Forward by Dr. Miranda Jepeau
College of Arts and Sciences
University of Utopia Planitia
New St. Petersberg, Utopia Planitia
Mars (Sol IV)
For over five and a half thousand years, warfare has defined humanity. Voltaire said "I know I am among civilized men because they are fighting so savagely." George Bernard Shaw observed "In the art of peace, Man is a bungler." And Homer, the eternal Poet, maintained that "Men grow tired of love, singing and dancing sooner than war." It is an obsession that led humanity to the brink of nuclear extinction and, eventually, to the stars themselves. Now, man's Interstellar economic and industrial system faces a shattering prospect: Peace.
Mankind has never enjoyed a period of real peace. Even the Pax Romana's two centuries of truce ignores the fact that, elsewhere on the globe, tribesmen were killing each other for winter supplies. When Gath (the Motinea to whom mankind owes its ascension) arrived, nuclear weapons were still pointed at rivaling countries. The bitter irony of Gath's arrival was that he came only to recruit mankind into a war that, although unrelated to anything Terrestrial, was growing close to swamping the helpless Earthlings in its path. He offered to help upgrade Man's warmaking capabilities and to facilitate its spread to the stars. How could Mankind refuse? The wise aliens of late twentieth century lore had finally arrived, and they came to teach all mankind how to make a better gun.
Mankind proved to be excellent at waging war. So good, in fact, that the "unstoppable" Motinea Empire is now suing for peace. While millions on the Union's worlds rejoice, there is a noticeable chord of discontent. Can man truly accept the face of peace? Or will he, as always, find another foe to vanquish? Dr. Stephanowski's book faces that question. I don't think many will like the answer.