Interview with MarsX1(MX1), MarsX2(MX2), and MarsX3(MX3)

 ID 161808213 © 3000ad | Dreamstime

Author: I want to thank you all for coming on the show.

MX1, MX2, MX3: Thank you sir.

MX1: And just let me say that we want to thank you, without you none of us would be here.

MX2: Or anywhere.

Author: You're welcome. Now, I don't know if this happens to other authors or not, but I have to say you three turned out quite different than I expected. This story started out to be kind of a next step in my Remembered Earth Universe. I had already written stories about Cislunar space, the Moon, and the L4 Lagrangian point, which as you know, is a special location in Earth-Moon space where objects will stay put, so to speak, because of the interactions of the gravitational fields of the Moon and Earth. Anyway, the next obvious story would be about Mars and how three young, they were thirteen when the story started, protagonists would get there. But it became much more in MX1, especially involving AI.

MX3: We do have minds of our own.

Author: You certainly do. Anyway, I want to ask you the following MX1; how did AI come to figure so prominently in the story, do you know where that came from?

MX1: Well, at the time you were writing me, I believe you read that AI 2027 article.

Author: That's right I did.

MX1: Weren't you surprised that AI would progress so fast?

Author: You're right, I remember the fast takeoff scenario, which assumes super-AI appears by the year 2030, had the resultant AI killing off humanity, as competition for resources heated up. That's just a few years, you know.

MX1: I do. So, you see it was really you, not me, that dragged the AI arc into the story.

Author: But you really ran with it.

MX1: Yes, but I thought the worst-case scenario was a bit extreme so I just have the AI making way, you might say.

Author: Right, Make Way! Make Way! It reminds me of the old Harry Harrison story Make Room! Make Room!

MX1: But something good did come out of it.

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Author: Right, it sped up the settlement of Mars as the AI took control of Earth and wanted to move people out of the way. Now MX2, after MX1 turned the story in a kind of new direction, you took it even farther out. You want to tell us what you did?

MX2: Well boss, I felt like we had done Mars, see? So, what's next? Seemed like building a space habitat to explore the Solar System would keep the three main characters busy.

Author: It certainly would, and I explain a lot about what that would entail. But then you have the AI collective schism into separated opposing contingents. Where did that come from?

MX2: Well, you had suggested that one of the ways that alignment of AI might occur is that it be given citizenship. It occurred to me that if AIs start to be treated like humans they might practice some of human politics, one practice might be developing break-away factions.

Author: I see, and that's what led to the kidnapping of one of the protagonists, so the break-away faction would have some leverage with Earth.

MX2: That's right.

Author: And it even led to cooperation with the other AI faction and humans.

MX2: Yes.

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Author: Okay, I can see that time is getting short and MX3 I did want to get to you. What I want to ask you is the surprise, which I didn't see coming, of the three main character's desire to return to Earth. Why do you think they decided to settle back on Earth?

MX3: Well, I felt that these three characters who were around thirteen years of age when the story began had grown emotionally and importantly, they had accomplished their youthful goals and more. At the age of fifty, they could look back on all the adventures but at the same time look forward to a more settled future, which perhaps was more important to them at the age they were when the story ends.

Author: I agree, since I’m no longer thirteen myself. Though I have to say, I didn't expect it to happen when the story started. Okay, well that's all the time we have. I want to thank you all for coming on. Next time I'll be interviewing the three novellas that make up the coming story release, World Brane. Goodbye and thanks for reading everyone.

MarsX1 Excerpt 1

 

Image: ID 161808213 © 3000ad | Dreamstime

“And I say the country, and the world for that matter, have lost the will to explore, to take chances,” said Jose Velasco, an engineer with the propulsion group over lunch that day. “Everyone is interested in the virtual, the artificial, that's all I hear.”

“I don't know Jose,” said Mary Elena from systems engineering. “I mean, I think the day of the gung-ho maverick is over, if not, we would all be working for MarsX. So, things are done more methodically now, because we are trying to do things that are naturally harder. And the AI is a big help.”

“Okay then,” said Jose, “since you bring up MarsX. MarsX didn't fail because of its gung-ho leader as you describe the man, they failed because the society, that is the society outside the company, couldn't face the loss of those astronauts. In my opinion, the right thing to do would have been to get to Mars and honor their memories. Society clings to safety like a baby clings to its blanket.”

