Validity: Nations with a space program
After the news that Dàguó astronauts recently made the very first successful Mars landing, your advisers have gathered in your office to discuss @@NAME@@'s own plans for the red planet.
The Debate:
1. "We can't let Dàguó get the upper hand with Mars," says @@RANDOMNAME@@, Administrator of the @@NAME@@ Aeronautics and Space Administration, while fumbling with some papers in @@HIS@@ briefcase. "We need to exceed them. If they want to send landing parties, we'll establish a permanent settlement! My researchers have been hard at work, and we think we've whipped up a viable prototype of a habitable martian dome. It'll take a few years to perfect, and then of course there's the issue of transportation, but with a lot of money and perhaps investments from the private sector, we could have a functioning Martian Colony in no time. If we need to, we can even take some money out of the defense budget, which is already bloated to begin with."
Outcome: The Martian Colony of New @@CAPITAL@@ has been established.
2. "Just a few colonies?!" exclaims @RANDOMNAME@@, your Secretary of Defense, who is currently in a dispute with @@HIS@@ neighbor over building an addition to @@HIS@@ house over the property line. "Why settle for a few colonies when we can claim the entire planet as our own?! Just imagine, a planet all to ourselves, in addition to the territory we have at home! Sure, it might piss off the World Assembly, but who cares about some stupid space treaty? If they want to do something about it, they can just try to invade Mars, where we'll already have plenty of military bases set up to stop them."
Outcome: Soldiers on Mars who go AWOL find themselves trapped on a frozen wasteland.
3. "Excuse me, but shouldn't we, the taxpayers, have say? This all sounds incredibly expensive!" exclaims @@RANDOMNAME@@, CEO of Rich People R US and Chairman of the Tee Party, a far-right, anti-taxation party, who's yelling outside your office window with a group of ragged-looking, impoverished Tee Party protesters. "We've got a bunch of issues here at home, we shouldn't be worrying about another planet as well! Forget this whole "Mars" thing. If Dàguó wants a barren red wasteland, they can have it. Instead, shut down @@NAMEINITIALS@@ASA and give @@DEMONYM@@ corporations a tax cut, so that we can buy more private pla... I mean, create more jobs for the hard working people of @@NAME@@!"
Outcome: Instead of spaceships, would-be astronauts now find themselves piloting the private planes of CEOs.
4. "Why not find a happy medium," asks @@RANDOMNAME@@, your Secretary of Middle Ground. "Clearly, establishing a permanent presence on Mars would be incredibly expensive," @@HE@@ says, while trying to avoid death glares from everyone else in the room. "But we also shouldn't just give up on space exploration altogether. How about we just send a landing party to explore for a few hours, like Dàguó did? Sure, we won't be first, but we can say we did it!"
Outcome: @@NAME@@ is always the second country to achieve something.
Obviously, it needs some work, but I would appreciate CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.
