"That's true," Arkady said. "But in fact Antarctic stations are very political.  Most of them were built so that countries that built them would have a say in the revision of the Antarctic treaty.  And now the stations are governed by laws set by that treaty, which was made by a very political process!   So you see, you cannot just stick your head in sand crying 'I am a scientist, I am a scientist!' "  He put a hand to his forehead, in the universal mocking gesture of the prima donna.  "No.  When you say that, you are only  saying, 'I do not wish to think about complex systems!'  Which is not really worthy of true scientists, is it?"

"The Antarctic is governed by a treaty because no one lives there except in scientific stations," Maya said irritably.  To have their final dinner, their last moment of freedom, disrupted like this!

"True," Arkady said.  "But think of the result.  In Antarctica, no one can own land.  No one country or organization can exploit the continent's natural resources, without the consent of every other country.  No one can claim to own those resources, or take them and sell them to other people, so that some profit from them while others pay for their use.  Don't you see how radically different that is from the way the rest of the world is run?  And this is the last area on Earth to be organized, to be given a set of laws.  It represents what all governments working together feel instinctively is fair, revealed on land free from claims of sovereignty, or really from any history at all.  It is, to say it plainly, Earth's best attempt to create just property laws!   Do you see? This is the way entire world should be run, if only we could free it from the straitjacket of history!"

Sax Russell, blinking mildly, said, "But Arkady, since Mars is going to be ruled by a treaty based on the old Antarctic one, what are you objecting to?  The Outer Space Treaty states that no country can claim land on Mars, no military activities are allowed, and all bases are open to inspection by any country.  Also no martian resources can become the property of a single nation-the UN is supposed to establish an international regime to govern any mining or other exploitation.  If anything is ever done along that line, which I doubt will happen, then it is to be shared among all the nations of the world."  He turned a palm upward.  "Isn't that what you're agitating for, already achieved?"