December 2142

1 December 2142
ANCHOR: President Clarke's Unified Party convention draws to a close in Chicago tonight. The party's platform has called for continued support of Habitat Mars, tough enforcement of the Universal Identification Law, and reaffirmed that clones are property, not people.

2 December 2142
ANCHOR: The Unified Party convention ended last night, reaffirming its controversial position that clones are property, not people. Pamela Corvino, militant leader of the Clone Rights movement strongly disagrees.

CORVINO: We can no longer tolerate Clarke's bigotry. We demand a clone Bill of Rights!

3 December 2142
ANCHOR: Declaring that clones deserve equal protection under the law, Privacy Party candidate Julian Matthews endorses a clone Bill of Rights. Pamela Corvino, militant leader of the Clone Rights movement, immediately throws her support to Matthews' bid for the Presidency.

4 December 2142
ANCHOR: Following yesterday's endorsement of Julian Matthews for president by the Clone Rights movement, Realist Party candidate Perry Epp today declined to support a clone Bill of Rights.

EPP: I never met a clone I didn't like, but the fact is clones simply aren't real people.

7 December 2142
ANCHOR: An odd footnote to the controversy surrounding the proposed Clone Bill of Rights -- Leon Smuckley of Timeline, Ohio, was arrested today for attempting to marry a female clone of himself. On his way to jail, Smuckley had this to say:

SMUCKLEY: Why not? She's perfect for me!

8 December 2142
ANCHOR: The latest FTL election poll shows that President Clarke and the Unified Party still hold a commanding lead over both the Privatists and the Realists. 13% of those contacted were plugged into the Virtual Reality Net and could not be reached for comment.

9 December 2142
ANCHOR: Using the latest graviton field technology, the Weather Moderation Bureau today successfully disrupted Hurricane Bova as it neared Southern Florida. Bova came ashore as a low-grade tropical depression, sparing residents of this traditionally storm-battered region.

10 December 2142
ANCHOR: Astronomer Winston Rylo gave this update today on the rogue asteroid, Rylo-7.

RYLO: Rylo-7 left the asteroid belt near Jupiter. It should intersect the orbit of Mars in about nine months. Just how close it will come to Mars is impossible to say at this time.

11 December 2142
ANCHOR: The leader of the Hispanic Commonwealth, General Antonio Rodriguez, has arrested several top officials in connection with the sabotage at the Noriega moonbase. Viewers may recall that a list of suspected "R" sympathisers was supplied to Rodriguez by CenBank Chairman, Barton Poole.

14 December 2142
ANCHOR: The Hispanic Commonwealth proposes a "Clean Air Surcharge" on all exports to help pay for its restoration of the Amazon forest. Earth's atmosphere depends on this natural purifier. The Commonwealth says its surcharge is a small price for letting us all breathe a little easier.

15 December 2142
ANCHOR: The Hispanic Commonwealth's proposal for a "Clean Air Surcharge" on its exports is rejected by the other Economic Combines. President Clarke sums up the prevailing sentiment in her own inimitable style.

CLARKE: They're nuts! Sure, we inhale -- but we wouldn't enjoy paying for it!

16 December 2142
ANCHOR: With the third army's crack clone brigade now in place, President Clarke vowed today there will be no sabotage at the Wilson moonbase like the attack which devastated the Noriega base a month ago. Meanwhile, here on Earth, the hunt continues for the rebel group "R".

17 December 2142
ANCHOR: Realist Party candidate Perry Epp today blasted the NAU Endowment for the Arts for giving a grant to Edna Moreau. To become her latest work, called Lifeform, Moreau cross-biomorphed herself with an octopus.

EPP: I've heard of living your art, but that's unnatural!

18 December 2142
ANCHOR: Police Chief Darryl King reported today that in the three weeks since Identity Chip implants became law, there has been 97% compliance -- this according to figures supplied by CenBank. King said the remaining 3% could be connected with the rebel group "R".

21 December 2142
ANCHOR: The InterCombine Police Agency is investigating a ring of doctors who illegally remove Identity Chips from criminals and replace them with fake ones. The ICPA reminds citizens that tampering with Identity Chips is a felony punishable by life imprisonment.

22 December 2142
ANCHOR: Reports are surfacing that radical members of the Clone Rights movement are buying fake Identity Chips on the black market and implanting them in human clones. Clone Rights leader Pamela Corvino fears this may hurt the movement.

CORVINO: We support their cause but we don't condone illegal tactics.

23 December 2142
ANCHOR: Now, an update from Dr. Kristeen Ballard, Chief Scientist at Habitat Mars.

BALLARD: I'm pleased to report that our effort to create a breathable atmosphere on Mars by producing volcanic activity at the poles has met with great success -- commercial mining could begin here within a year.

24 December 2142
ANCHOR: In light of recent progress in terraforming Mars, the European Community, the Hispanic Commonwealth, the Islamic Federation and the Asian Prosperity Sphere are now demanding that the project be internationalised. Habitat Mars, of course, is owned exclusively by the NAU.

25 December 2142
ANCHOR: Pope Thelma Louise II delivers her annual Christmas message from Rome tonight on the Religion Channel. The subject will be the importance of reality in a virtual world. For those who will miss the broadcast, the encyclical will soon be available on holographic disc.

28 December 2142
ANCHOR: Responding to pressure to make Habitat Mars an international venture, President Clarke today vowed to keep the base an exclusive NAU property.

CLARKE: We took the risks when no one else dared. Now, they all want a piece of our success. Well, I say "no".

29 December 2142
ANCHOR: President Clarke's pledge that Habitat Mars will remain exclusive NAU property draws fire from Privacy Party candidate Julian Matthews.

MATTHEWS: International cooperation is the key to Mars, but Clarke's reckless lust for power has put us on the road to conflict.

30 December 2142
ANCHOR: Failure at a solar energy station caused holographic façades to blink out all over Houston this morning. Ten-year-old Ken Kafka was playing with his father's holocam when he caught these revealing images. Needless to say, residents were relieved when power was restored.

31 December 2142
ANCHOR: Speaking from Tokyo today, Sato Uchida -- Prince of the Asian Prosperity Sphere -- openly challenged the NAU to let the other economic combines share in the colonisation of Mars.

UCHIDA: The road to Mars is paved with good intentions -- and good neighbours.