Moon (also representation Vie-Nouveau), Jeremy Wilson, is permitted to sit in on sessions of the European Council.

 Terraforming Projects

Plans to make sections of the moon viable for farming (among other things) by creating an atmosphere are ready and perfectly capable of going ahead - they merely require the money to proceed. A joint USA-EU project developed a step-by-step plan over ten years - but the money was never sent through. A few CCFs have been released into the air (they are a highly efficient greenhouse gas) but so far no more progress has been made. This may be because governments on Earth don't want to 'waste money' or it may be because doing so would make communication between the Colonies far easier... and what's the point in having Colonies if they then realise they have more in common with other peoples' colonies and decide to declare independence, eh?

[Wensleydale]

Seriously, though, I can't wait to see more on these aliens. I am hoping they are very strange and interesting, as I HATE little green men, as they both are uncreative and don't make sense. An ecosystem of aliens, or just one species?

An ecosystem. I'm split between making sentient aliens and something more bacterial, with the occasional larger creature. Bacteria seem more viable and likely. Also, I could have all sorts of horrible alien diseases based on that. Little green men are certainly out.

[LD]

Planning on expanding on some of the details of how global warming has lead to new conflicts between people and countries?

[Wensleydale]

Well... yes, only this settings kind of on hiatus for the moment.