Hello and welcome to revolutions.

Episode 11.17, Opposites Repel.

We ended last time in February 2249, with the explosion of a reactor at one of the main extraction

sites on Tharsis. To this day, we do not know precisely why the explosion happened. It might

have been an accident. It might have been counter-revolutionary Omnicore loyalists, or it

might have been radical Martians. the evidence remains thoroughly inconclusive.

But though no one would ever know why it happened, we know what the impact was, that it

immediately escalated tensions on both Earth and Mars, tensions that had been building since the

agreement of 2248 took effect, and which would be pulled tighter and tighter by a series

of incidents over the rest of 2249 until they snapped completely in 2250.

And the most immediate impact of the Tharsis explosion was that it caused the Martians to miss their

oh so recently agreed upon FOS 5 quota. They had actually been hitting their ramped-up

benchmarks laid out in the agreement of 2248, but in April of 2249, they missed quota by 5%,

which caused a great deal of frustrating debates about how everyone should respond. The explosion and

the subsequent failure to meet quota brought into starker relief

the divide between those who wanted the agreement of 2248 to work and those who did not.

Both Omnacore CEO Jin Wang and Mars Division Director Mabel Dor supported the agreement. They wanted

it to work. After all, they were the ones who brokered it. They believed it

created a peaceful and stable path for both Earth and Mars to flourish. And even if it was an awkward

compromise, it was far better than the alternatives. When Mars missed quota, Mabelor informed Wong,

but said, under the circumstances, i.e. the huge explosion, this isn't going to

trigger a conflict between us, right? You're not going to try to retake Mars because of this, right?

...