Final Phase - Part Three

6th March

Huesong Offices, Yttrium Valley, Artemis

The Huesong offices are clean and pristine, as you might expect from such a powerful business. The lobby takes up the entire ground floor, which is fair enough when you own an entire block to yourself. I take the elevator to the level I was told in advance that the meeting would be held on along with the two security personnel I have with me. I get at least a little nervous for every single meeting I go to, but this one is even more so. This is the most important meeting in the history of Artemis. Or perhaps the human race. Today, the future of the human race will be decided. So, today I think it is understandable, even okay, for me to be nervous.

When the elevator comes to a stop, the three of us step out into a corridor. It becomes pretty apparent which direction to head in once we look up and down the corridor. Outside a conference room with the windows shaded, is a small grouping of security not speaking a word to each other. Judging by the number, I am certain they are all here, but I do a quick check of their lapels just in case. Yes, all five of them are here. My security wait outside without a word as I step into the conference room with a sharp breath, and close the door hard behind me. I look up to see five of the moon's most influential and rich denizens. Each of them the leader of their organisation's lunar operations.

Our host, of course, is Hue-Song Jun, the granddaughter of Huesong's founder. She sits at the far end of the conference table. No one sits directly next to each other, I notice. Probably a sign of the weight and aura everyone in the room has. And their mutual distrust for each other.

To Jun's direct left is Ingprad's Rachel Larsson. The young Danish representative for the Swedish multinational on the moon. Ingprad was also an early investor into Project Artemis. They specialise in GMOs, and are one of the moon's biggest food producers. Rachel Larsson herself was on the second ship from Earth to arrive after we opened Artemis for business. Among the first thousand humans to step foot on the moon.

Across from Ms Larsson, is Charles Fort, the great-grandson of Fort-Lieher's founder. Fort-Lieher is Ingprad's biggest rival in GMOs, at least their equal in production. They also produce the majority of pharmaceuticals on the moon. He's easily the oldest person in the room, and probably among the oldest residents of the moon.

Next to Ms Larsson is Jamie de Vries of Medano. Medano is the smallest of the five tigers. A small South African mining corporation that just happened to make it big on the moon, although much of that can be contributed to the skilful leadership of their lunar expeditions under Ms de Vries. Due to their small size, Ms de Vries has effectively been able to undermine the leadership thanks to her successes, and make herself Medano's President in all but name. That's how important and valuable the resources here are.

And finally, closest to the door is Huang Jianmin, the founder of Jianyang. Jianyang is the only one of the tigers to have no holdings on Earth. This is due to Jianyang effectively being a subsidiary of the Chinese government. Jianyang took the moon by storm three years ago, gaining a large market share in the mining industry, overtaking Huesong as the leader in this industry.

The five most influential people in the lunar business world. All gathered in one place for the first time. I've met all of them multiple times previously, but never even two of them at the same time. And the intensity in the room matched that. The rivalries here stretch back to Earth for some of them. Huesong hates Fort-Lieher, Fort-Lieher hates Ingprad, Jianyang hates Huesong, and everyone regards Medano as classless upstarts and a holdover from apartheid South Africa. A lot of rivalry, and little collaboration. But that has helped the lunar economy from devolving into being completely dominated by these powers. Their monopolies and duopolies in the industries are not as tightly held as they would be if they cooperated on a larger scale.

"And finally, the one who called us here arrives," Ms Larsson drawls in a sarcastic tone.

Yes, I am the one who organised this meeting. Of course, I was unable to organise it myself, so Jun called the meeting for me. But I guess she has filled them in that it was my idea to have this meeting in the first place.

"Thank you all for coming. I know you all have busy schedules, so I'll try to get straight to the point, but I think this will be worth your time."

I sit down in the closest seat, at the end of the long table opposite to Jun. Looking around, I see that the layout of the table is very telling. Mr Jianmin is sitting as far from Jun as possible, Ms Larsson and Mr Fort on opposite sides of the table, et cetera. The rivalries of their respective businesses certainly reverberate on a personal level as well. I hope those rivalries won't get in the way of them understanding the profits to be gained through this venture.

"As you probably know, I was the driving force behind the establishment of this city. What you may be less aware of, is that over the last decade, I have worked painstakingly to not just establish a new city, but a new culture. Artemis is the most socially and culturally liberal city in human history. Anyone and everyone is to be accepted here. That was the true goal of Project Artemis all along: to create a new society. A model society for the rest of humanity to follow, but to progress this any further, law and order needs to be returned to Artemis. Right now, no nation can lay claim to the moon, which leaves us in limbo. But, if an independent state was established on the moon, that would be a different story. And I think this is a necessity to move forward from this point forwards."

