You probably have one in your family, a cantankerous older relative who sees "dem liberals" as closet Communists, whom if they had their way would turn America into a restricitive socialist state.
Granted these pessimists are more often wrong then right, but occasionally they guess right (and never let you forget it).
Suppose, their fantasy/nightmare actually starts coming true. And suppose while it does, faster-than-light space travel is made possible, and with it the discovery of a habitable world?
Benjamin Franklin, after the Constitutional Convention, after being asked what kind of government Americans would have.
Perhaps in hindsight, we should be thankful it lasted as long as it did.
It didn't disappear overnight. It happened gradually over time. Most people didn't realize what was happening; not having much knowledge of history beyond their times. When asked to give up a few freedoms, to pay a little more in taxes, they did so, not knowing how much had been given in the long run.
Funny thing: very often big business was cited as the reason for making government bigger. Yet they cooperated just as much as bickered, if not more so. In the end, we wount up simply with a double burden on our backs.
One example of government in action happened when I was in second grade. Our class was just starting history, and we were drilled about how the European explorers were little more than selfish, greedy, inhumane, busybodies who should have stayed at home. The settlers who followed were labeled as savage and superstitious, and couldn't wait to kill every Native American once they had established their colonies.
My Grandfather had saved some of the history books published when he was a young man, and even had a few from before. They didn't always cast the explorers and colonists in a shining light, but did make an effort to show their good side too. Similar thing with the Indians. He had let me read them, and I did, and was quite interested as they had a viewpoint I hadn't seen in books before.
And so, when the teacher was drilling us about what we learned, I had some questions, bringing up what my granddad's books had said. Every time, I was told I was wrong, and eventually asked where I heard all that. Being just in second grade, I went ahead and told.
For about two days, I was in some "children's hospital," in the words of one guy there, to "heal" from the "brutal lies" told to me. I was required to see psychiatrists for over a month. Confused, I simply told them what they wanted to hear while keeping what I thought to myself.
As for Granddad, he spent some time in jail for "corrupting the minds of a child." Police went in and took the books in question. When I was older, he told me they had been burned along with some pornography taken from another home down the street that day.
This wasn't the only time I got in trouble, of course. Less than a year later, I helped a girl down a difficult ladder, and since I had to hold her at one point and a school camera saw me, I was suspended for a week for "sexual harassment." When I once said "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays," I was suspended again, and given lectures and drills on "tolerance and bigotry." Then there was the time Granddad and I built a treehouse in my backyard. Just after we finished, the cops came and tore it down, calling it a violation of "environmental intrusion" laws, and at schools I got more lectures on the sacredness of the unspoiled wilderness and how good things were until man came. Then there was when I wore a "Pepsi" T-shirt to class after the school had an "exclusive contract" with Coca-Cola ...
A lot of my friends just simply accepted it. As for me, I was always angry on the inside, thinking how stupid these grown-ups were. As I got older, I saw many of my age group adopting the same beliefs, not just simply going along for show. People like me learned to be careful what we did, and even what we said.
And it wasn't just freedom. There were no small businesses like Grandfather had worked for, only franchises ran by larger corporations. With government regulations, lawsuit threats, union requirements, and other details, small independent businesses just couldn't exist for long. Forget about getting stock in one. After some stock-market crashes, regulations prevented all but the very rich, and politicians through loopholes, from even the mutual funds my Granddad had known. And if you got in trouble in a company you worked for, whether for whistle-blowing or office politics, one could easily find himself blacklisted, and have to take a government "workfare" job. After college, I went ahead to work for one of these big companies, and it's union. It was obvious the staff was full of crooks, but I couldn't say anything.
And then there was life. Personal automobiles were something only the very rich and government people could have. The Internet my Granddad had was long gone, my generation experiencing little more than a highly censored and bland encyclopedia. The TV I had was pretty much the same TV I had seen as a kid, bland TV meant not to offend anyone. Occasionally, there were shortages of certain goods due to the oversights of government-run and monopoly-owned businesses. Even energy wasn't taken for granted. Always priced high, whenever there were a lot of cloudy days when the wind wasn't blowing, the power plants run by solar and wind power would run down, and brownouts and occasionally blackouts would follow. Using anything but renewable energy sources was out of the question. As for dating, I was so nervous of sexual harassment charges and lawsuits, all my relationships were often strained. Must've been a lot of guys who felt the same as I did. Marriage was occurring less and later in life, and fewer kids born.
