A Clear and Obvious Disagreement Between Positive Paula and Negative Nicholas

January 9, 2023

Read time: 15 minutes

On Mars, there was a little colony of people that grew plenty large.  They found ways to farm, invented tools to help survive the weather, and created a way to the top of Mars’ food chain. 

The colony grew to a few million people.  Its population continues to grow today. 

The colony was a real hoot.  But, a while back, there was a great fight.  Many colonists wanted things to be one way and a few colonists wanted things to be another way.  The many outnumbered the few by a large margin.  The few lost.  Today, those few live elsewhere on Mars.  They’ve been able to create their own colony too.  It has farms and government, but they most certainly resent the other colony.  Their children are born into resentment too.  But they generally go along their days the same way everyone else does.  The colony of the resentful few is named after its founder, Nicholas. 

The colony of the many is named its founder, Paula, a great astronaut who led the initial human mission to Mars.

***

Once, there was a ship headed toward Mars.  It carried a bunch of supplies that were going to help the Mars economy.  Humans were on the ship too.  Humans on Earth found that there was a great investment to be made into the Mars colony.  It became normal for humans to send physical gold to Mars every month to help balance payments between Earth and Mars.

On the ship was Vince Francia, he planned to stay on Mars for a little bit.  He was going on vacation.  At the time, Vince had a hard time at work.  It was the end of the year and his boss wanted to be sure that everything in the budget was lining up correctly.  This led to a 100-hour work week and a lot of meetings. 

But then, the work week was over.  Then, Vince survived the holidays and it was time to spend a little alone time on Mars.  Vince was excited to soak up the culture.

***

Upon arrival, Vince had plans to stay in Paula’s colony for a few days.  Then he’d leave for Nicholas’ colony. 

Vince woke up one morning in Paula’s colony at a hotel resort.  He went downstairs for brunch by himself.  He strolled into the bar area, plopped himself down, and ordered an orange juice with some bourbon.

“This is the life,” Vince thought to himself.

Pretty soon, eggs, ham, steak, potatoes, and another round of orange juice and bourbon came to Vince’s seat.  Vince continually thanked the bartender for her kind service.  Vince ate so much and drank so much that his belly felt full and his voice felt courageous.  Seeing that no one else was at the bar, Vince decided to start talking to the bartender.

“So, how long have you been bartending?”

The bartender was cleaning a glass.  Her boss always said, “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.”  She looked up.

“Here?  How long I’ve been working here?  I’ve been here almost a year now…I started waitressing and bartending in college though.”

“Get busy?”

“Eh here?  Here and there...it’s the tips that count.”

“I feel that…”

“Less work…more money.  Just makes more sense than working morning shifts at the diner, then bartending college kids at night.”

Vince laughed.

Vince said, “I like that.  That’s smart.”

“Pays the bills…keeps me on Mars and off of Earth.”

All of the sudden, there was a pause in the conversation.  Vince sipped his orange juice.

Vince asked, “You want to be on Mars and off of Earth?”

“Eh…I just, I just can’t go back.  It’s trying positive thinking and all that jazz.  The environment here…I like it.  It helps keep me going.”

“I feel that.”

“The sun’s not too hot.”

“I feel that too.”

“It’s actually not positive thinking at all.”

“Hmm?”

“Well…let’s just say, once upon a time, back on Earth, I was into positive thinking.  Positive-positive-positive, but then I read this guy…I think his name was Rao.  He wrote this book, Happiness at Work…”

Vince pulled out his phone.  He wanted to look up this Rao guy.  The bartender continued cleaning glasses.

Vince asked, “How do you spell that?”

“Hmm?”

“How do you spell…you said his name is Ra-ow?”

“Ah...R-A-O.”

“I gotcha.  I can dig it.  I like reading.”

“Rao said that positive thinking doesn’t negate negative thinking…all positive thinking does is create a duality of your thoughts…so, by focusing on positive thinking, you only create a battle of your thoughts.  Positive thoughts trying to suppress and outweigh negative thoughts.  It’s not that you aren’t having negative thoughts…it’s that you end up dealing with them in a way…I guess in a way that I just don’t like.”

“I see.”

“That doesn’t work for me.  I’d rather just have thoughts…then figure it out from there, ya know?”

“I can dig that.”

There was another silence.  The bartender put her glass down and changed the conversation.

She asked, “What about you?  What do you do?”

“I’m in finance.”

“Fun...”

“I work with currencies…try to help countries figure solutions to make their currencies more valuable.”

“That’s…actually kind of wild.”

“It feeds the kids.  Keeps the wife happy.  All of that keeps me happy.”

“You have kids up here with you?”

“Nahhhh…this is a personal vacation.”

“You have kids though?”

“They’re with the misses in New York.”

“Ah.”

“I don’t drink this much bourbon on the kids' vacations.”

The bartender chuckled at that one.

“What else are you up to on your trip?” asked the bartender.

“Well, I’ll be here for a few days…just soaking it up and enjoying the resort.  I got a plan to catch up with some friends…I’m going to the other colony after a couple of days.”

“Pack your bulletproof vest.”

Vince chuckled.  He then asked, “Is it that bad?”

