“They filed a certificate stating that the area was being productively used,” Kieran replied. “It’s a bit loose, but the various forms of governing authorities and what-have-you around Mars generally recognize it.”
“What did Banks mean when he told Hamil that Zorken would back his claim with force if need be?” Katrina asked. “Surely it can’t work as a free-for-all?”
“You said you were looking at properties to buy recently,” Rudi said to Kieran. “Okay, who controls those rights? If you pay a real estate agency for a place somewhere, who enforces your claim if somebody shows up one day and says it’s theirs because they were there first?” He showed both hands. “It’s ridiculous. That would be chaotic.”
“Most of the time, people manage to muddle through,” was all Kieran could say. It didn’t sound very satisfying but there was no neat and tidy answer to give. “You have to be here for a while to get a feel of how it works. There’s no easy way to explain it.”
“But what about when being reasonable and understanding doesn’t work?” Rudi persisted. “Do they bring in the paid security agencies that we hear about, and it turns into a private war? Is that what Banks was talking about? I came here as an archeologist, not to join somebody’s infantry.”
Lou, the black man on the work team, said, “There might have been a few scuffles and differences now and again. But there’s never been any real attempt to stake out a big slice of territory by force. . . .” He glanced at his companions. “None that I’ve ever heard of, anyhow.”
“That’s only because there’s a lot of empty space out there, yet,” Zeke said. “When there’s plenty of everything for everybody, that’s when folks can get along. The bickering starts when something or other they all want gets in short supply. I seen it all before in other places. Either some kind of system has to come out of it all that can lay it down for everyone as to what’s what, or else there’s gonna be a lot of trouble one day before it straightens itself out.”
“Took long enough to get a world system back on Earth,” Shayne pointed out. “And even now it isn’t as complete as they wanted it. They managed somehow for a long time before that, though.”
“Right, and look at the amount of trouble they went through doing it, too,” Zeke countered. Rudi looked at Kieran, as if for a verdict.
“That might not be the only way,” Kieran said. “There are lots of experiments going on all around. I’d say to wait a bit longer and see what happens.”
“That doesn’t do a lot to help us in the meantime,” Rudi observed. Kieran couldn’t argue.
“So what are we supposed to do?” Katrina asked. “There isn’t any kind of ultimate police or court system that we can appeal to. I think I agree with Rudi. It’s ridiculous.”
“Perhaps you wouldn’t want to,” Kieran cautioned. “Squatters’ rights mightn’t apply. You could find that Zorken has the better case.”
“So are we supposed to organize some kind of credible counterthreat—raise our own army?” Rudi demanded derisively. “That’s preposterous!”
“It doesn’t strike me as Hamil’s way in any case,” Katrina said.
“And it might be a waste of time wondering about it,” Kieran told them. “Why don’t we wait first, and see what Walter and Jean have to say when they come back?” From his initial assessment of Banks, he didn’t expect very much—but it had to be tried. And assuming that Banks would be acting under orders from his principals, the brief amount of research that Kieran had been able to do via the net didn’t lead him to hold out much hope for any change of attitude from that direction either.
The headquarters of Zorken Consolidated’s vastly spread operations was a large artificial structure called Asgard that cycled in an eccentric orbit between the Belt and a perihelion that precessed between Earth and Mars. Currently it was approaching and would cross the orbit of Mars quite closely within the next two weeks. Zorken had a predatory history of acquisitions and hostile mergers, and in the free economic conditions that reigned beyond Earth’s region of influence, hadn’t shrunk on several occasions from employing armed force in dealing with inconveniently active rivals. Once, they had invaded and permanently taken over an asteroid holding of a customer they deemed wayward on payments. Now, they had evidently set their sights on developing this location at Tharsis, and Kieran couldn’t see them altering their policy out of goodwill towards a shoestring-funded scientific group whose work held no prospect of any benefit relevant to Zorken’s interests.