A smile comes across my face, as I look at the five shocked faces looking back at me. They all seem so confused, and must have so many questions. I'm just hoping one of them asks the question I'm looking for.

"Impossible. The Earth will never accept the existence of an independent state on the moon," Mr Fort was the first to speak, "you have no way to defend yourself should Singapore or any other nation try to claim Artemis for themselves."

"No," I reply, "some of my allies and close friends have been working over the past few years in preparation for this. We have the capability to defend ourselves on the moon, although I can't tell you the details. We now have a large enough food production that we are self-sufficient. The Earth is reliant on imports of helium-3, and without it no war against us could ever possibly succeed. If there is a war, it will be short-lived and an overwhelming victory for us."

Ms Larsson spoke next, "it might be true that our food production is now self-sufficient, but water is still an issue. You can't synthesise enough water to not rely on the Earth."

"But we don't need any water from the Earth anymore, do we?" Ms de Vries spoke, looking at me, "that's what the Persephone really is for, isn't it?"

I reply, "that's right. Five years ago, I commissioned Volto to make what you might call a space freighter for Artemis Energy. Two years ago, the Persephone left the moon from a secret settlement on the far side of the moon. The freighter left with five hundred passengers, as well as ten smaller ships onboard. The smaller ships were built by Volto in collaboration with Medano."

The heads swivel to look over at de Vries, who simply shrugged, "we agreed to design asteroid miners in return for favourable treatment in awarding prospecting territory in Nova California and our silence. I never understood why it was a necessary for the project to remain secret, but it was a good deal, so I took it without question."

Jun speaks next, "I'm the one who knows you best out of everyone here. And because of that, I know you wouldn't reveal this much of your plans without a good reason. Even though you got me to call this meeting and as you suspect, Huesong has some knowledge of your manoeuvres, we did not know half of this. So, I have to ask, why are you informing us of your plan?"

I smile once again. Just the question I was waiting and hoping for someone to ask. This conversation couldn't have gone any better.

"Although there is no official measurement, I think you will all agree that the five companies you represent, as well as DELOS, collectively make up at least half if not more of the moon's economy. Perhaps even as much as seventy-five percent. All five of your companies have been made extremely rich and powerful both here and on Earth because of it. If this works out, your companies will be the best positioned by far to carry on your success further afield. From Mercury to Pluto, for centuries. Your corporations will outlast you and carry on your legacy for further into the future than anyone can see."

"But, what do you want in return for that?"

"All I need is your security forces. I think the majority of the people living here will be on our side, but some might not be. Especially those working for corporations and agencies that will lose out from this. I need a temporary police force to make sure everything goes smoothly over the next few months."

Charles Fort frowned at that, "I thought you said you had the military capacity to defend the moon. Surely you have the ability to take care of a small number of opposition forces?"

"Military force does not necessarily come in numbers nowadays, Mr Fort."

All of them sit in silence for a while. They all seem lost in thought, entertaining the idea. Can he really pull this off? Where will that leave us afterwards? How much can he be trusted? Who do I tell about this?

I stand up after a few seconds of this, "I'm sure you all have a lot to think about and consider. If you have anything to ask me, call me on this number."

I place a card on the desk. Unmarked by any company logo or the like, just a plain card with a phone number written on it in black pen.

"I still have a lot of work to do, but know this: if any of you decide to go against me, you will most likely fail. Even without your cooperation, I am confident that I will be victorious. Those who go against me, will be crushed. There will be no place for you here after I've won."

"You seriously think you can win?"

I turn towards the speaker, Mr. Jianmin.

"I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't serious."

"They'll never let you. No one will be on your side down there. The United Nations, the superstates, the governments, the transnationals… none of them will support you."

"No, if I can convince them that it is mutually beneficial to have an independent state on the moon, I think they will support me. Not everyone will be convinced, but I'm sure enough can be."

"If there's a war, you'll lose. You don't have the ability to beat an alliance of states from down there."

"I think you'll find we have plenty of leverage, and the best strategic position any belligerent has ever enjoyed. We will win without a doubt. I will make sure that the moon becomes independent, no matter who opposes me. No matter how strong the enemy, I will defeat them."