The constitutional scholars from Dorsa Brevia agreed that the congress should be conducted by members of voting delegations, and the final result then voted on by the populace at large. Charlotte, who had helped to draft the Dorsa Brevia document twelve m-years before, had led a group since then in working up plans for a government, in anticipation of a successful revolution. They were not the only ones to have done this; schools in South Fossa and at the university in Sabishii had taught courses in the matter, and many of the young natives in the warehouse were well versed in the issues they were tackling. “It’s kind of scary,” Art remarked to Nadia. “Win a revolution and a bunch of lawyers pop out of the woodwork.”

“Always.”

Charlotte’s group had made a list of potential delegates to a constitutional congress, including all Martian settlements with populations over five hundred. Quite a few people would therefore be represented twice, Nadia pointed out, once by location and again by political affiliation. The few groups not on the list complained to a new committee, which allowed almost all petitioners to join. And Art made a call to Derek Hastings, and extended an invitation to UNTA to join as a delegation as well; the surprised Hastings got back to them a few days later, with a positive response. He would come down the cable himself.

And so after about a week’s jockeying, with many other matters being worked on at the same time, they had enough agreement to call for a vote of approval of the delegate list; and because it had been so inclusive, it passed almost unanimously. And suddenly they had a real congress. It was made up of the following delegations, with anywhere from one to ten people in each delegation:

Towns:

Acheron

Nicosia

Cairo

Odessa

Harmakhis Vallis

Sabishii

Christianopolis

Bogdanov Vishniac

Hiranyagarba

Mauss Hyde

New Clarke

Bradbury Point

Sergei Korolyov

DuMartheray Crater

South Station

Sheffield

Senzeni Na

Echus Overlook

Dorsa Brevia

Dao Vallis

South Fossa

Rumi

New Vanuatu

Prometheus

Gramsci

Mareotis

Burroughs refugees organization

Libya Station

Tharsis Tholus

Overhangs

Reull Vallis

southern caravanserai

Nuova Bologna

Nirgal Vallis

Montepulciano

Margaritifer Plinth

Great Escarpment caravanserai

Da Vinci

The Elysian League

Hell’s Gate

Political Parties and Other Organizations:

Booneans

Reds

Bogdanovists

Schnellingistas

Marsfirst

Free Mars

The Ka

Praxis

Qahiran Mahjari League

Green Mars

United Nations Transitional Authority

Kakaze

Editorial Board of The Journal of Areological Studies

Space Elevator Authority

Christian Democrats

The Metanational Economic Activity Coordination Committee

Bolognan Neomarxists

Friends of the Earth

Biotique

Séparation de l’Atmosphère