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Barsoom was a Planned Colony. The Barsoomians petitioned Earth-Gov to open a new colony along with several other organizations. However, upon discovering Earth-Gov insisted all its new colonies adopt the same laws and regulations as those governing post-apocalyptic Earth, they withdrew their application. The new colonies under Earth-Gov’s auspices were not given the right to govern themselves nor did they have a vote when those laws were made. Barsoom, like Arcadia, decided NOT to become an Earth-Gov protectorate and instead petitioned Laughing Mountain to find them a suitable planet to colonize which they could run by their rules.
What if the d’Medici’s and Borgias, or artists such as Raffaello (Raphael) Sanzio da Urbino and Michelangelo, or scientists like Copernicus and Galileo had possessed advanced technology?
The Outlawed Colony of Barsoom* was designed to be a mix of renaissance dress and manners coupled with advanced technology. By day, the colonists invented nanites to cure diseases and cast illusions. By night, they caroused in taverns and ballrooms served by robots. At dawn, they fought duels over imagined or real insults.
The new planet the colonists christened Barsoom* (I received authorization to use the name from ERB, Inc. providing I give credit for the trademark to them in each novel) has the requisite two moons, but it has a tropical climate. Since their main industry is the manufacture of micro robots, stringent steps are taken to prevent the deterioration of the robots.
Socially, Barsoom* enjoys a renaissance lifestyle. It was colonized by groups of people who wanted to keep the romance of a renaissance culture but retain their technology. Colony organizers spent months sending through anything they thought they might need. Barsoom’s Education level is high. The main industries are research and creating tiny robots called nanites which can be programmed for various medical, scientific instruments and weapons. Farming, fishing, merchants, and mining are also part of the colonies economic base, but since they love their high-tech gadgets, much of the manual labor in these industries is done by robots. The colonists also import many small circuits to make their metal servants with.
Since Barsoom employs Robots for many manual tasks, it doesn't have a 'noble' class system, but instead utilizes a more modern egalitarian way of classifying it's population.
