The planet Mars has been extensively colonised in the Android universe, although it remains a dangerous frontier.
As the terraforming of Mars has progressed, the settlers have split into different clans, each laying claim to one of the major habitation domes on the planet. The clans identify their members by means of small tattoos near the eyes, and are currently locked in a civil war for control of the planet.
Fifteen years ago the war for Martian Independence ended with the Treaty of Heinlein, a copy of which is now displayed in the Heinlein Museum, inside Starport Kaguya. Many refugees of the war were forced to settle on Earth, due to the harsh nature of their homeland. The provisional Martian Government maintains an embassy in New Angeles. Many on both sides consider the war to be ongoing, or have unfinished business with the government or military of their enemy.
Sergeant Dejah Thoris was a major figure in the war and maintains a high political profile as a result.
Today, the Martian Colonial Authority (MCA) works to maintain peace between the clans, keep ecological balance with the slowly growing population, and continue the terraforming project. Many Martians believe the MCA to be an Earth-controlled puppet state and they may be accurate in this perception; however, the infighting between clans serves as a sufficient distraction to keep any real progress from being made towards complete self-governance - and there are just as many factions (such as the corporations who helped bankroll the colonization) who would prefer it stay this way.
Population Centers[]
Life on Mars still must exist under protective domes which block most of the cosmic and solar radiation that bombards the surface, as there is no magnetosphere to speak of (unlike Earth). For this reason, Martians tend to dwell in isolated but concentrated locations where either domes can be cheaply constructed, or where natural rock and mineral formations or lava tubes provide sufficient shielding. They are currently classified as either cities, nodes, or settlements, with different clan demographics and political support for the MCA.
Multidome Cities (100,000+ pop)[]
- Bradbury
- Demeter
- Brackett
Single Dome Cities (2,001 - 100,000 pop)[]
- Arnold
- Tianbian
- Aelita
- Gullivar
- Podkayne
Nodes (100 - 2,000 pop)[]
- Kline
- Paxton's Node
- Meslam
- Mojave
- Robinson
- Yinghuo
- Endurance
- Victoria
- Mariner
- Pieria
- Bisson
- Airy