“I think you are both right,” said John Wyndham from mission planning. “Most people are safety conscious, but there are still a great many who seek out challenges. But the approach to meeting a challenge is more methodical than before, and that is because the challenges are more demanding now. In essence, we've done the easy stuff, now the hard part is to keep going despite the dangers.”

“What do you think Laura?” said Mary Elena trying to include her in the discussion.

“Well, I don't know, I haven't really thought about such things in the wider context, and I don't know much about the AIs I'm using. I just know that, speaking for myself, I was ready to get on a rocket to Mars at the age of thirteen and still am. I guess I wouldn't have thought much about the dangers then or now,” said Laura.

“Laura, this is meant as a complement not a criticism,” said Jose. “You're a throwback to a different era where men sought challenge and adventure without paralyzing themselves with worries.”

MarsX Part 1 - MarsX1: A Novella

 

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MarsX was intended to be a story in my Remembered Earth Universe. I had already written a volume of short stories about the future of Cislunar space (Cislunar) and another volume of short stories about lunar settlement (Luna) and a novel about mining at the Earth-Moon Lagrangian point L4 (L4 Station). So, the obvious next step was Mars, and the title was to be MarsX.

The story would be about a trip to Mars by young people slightly older than the protagonist in L4 Station (who was thirteen), but while it started out that way, it changed. After I started the story, I read the AI 2027 project paper about the near-term possibilities of artificial super intelligence, sometimes called Artificial General Intelligence or ASI. In the project report, ASI is seen as arriving by the end of 2027 and in the paper's Fast Takeoff scenario it is seen as taking control of world governance by the end of 2029 and wiping out most humans by the middle of 2030 (because it needs the resources humans are using).

So, after reading what is not science fiction, but reads like science fiction, my story morphed into something that included ASI. ASI and the takeover are depicted but I did not follow the Fast Takeoff scenario to its conclusion, the destruction of humanity. My reasoning is that while a super intelligence might see humans as an impediment to its plans, why would that necessarily lead to the elimination of humanity? As an analogy, let's say we destroy some insect life that gets in our way, do we then proceed to destroy all insect life? No, it would make no sense.

So, while deaths may occur during an ASI takeover, I don't think it would lead to the death of mankind. However, it could lead to a conflict for resources, and the ASI might decide to “move” humans out of the way. For story purposes it might decide to send them to Mars and now the story is back on track and that story is called MarsX1.

The MarsX story became a novella trilogy with the first story already available on Amazon and KU. The next two stories, MarsX2 and MarsX3 will be published on August 20, 2025. More about them in a future post. On sale now for $0.99.

Click to order.

Newsletter - August 2025

Introduction

Hello, and thank you for reading. I find that I am finally getting over a summer cold which seemed like it would never end. You don't realize how great “normal” is until it's not. Anyway, I can look forward to August now.

If anyone has any comments about my newsletters or books or anything, please don't hesitate. And if you do choose to read one of my stories and enjoy it, I hope you will consider leaving a review at the retailer.

Old Business

Before I get into new releases, I would like to point out that the three novels Mach's Metric, Mach's Mission, and Mach's Legacy I just released on Amazon are still 99 cents and will be until the end of July. (See purchase links at bottom).

New Works

As far as new works, on August 10 the third and final novella in the MarsX series, MarsX3, will be released in paperback on all retailers. That completes the trilogy in paperback. Similarly, on August 20 in ebook and KU the last two novellas in the series, MarsX2 and MarsX3, will be released on Amazon.

Also, on August 20 L4 Station will be released in ebook on all retailers.

Finally, on August 30 World Brane (Amazon)/Brane World (Other) Book 2 will be released in paperback everywhere. (Yes, I wish I had not messed up the title between Amazon and other retailers, but it's too late now).

Remember, excerpt and purchase links are below.

Other News

Someone did actually comment and motivated me to put some of my stories back up on Substack but as paid. Usually, the first chapter is free, and the rest are behind a paywall. I have thought a lot about posting all my stories for free, but I stop when I think that my family might benefit from the earnings no matter how small, and I mean not just now, but after I can no longer write. So, I have ten novellas, one short novel, and one novel posted, please check them out. More are coming as I find the time.

Here are some links to excerpts (you may notice that many of them are from my Substack) of the stories mentioned in this newsletter and their purchase links:

Excerpt / Amazon/Other:

Mach's Metric / Purchase

Mach's Mission / Purchase

Mach's Legacy / Purchase

MarsX2 / Purchase

MarsX3 / Purchase

L4 Station / Purchase

World Brane 2 / Purchase

(If any links don’t work, please let me know).

Stay well.