Seeds of Revolution - Part III

9th March

Level 16, Junction

Arriving at Mei's apartment, she doesn't really seem that happy to see me. In fact, if I had to guess, she probably was hoping that she wouldn't have to see me ever again. But, I can't just leave her alone. I need her help to make my dream come true. I need her.

After I enter her apartment, Mei offers to make me a cup of coffee, which I accept. Her apartment is slightly larger than my own. All the apartments in Junction are. She has a large kitchen and lounge area, which stretches from the entranceway, out to a wide view window that spans the entire length of the wall, opening up onto the pitch-black sky of the moon. The Earth remains high in the sky as always, almost directly above us, which makes it difficult to see from this angle. As both Artemis and Junction lie near the meridian point of the moon, the Earth remains directly above both settlements all year round. If I stare upwards and almost press my face against the window, I think I can make out South America. Yes, that large patchwork of lights must be Rio and São Paolo. And just below that is the River Plate in Argentina. That large black patch there must be the Amazon (or what's left of it), which makes that Caracas...

"I hope your not planning to stay here too long," Mei spoke from the kitchen, "I have work to do."

"Of course. I'll try not to take too much of your time then."

I walk over to the kitchen bench, and sit on a barstool. There's three stools. I wonder if more than one ever gets used.

"I think you've already guess what I'm here for, right?"

She grimaced, "you want me to back your independence movement, right? You want to use my connections to support your revolt against the Earth."

"As expected of Mei."

Yes, the reason that I am here (and why I wish I had thought of this plan sooner), is because Mei is the leader of a bery powerful group here on the moon. Chee Soon Mei is the founder and leader of the Lunarian Justice Association. Something lacking in the current lunar society, is law and order. The current rule of law is that of economic strength, which lies solely with myself and the tigers, and the closest thing that we have to a police force, is the opposing security forces of each of the tigers. As for courts... there isn't even anything close enough to compare.

So, Mei founded her Justice Association, with the intention of creating a system of law on the moon that everyone can believe in and follow. Although that has been rather difficult for her to achieve. Whilst everyone on the moon agrees that order needs to be maintained, which is what has stopped us from falling into complete anarchy, people can't agree with what that order should look like. And that's where the contradictions begin. The bureaucratic empire of askterisks. They support law and order, but only as long as it suits them.

Mei left Artemis because she wanted to spread the influence and support of her Justice Association. Presumably, she chose to settle in Junction, due to its' geopolitical importance as, well, a junction. From Junction, all major lunar settlements can be reached within a shift's travel. Artemis, Apollo, Dunstan, Iowa. It's a perfect strategical location for a headquarters. If Artemis is the head of the beast, Junction is the heart.

Mei lays down a mug, full almost to the lip of steaming coffee, in front of me.

"Let me be clear, I don't plan on backing you."

I had thought it would be this way. We used to argue about this all the time, back in the day. I bring the mug to my lips, and sip the coffee. The taste of the artificial Ingprad brew fills my mouth. I wish I hadn't said yes. God, for a real cup of coffee, I would give up the moon.

"Because you don't agree with my plans?"

"Yes. After we gain independence, you're going to be in control, right? I never liked the world you described to us back in the original settlement. You still want the same thing, right? To rule as a dictator would."

"I don't wish to rule as a dictator," I begin, picking my words cautiously, "democracy is a sham. We've all seen it. From America to Taiwan to Africa, it hasn't worked anywhere. It's an illusion. All it has ever achieved is to divide the populations of a nation along so many political and ideological lines, that no one can agree on anything. Governments can't function. Societies can't function. Without a strong united leadership, how is any country supposed to work?"

"Your wrong. The democracies of Earth are flawed, yes, but they can be improved. The nations of Earth that have had the wealthiest and happiest people over the past hundred years, are almost exclusively democracies. And we can do it better. We can do it right, here on the moon."

"But these nations you speak of didn't have the wealthiest and happiest people because they were democracies. These were the colonial European nations who lived under feudalism and monarchy for a millennium. Their happiness and wealth were derived from the superior and early technological growth of these nations, not the founding of democracies."

"So, your returning to some archaic and outdated system of government, because you believe democracy has failed?"

"Of course not. I always said, didn't I? That I plan to build a completely new society here on the moon. That means everything is going to be different, including the system of government."

Mei doesn't respond to that. She seems to have run out of arguments. After all, we had this same conversation many times in the past. We've both already summarised our entire viewpoint on the issue, so there's no need to argue any further. And we both know we aren't going to move from our entrenched positions. But that's why I know I've won. Because democracy is not Mei's main concern. No, she just wants there to be justice for the people of the moon. Law and order. Whether that is under a democracy or not is secondary to the deliverance of justice, for her.

"Have you spoken to Yohn recently?" I ask her.

She seems a little surprised to hear his name, "I don't think I've seen him, let alone spoke to him since I left Artemis. Why, did he say something?"

"No, not in particular."

I let that hang in the air for a little while. Mei's forehead is covered in frowns now. She really doesn't look her age. If I didn't know her, I would say she looks to be in her forties or perhaps even early fifties.

"What does he do nowadays?"

"He works for me. Head of Security for Artemis Energy."

"I see."

I look down at the dwindling amount of coffee left in my cup. I drain what's left in one go.

"I promised I wouldn't take much of your time, so I'm off now. Message me if you change your mind."

As I get up to leave, Mei speaks again, "you're unfair. Leaving immediately after talking about things I want to forget."

"Am I? I suppose you're right, I am unfair. But if that's cheating, then nothing would ever be achieved by playing to the rules. Thanks for the coffee."

The train back to Artemis is slightly busier than the earlier one. My security detail and I are given a wide berth, but I can see that there are other passengers further down the train. At least twenty or so, many of them workers on their shift, overseeing the movement of their businesses product. After all, there's no law on the moon. It would be a shame if someone were to steal your produce, but you would have no way of stopping them once they had. I'm sure they would all be happy to have some sort of system of law to stop such theft from happening. Isn't that right, Mei?

I call Yohn up. It's nice having phones back. We didn't have them on the moon until recently. No cellular towers. Even now, there's only a couple of areas where you get reception. Artemis and Apollo have complete coverage. Dunstan, Stockholm, Iowa, and Tycho have partial coverage, but the rest of the moon is completely dark. DELOS and Huesong are working together on this, improving and spreading the network, but it is slow progress, and there's little drive to work on it. After all, we both worked on it with the main goal of eavesdropping on competitors, not providing a network for consumers.

"How'd it go?" I hear Yohn's voice coming out of my phone.

"About as expected," I reply, "I'm going to need you to create a small team of your best. Can you do that?"

"Yes, I should be able to," Yohn sounds cautious as always, "what for?"

"I'm going to need you to conduct a raid on a block in Artemis. I can't tell you when yet, or where over the phone, but I need the team to be ready within two days."

Yohn says curtly, "understood," then ends the call.

I slump back in my seat, but as I do, I feel my phone vibrate in my hand. I look at it, and smile at the message written. It seems like Mei is on board. The stage is set now, and I'm at the front and centre of it all. All that's left now is to get the ball rolling, and then we will achieve the final step towards my goal. An independent state for an independent culture. With this, Project Artemis will finally be attained. And the world will begin moving in the right direction. My world.