It seemed that I would have a dull life ahead.
Then came a miracle.
Technology growth had slowed, but breakthroughs were occasionally made. Still, it was nothing but a miracle that someone found a way to make the "warp" travel described in science-fiction come to life. It was only a matter of months before ships were built, and sent off to different stars. For a time, we saw news reports of ships coming back with information on new solar systems and new worlds, and of course news reports of protesters saying such effort and money should be spent here at home instead of "wasted" in outer space.
After a few years of finding only dead worlds, interest began to wane. Then a world that actually had life was found; it was just bacteria, but it sparked interest again. A few other marginally inhabitable words with simple life were found.
Then about five years after the discovery of warp drive, a truly earthlike world was found around the star Capella. Blue skies with white clouds, huge oceans, wide open plains, vast forests, a planet much like home. Oh there were differences, notably that the most advanced animals were salamanders, but it was the closest thing to home found. No name was agreed to right away, so it was simply given it's star's name, Capella, and a "V" to mark it's position in it's system: Capella Five.
Almost immediately after the news of this earthlike world hit the press, talk began about colonization. A lot more called when studies of samples showed the germs there were not too hazardous for humans. Ordinary people called and asked how soon they'd be able to go there. Even though they couldn't say it in front of the news camera, private conversations revealed that a lot of people were talking about how they were fed up with life here and looked forward to the chance to make a new start.
On the tube, however, only part of the talk was about colonization. There was certainly a lot of talk in the media against it. Some intellectuals argued that this pristine planet should be left alone on the grounds that even the smallest human presence would be a "rape" of it's ecosystem. It was even commented that allowing people to colonize at all would lead to them not caring about how bad life on Earth got, as they could always move. Finally, the government declared an "indefinite" moratorium on colonization.
Big mistake. This was met by demonstrations, and even riots. People who had kept up with the explorations since the beginning (like myself) had been hoping for a chance to go, and to be told no was just too much. I saw one of these demonstrations, a peaceful one, in front of a government building, and interested joined in. We weren't doing anything, but police came in and put us all under arrest. Being roughed up, squeezed into a wagon, and spending a night in the slammer for "disturbing the peace" was not a pleasant experience.
Finally, the government relented. Not just because of the riots, but by stories that other countries were preparing to send colonists if we didn't stake a claim. The argument about leaving the planet alone was now dead, so people would be allowed to go after all, if nothing else to protect the United States' claim.
I promptly inquired about how I'd be able to go. I found that a variety of organizations were staking claims to various places. Some were being funded by corporations, interested in getting resources that a ton of regulations made difficult to get to on Earth. With metals available on "dead" worlds with no bad PR risk, they were more interested in products such as lumber. But many were funded by the people themselves. Many of these were religious organizations, seeking to worship without government harassment. A few were undoubtedly extreme, but most were made up of normal rational people - even though the talking heads in the media would have you believe otherwise. Others were simply people like me who simply wanted to be left alone from the pushy laws of the government.
One group offered to take me in, but told me I'd have to put up some money for my share of the funding the trip would take. I didn't have a lot of cash, but Granddad happily offered to help out. He told me he wanted me to experience the kind of life experienced by our forefathers, free and able to do whatever one wanted as long as it didn't genuinely hurt anyone else.
And so I left on the first wave of ships to Capella Five. The trip to the Capella system was rough, months in a "tin can" that reminded one fellow colonist of his time in a research submarine. Finally we arrived at the system. We quickly found a spot for a colony, and landed. When everything was set, the door was opened, and I stepped outside. For the first time in years I saw an endless green wilderness without thinking of the environ-mental cases that had once made me grow tired of such things. The air was sweet, and the grass moist with dew.
It was a day I would never forget. My old life was gone forever, and my new one had began.
Besides setting up the colonies, all of us had to decide on how to govern ourselves. While still technically under US Federal rule, the huge communications gap meant we would be self-governing. Having lives our lives under a system of laws so complex it took supercomputers to keep track of it all, we wanted simplicity, and we wanted to live without being bothered. Each colony would basically govern itself with each community sending representatives to itŐs council. For communities in most colonies, the people themselves were the council, with all adults voting in town meetings (most wouldn't count felons, the exceptions being some religious colonies). Laws were pretty much few and basically common-sense ones.
