How the Lunar Separatists started
“Lunar Entertainments Incorporated has been found guilty of trademark infringement by Consolidated Coffee for its distribution of the digital currency ‘Starbux’. The state rules for damages on the order of $300 million.”
Entrepreneur Cipher Rand scowled as that headline appeared in his newsfeed. He had spent years of his time working closely with his employees to bring his vision to fruition. And now some unelected terrestrial judges could throw it all away.
"Astraea, fetch my lawyer!" he barked.
Mandrake "Moondrop" Jones was no ordinary lawyer. He specialized in getting people into trouble, not out of it.
"Moondrop, I cannot stand it anymore!" he shouted at his subordinate.
"What do you propose then?"
"Do you remember our conversation the first night we met? My thirty-year plan? It's time to accelerate it."
Moondrop squinted his eyes and scrunched his nose, as if he were in pain. Then his whole body seemed to relax.
"I will get it done."
That same day, another major headline shot across the newswires on everyone's phone. LEI was shutting down a hundred of their venues across the globe. In fact, every single one on Earth was abandoned.
"Effective immediately, I am ceasing all ties to Earth and their unjust laws. Come to the moon if you want freedom." he commented in the aftermath.
For most people, the prospect of uprooting themselves to another world in defense of a billionaire seemed silly. Yet thousands outbid each other for a ticket on the next interplanetary rocket.
"The moon must forever be a place of freedom, to celebrate the individual. It must not become the domain of bureaucrats!"
The civilization grew around LEI's final, grandest stadium. It was haphazard and unruly, but they refused to submit to anyone else's opinions.
As the shanty town turned into a shanty city, the residents began growing restless. Officially, the moon was still considered a protectorate of Earth. It was still subject to terrestrial laws.
The people were proud of themselves for their efforts to live on the frontier among like-minded individuals. It became hard to remember anyone who thought otherwise.
At least, that's what the defendants said today. On the prosecutor's side, the officer sat with the bullet wound still visible in his chest.
Cipher watched the court closely. He knew it would be a kangaroo court. He knew his newfound friends were innocent. That's why Moondrop watched behind with a close eye. If the court ruled wrong, they'd have no choice but to reject the entire system by force if necessary.
I think we’ll see people living on the moon in the coming decades. Despite it looking so close to us, it will be expensive and difficult to ship goods up there. That is why many companies are aiming to try mining water along the lunar poles.
I anticipate a future where interplanetary conflict becomes normal, where they try to escape the Earth’s political gravity and form sovereign entities. I believe this is part of the backdrop for The Expanse as well.