Re: To the Moon!
People shuffled in their seats, and grumbled, but fter the long wait the show finally began. Staff began serving refreshments, and the lights dimmed to allow a better view of... a grainy 1970's space documentary projected onto a giant screen. Basic information about the conditions of outer space and the moon blasted out of the pricey sound system (thanks, Kraken industries...) purchased for the occasion, and several in the audience began complaining. The documentary moved on, discussing the space program and the "incredible technology" required to put men into space.
A few in the audience threatened to leave, insulted by the waste of time. Others yawned, waiting for the gimmick intro to end. But 15 minutes in, the film was still going. After 20 minutes roughly a dozen people left. At 30, another dozen. When everyone that was going to leave was gone, the documentary finished and a speaker quietly took his place on the stage.
"So, I'm glad to see so many stayed with us. If you don't have the patience to watch a little history, you probably shouldn't have the future of mankind intrusted to you, no?" I little smile, but only half joking. A noticable Russian accent, but he spoke english well. "How did video make you feel? Like you were watching ancient history, like this was old, oudated, irrelevant to the world we live in, yes? You are right to feel this way, but you were wrong in one thing... This IS the world we live in. The space programs of USA and Russia have changed so very little in the decades since man first walked on moon. We use same technology, sometimes even same equipment. We met none of the goals for the future. Competition and optimism of early space exploration gave way to boredom and stagnation. Governments are even more shortsighted now than ever; they take more and more money from space programs, not realizing that it is the hope of a better future!" The man's voice rose as his speach moved along, and he sounded genuinely angry in his last few words.
"Now only private companies make bother to care about space exploration. But they focus on tourists, on cheap flights. These are good, they build infrastructure we need, but while they do this, who forges ahead into unknown? Who takes cutting edge... no, bleeding edge technologies and applies them to truly inovative purpose? Who is fulfilling the goals set so long ago, to return to the moon, to not just visit but to LIVE on Mars? No one? No one you say? No, ladies and gentlemen, you are wrong. YOU! YOU are the ones that will do this! Together, the greatest technical minds, the worlds wealthiest organizations, and the novas that make anything possible in this age of miracles... Together we WILL colonize new worlds!"
The man walked from the stage, to be replaced by charismatic scholars from a dozen fields, and an hour of lecture the basics of what they were planning, and the many pieces of the project that still needed to come together. Details were left for later in the day, while the early presentation was meant to build enthusiasm and to make clear the goals: colonization of the solar system, asteroid mining, and the growth of human- and nova-kind to new hieghts.
After the early presentation, the lights went back on, and people were allowed up from their seats to mingle before the next round of presentations opened up in 30 minutes.