The town meeting concept was what my colony, New America, had. The meetings I went to could be occasionally lively as some were outspoken about their opinions. But the people were civil, so things were fairly orderly.
We "Capellans", of course, had some trouble from the start. For one thing, the bacteria here wasn't completely harmless. Those colonies in the tropical regions got sick at some time for the next several weeks, some getting bedridden and a very few dying. This became known wryly as the "seasoning time," and was experienced by subsequent colonists there. Medicine helped a little, but couldn't stop it. Those further north were spared this, including New America's settlements, experiencing nothing more than simple colds.
Equipment was another issue as it broke down just as much as on Earth, and if it was beyond repair, one couldn't just simply go to the store to get one. So at first we tended to depend less on the more complicated machinery and relied more on what could be easily replaced, such as hand tools and machines without electronics.
Farming turned out to be an easier job than we thought. Not only were our crops able to take to the native soil as expected, but some of the native plants were edible as well. It wasn't long before we were able to put aside our cheap rations and have some real food, and even native Capellan fruits and vegetables.
For me personally, the first few years on Capella were the most exciting times in my life - helping to establish humanity's first real colony world. I did help some with the construction of buildings and farms, but as a child I had always been reading about explorers - so I volunteered for that duty. While satellites could make maps of the planet, someone had to go to places and check things out personally. So I was one of those exploring the planet much like Lewis and Clark had done in America's West a few centuries before. We explored thick forests, cascading rivers, valleys in steep mountain ranges, all sorts of terrain. It had all the thrills that exploring America must have had, except of course for the Indians.
But soon, we were not going through territory that was completely uninhabited. More waves of colony ships came, even when the first permanent buildings barely had time for their paint to dry. First, we would always be within radio range of a settlement. Then we would occasionally see a scout plane. Then the visits to other settlements and colonies became more and more frequent.
Yes, there were still plenty of unexplored places. This was a big planet and it would take many decades before it would be all explored. But still, I felt the biggest challenge was behind me. Everything else would be smaller accomplishments that would be reminders of past glories. Still, I did make something of a name for myself as my reports were read not just by other colonists, but by interested people back on Earth as well.
As more and more separate colonies staked claims, some disputes did come up. Most were settled quickly, but those involving the few colonies made up of political, ethnic, and religious extremists were often difficult. They didn't like "outsiders" coming too close to them, both survey teams and especially other colonists looking for a settlement. On several occasions survey teams came under fire from them, a few times wounding or killing someone. Once when on the border of the "Heaven's Key" territory, a survey team came under attack. The explorers stood their ground and returned fire - resulting in casualties on both sides before both assailants and the team pulled back. The team's colony was enraged, and there were calls for an attack, but cooler heads prevailed and the extremist colony made a reluctant apology and a few other concessions.
Extremist colonies usually settled well apart from polar opposites. But shortly after our ten-year anniversary came the time a far-left group, the "New Shinning Path," settled right next to the ethnic supremacist "Aryan Shield," trouble began almost immediately. Skirmishes between the two occurred almost daily, and raids were made on each other's settlements. Stories of death and destruction reached other colonies. A few wondered about intervention, notably the corporate colonies, but most felt it would do little except get some of us killed. After several weeks of fighting, the two sides agreed to a truce. Peace, however was uneasy, and there were occasional fights along their border in the years that followed.
The news soon reached Earth, and needless to say the media began painting all of the colonists as crazy extremists, not just a tiny few. Fewer people talked of going, and the waves of new colonists began to slow.
Then in Year 12 came another problem. A group of colonists from the People's Republic of China came in and established several settlements in an area that took up part of a corporate colony's territory and part of New America. They radioed us saying this territory was now a part of the People's Republic, and was off limits to us. We responded by reminding them that all of this planet was United States territory: they could settle here, but had to live under the American flag like the rest of us.
To prove our point, volunteers were secretly called among New American explorers like myself to make some scouting missions in the Communists' territory. I answered, and with my experience was made the leader of one. We, of course, were well armed, and went in, expecting trouble. New America also contacted the leaders of other colonies. They too agreed to help out.
When ready, we led our teams in. We came under fire by armed sentries almost immediately. But we stood our ground, and our reinforcements maneuvered around them, and forced them to retreat until they managed to regroup their forces in the central part of their territory. The campaign then slowed as our gains in area become smaller.
