I was thinking about the colonization of Mars the other day. I often think about colonizing Mars and all the wonderful terraforming projects we could initiate. There's just something about a new frontier that lights up my imagination and pulls me like a magnet. Imagine living in a place with no clear rules and laws. One has to be nimble to survive. I wish I could say that once we reach Mars, we're all going to become enlightened beings and work in harmony with each other, but I think we all know that's just not going to happen, and inevitably we'll have to establish a police force on Mars.
In Canada, we already have judicial systems and law enforcement institutions that take care of the messy business of crime, but it wasn't always this way. In the early days of western expansion across Canada, several police forces were set up to deal with the challenges of a growing population in the great wilds. The Royal North-West Mounted police, for instance, was in charge of policing the north-western frontiers beginning in 1873. Later, in 1920, they merged with the Dominion police to form a force that came to be known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) or Mounties. The RCMP has grown to a powerful institution since its humble beginnings of 300 members. It's history has been as illustrious as it has been controversial.
As we proceed with Mars colonization, we'll also need a small police force able to deal with the challenges of maintaining law and order in the Martian colonies. What should this force look like?
I don't know what form a Martian police force is going to take. I imagine that different countries are going to send their own form of law-enforcement structure. Canada has a lot to offer in terms of experience, given its well-documented history policing some of the last frontiers on earth and their unruly inhabitants.
I used stable diffusion to imagine what a future Canadian-based Martian force might look like. As you can see, the police is still mounted, but given that Mars has a weak gravity, I figured the Mounties would need a more robust steed. I chose the moose- a noble and gentle creature that roams Canada's forests (just don't get too close during mating season). It would be perfect for traversing the Martian landscape. Don't worry, it's not going to be a real moose, just a genetically engineered and cybernetically enhanced replica.
I did not bother to replicate a Martian environment because then I'd have to worry about oxygen and stuff. I just prompted the software to place the Mountie in the Rocky mountains, but I'm sure with a few modifications to the uniform, he or she could be ready to deploy to Mars at a moment's notice.
Respect the moose, obey the law
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Resources
RCMP Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Mounted_Police
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