Conquerors Of Mars

He could no longer remember which day could be marked as the date of the big move. Maybe that pandemic that made everyone stay indoors and wear masks? He was still a child, but he could remember.

Possibly not, as life hadn't changed that much yet. Volcanoes, tidal waves, earthquakes, natural or unnatural disasters, which began to wipe out communities, cities, peoples from the map? Any in specific? None of this, thought of in isolation, could transform the world. As much as lives were interrupted and others drastically changed, most continued to live within the rules of capitalism. It's amazing how much money guides human behavior, even in chaos. How billions of people manage to accept a system where hundreds of people, maybe dozens, concentrate all the financial power in the world, even as final and total destruction looms, becoming clear.

These same powerful people demonstrating that, even with all the money they had, they were doing everything they could to get to Mars as quickly as possible and the rest of the world watching it and going to work for food, the next day, just the same, as if nothing had happened.

In the large structures, in the metropolises that held the system, water still came through the tap and still had electricity. Although in a rotation situation, which started with every other day, supply and went on to three days a week. Still, "life" went on.

Scientists who said there was no going back, that the day when everything would collapse was before everyone, were considered apocalyptic and ended up discredited. Science itself, on a popular level, had been completely emptied. Scientists and researchers were now exclusive roles in favor of the richest. Knowledge, for the great mass, was only passed on when necessary to adapt commercial technologies.

There had been a gradual revolution, where large companies began to be increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, with increasingly glaring monopolies, which generated a choice, on the part of the dominators, regarding what should be provided to the people . It was decided that it was not necessary to deliver technologies to everyone. The consumption imaginary of those who were exploited did not need to go very far for profit to be achieved.

As such, there was no longer any kind of mass-produced technological evolution, on the contrary. With costs rising and incomes falling, older technologies became the most popular and this was enough to maintain a new conception of domination and control.

Meanwhile, Robert arrived on Mars.

The first man to set foot on the red planet. He knew he wouldn't survive it, but in the end, he was someone who already knew he wouldn't last much longer on Earth, either. Not everyone had this knowledge.

In fact, very few people still had any knowledge of anything.

Perhaps the moment when the US Congress decided that it would relinquish power and that next year there would be no government, only the market itself would self-regulate American society, would have been the milestone it was looking for. Of course they didn't really give up power, they just sold their power which didn't mean much anymore. Not that the existence of politicians, as it was, helped much. But it all got a lot worse.

But, glaringly, nothing much had changed in the life of society. Although, in the comparison of the last ten years, the world seems different, still, it was not possible to say that something changed everything overnight.

But now it was hard for anyone looking or not understanding that the world was going to end.

And the commerce was still there, working as if someone really needed to buy some trinket before Earth was no longer able to live on. The fact that they didn't know how it was going to end also gave them an air of denial that it was even going to happen.

Jack was lucky, if you could say so. He was a police officer, government employee, who was eventually reassigned to private security forces. With the compensation he received, he accepted a joke from a friend. He was challenged, in a drinking circle, while he was already drunk.

Stewart said he never dared anything. That he was a coward.

- How many missions have you seen me face openly? - Jack replied.

- That's not what I'm saying. You did it out of some completely insane childhood trauma, not out of courage. I'm talking about something that would compromise your security. His solitary life and financial reserve. - Stewart explained.

- Well, I was never even one to get involved or spend - he explained

- Cowardice! - the friend continued teasing.

- What do you want me to do? Throw money in the trash and ask Carol to marry you? - everyone laughed out loud. Carol would clearly be one of the few people at the table who would never accept such a request.

- Bet all your money! Choose a B coin in your band and buy it with all your money. Any one, without thinking. You can't take it out in less than a week, regardless of whether it appreciates or depreciates.

That request from Stewart was particularly difficult. Even dizzy from the drink, he still stopped to think. The market was at a very difficult time for betting like this. The currencies, now virtual, were many and all controlled by the main companies in the world. B coins were those that were still linked to countries or companies that had some strong traditional and cultural link with communities. In the beginning, the companies' tactic was to buy these coins, but now, it was much more to hope that they would no longer be used. He could lose everything.

At that moment, which changed his whole life, he took his "band", which was a device that was the latest evolution of the smartphone. He was multifunctional, but most of the things he did were holographic.

- He "drawn his gun", Stew! yelled Pink, the youngest of the security group.

- Band, select all my available capital into account - he said and everyone was absolutely silent.

"Optical recognition required," the device replied.

He picked up the small rectangular box and held it to his eye. She did an analysis with a light and replied that the value was selected.

- Apply the amount in a currency B with redemption within seven days, scheduled. - he gave the command.

- Which coin? - questioned the device.

- Random selection.

- Confirm the transaction? - The machine even put on a last protection that made Jack break out in a cold sweat.

- Yes!

- Transaction completed, with $1,330,030 of Ms you bought $100,200,020 Reais.

- Real? What coin is this? - Stewart asked without remembering the monetary origin of that name and Jack replied the question to his band.

- This is the currency that was once official in the former Brazil. After the country followed the US path and became privately owned, only the Amazon region retained traditionalists who managed to keep the currency, refusing to incorporate any other form of capital into their culture. What was left of it is mostly traded on paper.

Everyone started to laugh and then their consciences were heavy.

- Relax, Jack. If you lose some money, it won't be much. It is a coin with little mobility. - Alfred tried to calm him down and lessen the heavy atmosphere that remained.

-After Jack upsets me and shows that he is braver than anyone at this table, the round is up to me. Stewart raised her glass and announced.

- Less bad. At least one more drink. I'm glad I have food at home. A week with no money, anything will go after you until the end of the world, Stew. - Jack yelled.

- Yeah, considering that the end of the world doesn't seem so far away. - Everyone laughed and as in almost all things they still found funny, they felt regret right away.

The next day, the Real had suffered a major devaluation due to news of the discovery of a scheme in the forest where natives had smuggled what little was left of wood.

If Jack took the money the moment he found out what was going on he would still get a third, maybe a quarter of his money back. But the schedule he made was closed. Changes were not allowed, this guaranteed the transparency of transactions and was part of maintaining their liquidity potential.

Close to completing the seven days, something incredible and unimaginable happened. The big M announced the negotiation of the entire administration of the Amazon forest and the acquisition of every physical resource of the local currency. It would indemnify all the inhabitants and guarantee investment not only for the continuity of the natural life of the place, as it would also undertake to increase investment in its recovery.

The Real automatically appreciated more than 4,000,000% and the very few owners of what was left of its virtual version became part of the select group of very rich people, the few who still remained outside the circle of world companies.

That day he could remember.

Maybe that's the point: individualism. The day that someone's life, as an individual, changes completely is always marked, but the day drastic social changes cannot be fixed with an exact date.

Of course, if the lives affected are those of powerful people, and this brings major social changes, then yes, we can remember the date.

The clearest example is that Robert's arrival on Mars will never be considered a big change for society, not as big as the arrival of the Big M himself.