“Ehh, I’ve been there.  There’s fun stuff to do.  It’s good, I’m only joking…it reminds me too much of Earth, though.  I can’t stay there too long.”

“Hmm.”

“Just make sure you have your papers on you, ya know?”

“Ahh.”

The conversation paused again.  Then, the bartender spoke up.

“So…helping currency of other countries…do you talk about politics and war and stuff?”

“It happens…but that’s not what I’m paid to talk about.”

“Hmm…”

“Yeah…I’ve learned, kind of like you with your positive thoughts, to talk about what I need to talk about and inform on the information I have…guessing at what others are thinking and what they do…it’s just hard…”

The bartender listened.  Vince was already one of her favorite customers.

“Listen, for real,” Vince said, “they want to make sure they have enough cash to pay their bills…how they measure leverage and how I measure leverage is different.”

“Ah.”

Vince drank his orange juice and looked up at the score of the football game.  Mars had its own football league now.

***

“Thanks for the chat,” said Vince.

He rose from his seat and put on his coat.  He reached into his wallet, pulled out a $100 bill, and walked over to the bartender.  “Hey, keep up the good work bartending…seems to be doing you well.”

Vince gave her one hundred dollars.  The bartender felt like a million bucks.

***

Vince’s next step was to go to the pool and enjoy some more distant than normal sunshine.

Then, in the distance, Vince heard a familiar voice, “Vince?  Vince Francia?”

Vince knew that voice.  It was his boss.  All of the sudden, Vince felt a pain in his chest.

Vince’s boss's name was Kristian Bilox, Senior Vice President of Finance for GHO, an international conglomerate of financial institutions.  A company within GHO was RCX.  RCX was run by Vince. 

Kristian was a good guy.  Some people found Kristian’s smile to be infectious.  Others found it to be appalling.  He was lucky that the Chief Financial Officer of GHO found it infectious.  Kristian had been working for the same boss who fell for that infectious smile for 15 years.  Kristian’s kids were talented.  His wife was lovely.  They looked forward to an amazing trip to Disneyland.  Kristian had his Mickey Mouse hat on.

“Vince, how the heck are ya?” 

Kristian walked up to Vince eagerly.  They shook hands.

“Doing well, doing well.”

“What’re you doing up here?  Time with the wife?  Time with the kids?”

“Eh, ya know, on here on sabbatical?”

“Really?”

“Eh no.  We had a good time over the holidays, me and the fam, but I had a little me time planned out for the next couple of days.”

“Really!?”

“Eh, it’s been a while since I came to Mars on my own…actually never.  Last time I was here was spring break in college.”

“That’s good…that’s good.”

There was a pause.

Vince spoke.  “What about you?  Got the Mickey Mouse hat going, I like it!”

“Yeah, well the kids want to go on Space Mountain, and I’m like…what if we went on Space Mountain in space!?”

“Ahhhhhhh,” Vince laughed along with Kristian’s joke.

“It’s good, it’s good, but yeah just looking forward to time with the wife and kids.  Survived the holidays well, now we’re looking to a treat for ourselves.”

All of the sudden, a dirty bomb went off at the hotel resort.

KAHHHBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

According to intelligence agents, the dirty bomb was detonated by the MIE, the Mars International Earthlings. 

According to intelligence agents, the MIE is a terrorist organization associated with Nicholas’ colony.  The MIE is allied with the KZC, the NIQ, and the LMZ to cause havoc and chaos amongst the people in Paula’s colony.  Bombings had become a part of normal life on Mars.

***

After scrambling out of the rubble and making sure Kristian was okay, Vince wiped his face.  There was blood.  He didn’t feel any pain.  He wasn’t sure if that was just shock…he worried broken ribs or a broken wrist were coming to get him.  He knew that pain in a crazy moment like this could be remedied by shock.  Vince looked into the mirror at the bar.  He wiped away the blood and felt alright.  Vince figured he was okay as he and Kristian gathered themselves.  They went to locate Kristian’s family.  They were doing alright.

Once all the adults got themselves together, the focus turned to the children.  And Vince thought to himself, “I hope the bartender is doing okay.”

According to intelligence agents, no one died or was seriously injured.

***

After all the chaos was over and the Bilox family was doing good, Vince tried to locate his phone.  Out of all the rubble, he found it.  It read:

Text Messages: 54 Unread

Calls: Michelle (7 missed), Mom (12 missed), Dad (3 missed), Carrie (4 missed), Miles (3 missed)

“The news travels fast these days,” Vince thought to himself.

He called his wife, Michelle.  She was a mess.  Vince and Michelle had a heart-wrenching conversation about life and death.  They said, “I love you” over and over again.  And they continued.

“I can’t believe it,” Vince said.

“I can’t believe it,” Michelle said back.

“It’s crazy…”

They went on and on talking and caring for one another.

Then, she said, “So…when do you think you’ll be home?  You doing okay?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re coming home, right?”

After a bit of back and forth between the mister and the misses, Vince said, “Hey, I’m on vacation!  And I’m going to have a good time, alright!?”

Time for a joke:

Superman went to a costume party.

Someone dressed up as Bitcoin.  Someone dressed up as Dogecoin.  Another person dressed up as Ethereum 

Superman got scared and said, "Oh my gosh!  I didn't realize it was Crypto-night!"