The Mandate of Earth

One man’s dream to colonize the solar system is accelerated after a comet hits the Earth. Now it’s no longer just about riches and exploration but the survival of the human race. Good thing the technological singularity is just around the corner....

Jack Seerva, an aerospace entrepreneur, has a lifelong dream to colonize the solar system. Right out there, beyond Earth, are millions of asteroids worth countless billions of dollars, ready to be mined. It would eliminate the strain on Earth’s environment and probably eliminate all wars.

Then the unthinkable happens–a comet craters an American city, a disaster that could have been an extinction event. Seerva believes the time to act is now, to preserve Earth’s greatest achievement: human civilization.

Seerva knows that expanding beyond Earth is no longer just about riches or the environment—it is also about survival. After decades of hard work, Seerva has built the infrastructure for a mining station in space. Even one small asteroid may have more ores than all the mines on Earth.

But, along the way, Seerva gains enemies—rivals who accuse him of monopolizing the space industry. Even with the promise of a golden age of wealth and prosperity—and even with the future of the race at stake—his enemies won’t back down and tragedy ensues.

Revised edition (15% fewer pages).