This was the beginning of a six week campaign. It turned out we weren't just fighting regular colonists with guns - the People's Republic had sent skilled soldiers. We had a manpower advantage, but had fewer people with military experience and were not quite as well armed individually at first. On the other hand, we had our satellites and were able to modify our few aircraft to establish air superiority. We were also able to manufacture some weaponry.
Once we were able to get some heavy weaponry to the field, both aerial and on the ground, our campaign began to move faster again. Bunkers set up by the Communists fell under siege, and soon cracked. An effort was made to avoid heavy damage to the settlements themselves, and it was soon rewarded when the Zedung community was cut off and surrendered. After that, the whole People's Republic colony quit fighting.
Since it had turned out they had orders from their government to fight if we sent anyone into their territory to dispute their claim, we gave them a choice of going back on the next ship to Earth, where whether they would be released or not would be up to the US, or they could stay and live among us as free people under our laws. Most of them chose the latter.
Some months later, we began getting the responses from Earth about what happened. To our surprise and disheartenment, the US Government did nothing but make a mild protest to the landgrab. When news of the fighting reached Earth, our government seemed almost apologetic. But as details of our victories came to light, the apologies ended. When our victory was announced, the People's Republic accepted the results, but declared two semi-habitable planets it had recently established colonies on off-limits to others.
In the meantime, suspicion between the American and Chinese colonists faded, and we were soon living together peacefully. As for the colonial militias, they continued to keep in close cooperation in case anyone else made a move on Capella.
Two years later, someone did: a few French landed and set up a small colony. Maybe they felt a few outposts wouldn't attract attention. They thought wrong. A force made up of militiamen from several colonies was sent over at once. Caught completely off guard and unprepared for a fight, the French gave up without a fight. Most of them returned home. France and the European Union complained loudly when the news reached them, but they took no real action, and after some mediation the US (and China) recognized a few systems as exclusively their own. That was the last time we had trouble with foreign powers, and with the former Chinese colonists cooperating fully with the rest of us, it helped ease the last of our suspicions.
Things quieted down further when some terrestrial words were discovered beyond Capella. While not quite as comfortable, they did attract a few. Among these were most in the "silly settlements" as we sometimes called the extremist-run colonies, who were becoming more and more isolated as unused land was transferred to other colonies by the US, and many of the children had little of the fire of their parents and left to other colonies after growing up. Seeing their efforts here crumble, as soon as they could, they made arrangements with space transports and left Capella to settle further away from Earth, and away from the main path of colonization.
After Year 20, the number of colonists moving here began to pick up again. There were a number of reasons. By now, we had some small cities and a good amount of local industry, so we had all the old comforts of home. But there were others. There was a religious revival back home. Someone called it "The Great Awakening meets the 1960's." Many people were growing tired of what was seen as the stagnation of society, and some of them turned to religion. Unfortunately for them, the government as a whole was less than sympathetic to them, some calling them "freaks" or gullible, being deceived by charlatans. The media had the same view.
More restrictions were places on the right to worship. Children were not permitted to go to church. No new permits for churches were made. Religious programing on the media was banned. In the words of one, "We had always joked government confused freedom of religion with freedom from religion. Now it seems there was no confusion, they only valued the latter." People were basically being told to quit worshiping or leave. And so, more and more religious people came to Capella. Not just Christians, but Jews, Muslims, and others.
Not just religious people were coming to Capella. Back on Earth, the American economy went into a deep recession. At the same time, already high taxes went up heavily. Like many times before, they were aimed at "the rich," but thanks to loopholes they hit only the middle class. Facing loosing jobs and homes, more Middle-class people began considering moving to Capella.
At the same time came a series of laws aimed at "protecting" the public. The second amendment was essentially ignored, and it became illegal for an ordinary citizen to own a gun of any kind, even longguns. After that, the same thing happened to most of the rest of the Bill of Rights. People could not just be harassed for criticizing the Government, but outright arrested and jailed. Or alternatively, they were institutionalized. This could be worse as if you were supposedly sick, they could keep you there indefinitely until "cured."
As for the truly rich and the lower classes, fewer came as colonists. The rich found loopholes in their taxes and their lawyers kept them out of jail. The government kept those of little means dependent on public housing and workfare jobs. In a sense, it appeared the political elites were chasing away those who could challenge their power, leaving behind what one called "a bribed, brainwashed mass of sheep."
Not all the poor stayed behind contently. A few did manage to get away. More would had if they had the means. I remember one particularly poignant example of emigration, a whole Indian tribe sold all it's property and came to Capella. They never said why, until they came here. In the words of one, "Our ancestors saw the government cheat them out of their prosperity and dignity. Now, they're doing it again, to everyone."
It should be mentioned that it wasn't just American colonists coming to Capella, especially when the Earth global economy began to sag. We received a number of Europeans, Latins, East Indians, and Chinese. In most times after Year 25, about one out of four Capellans was of other than American origin.
Time went on. Capella continued to grow, in population and economy. Developments in warp drive enabled ships to travel faster, and bring people, products, and of course news back and forth. The government was paying little attention to us, struggling with it's problems of an economy dampened by the departure of much of its middle class.
As for myself, my days of exploring came to an end. I got another job, took a wife, and raised a family of my own. The years went by, and the children soon began having families of their own. I'd bounce these youngsters on my knee, and tell them stories about exploring early Capella.
On the subject of families, most American, European, and all Chinese colonists who came here came from small families with one or no siblings. Maybe it was this, or maybe it was the smaller number of neighbors, but it was typical for colonial families to be quite large, having several children. The birthrate combined with the immigration resulted in a continually rising population. In year 70, it was announced that Capella's population had reached 30 million, about a tenth of the United States. It seemed in another 70, we would be larger than them.
It seemed that the peace would last indefinitely, or at least as long as I lived.
Then one day in Year 78 came some news. Even though the economy was getting progressively worse, it was still a surprise when after a closed meeting, the government announced the Constitution was being "temporarily" suspended due to the "state of emergency." Following this came a number of sweeping laws and regulations. The Supreme Court was done away with. New certification rules made elections a farce. State governments became little more than clerks, with all major decisions being made from above. Symbolic of it all were the monuments of our Founding Fathers being dismantled. Names of places named for them also changed: Washington D.C. for instance changed to "New Columbia" years before became criticized due to now being named for the reviled Columbus. It was changed again to "Peoples' City."
Then came the biggest shock. It was announced the name "United States of America" would be changed to the "United Peoples of North America." The flag was also changed. In a ceremony, the red, white, and blue flag that had flown for so long came down and was replaced by some multi-colored banner supposedly representing the different ethnic groups, never mind they had no voice beyond a few party-picked figureheads. Instead of "America the Beautiful," some song few of us recognized was played.
America, it seemed, had finally come to an end.
We barely had time to get used to this new reality when more news came in. We had pretty much been left alone since the start. Now all of a sudden, UPNA representatives went to our colonial councils and gave them directives from the government to pay massive new taxes and were given new regulations and laws. Among the directives, the representatives were to be the new colonial governors. Both the taxes and the directives, the representatives told, were "to correct long-ignored oversights."
A few colonial councils politely but coldly told the representatives to leave. Most were practically chased out. In one of the few meetings that did not explode in a fury out outbursts, the representative was taken aback by the refusal of the council to adopt the measures, "People have to have the proper guidance. Without it, they will be lost." One councilwoman wryly replied, "From what we hear about life back on Earth, it's the people there who have become lost."
The representatives, confused, either returned to Earth or sent word and waited. The UPNA government was just as confused, expecting us to just roll over and follow their lead. Perhaps ruling a more complacent public caused by the departure of so many middle class had made them overconfident.
Some of us expressed concern about this, feeling the UPNA would soon be at it again, this time harder. But many of us became a bit complacent ourselves, feeling we had proven our point. Then the government "temporarily" suspended the new taxes and regulations for Capella, but stated they had the right to tax and rule us as they pleased. Despite the latter, there were few of us expressing concern.
In Year 80, the UPNA once again sent representatives, this time with armed escort. They again met with the councils, and repeated the directives for taxes, regulations, and their installments as the colonial governors. Due to the escort, the representatives were not thrown out this time, but the councils did openly protest. One councilman asked, "Why should we take part in these absurd demands that serve no purpose?" The representative responded, "The people support these directives." "Are you kidding? They have virtually no support anywhere on Capella." "These directives are for the good of the people. If anyone does not give them their utmost support, they must not be well-informed. If they were, they would support them wholeheartedly." The representatives would not recognize our right to oppose their demands.
The represenatives-now-governors made no concessions to the councils, and simply set up office. When they ordered the councils to enforce the new regulations and taxes, the councils refused. The result was armed UPNA agents going around enforcing the new regulations and collecting taxes. When local jails proved reluctant to hold the people arrested for violating the new regulations, the agents took them over.
The councils protested these actions, but were ignored. People debated what to do. Some felt they should move on to planets further away from Earth, away from the UPNA's attention. A few were doing that. Others felt no, including myself. I dragged myself to my community meeting about the issue in spite of my stiff joints. After a couple people expressed their desire to leave Capella, I took the next chance to speak. I reminded people of what I had gotten away from on Earth, and of the hard work of myself and others had done to build a new home. "If it is truly in our best interest to abandon our homes, so be it. But years from now, won't they just go after our childrens' homes? (pause) I say we draw the line here, while we still can."
Many others had similar views, both in town meetings and colonial councils. Some councils began organizing militia, officially "in case of civil disorder," but it was no secret at all that it was a show of strength against the UPNA. Some were suggesting more than just organizing forces, but independence. Others were reluctant to cut our ties, out of fear of reprisal or of lingering memories of old America.
One thing that was agreed on was for the different colonies to talk, coordinate, and have a united voice in face of the UPNA. So each colonial council sent representatives to a planetary council. This was our first true planetary government.
With resistance increasing, the UP began both increasing its rhetoric and sending more agents and soldiers. Every day, they broadcasted rhetoric that we needed their control or would be hopelessly lost, that, "Government is not 'they,' government is us!" despite their disregard of our colonial councils. At the same time, they continued to extort more and more taxes and arrest more. Then they decided to go after people who had openly opposed them, accusing them of mental instability and being a "danger to others and themselves." They hoped this would quiet opposition. Instead, people simply began staying in groups and staying armed. Firefights began occurring between UPNA officials and those they went to arrest, especially after it was found out they planned to send the "most serious cases" back to Earth for indefinite imprisonment.
The situation continued to get bad as Year 80 ended and Year 81 followed. Then the UPNA governor of New Virginia ordered his forces to raid some colonial arms stockpiles in an attempt to break the colony's will. But the first stockpile targeted was guarded by militia. When the colonial forces surprised them, a firefight began. Men on both sides were killed. The militia put up a fight, but had to retreat. The UP soldiers destroyed a small amount of arms, then moved on to the next one.
The news of the fighting spread like wildfire. Across the planet, militias were called to alert, and more volunteered for them. New Virginia's neighbors sent reinforcements to help. When the UP forces reached the second stockpile, they found it empty, then found themselves under heavy attack. They retreated with heavy losses.
Before our guns had even cooled in New Virginia, other colonies were witnessing action. Seeing the UP's attack as the last straw, they took it upon themselves to attack government forces. Some were caught unready and forced to retreat or surrender. Others managed to hold ground. Some colonial forces had to retreat but others simply lay siege to the UP bases and waited.
The planetary council called a meeting. On the issue of defense, they ordered the organizing a planetary army and asked the colonial militias to send some of their forces into it. Then came the big question of our ties to the UPNA. After some talk, the following was issued ...
"In 1787, our forefathers founded a constitution that cemented the foundation of a new republic: the United States. Today, little remains of what used to be that country, not its freedom, not its constitution, and not its concept of the people as the real rulers of the country.
"We came here in order to rebuild a society like the one we were losing. Now, we are in danger of losing it again. In order to preserve ourselves as a free people, we the people of Capella renounce the rule of the named 'United Peoples of North America,' and declare ourselves an independent sovereign state."
The reaction from the UPNA government seemed to be a mix of disbelief and anger. Their media cried out that "a handful of power-hungry, fanatical, zealots" had seized control of our planet and the masses were nothing but "a mob of hillbillies" easily manipulated and "sorely in need of proper education." There were open comparisons to the Confederacy of 19th Century American history, and charges without UPNA control, Capella's minorities would be virtually enslaved themselves. Never mind that so many of our soldiers and leaders had other than American backgrounds.
As I write this, it has been only a few weeks since our declaration. The UPNA forces have withdrew from a few more bases. There has been no further military response yet from Earth, but few believe they will simply let us go without a fight.
The battle may go on for months, perhaps years. With my body showing more and more signs of age, I may not see the end of our struggle. Yet, I feel we shall succeed.
I have done as much as I can for Capella.
Now, it is up to the younger generations.
May God help us all.