On Mars, sport is important, both because it is necessary to work hard to maintain proper muscle tone and health, and because it offers novelty to Earth. A gravity of 0,38 g changes both endurance and strength, as well as changing some games beyond recognition. Football, in both American and European styles has lost some of its appeal on the red planet, where anyone can kick the ball from one end of the field to the other. So it has been re-invented by the Martians. Vehicular sports have found a niche, exploiting the endless landscape. We have, for example, the motorized trek, inspired by the Paris-Dakar and the 4L Trophy: each year teams leave in all-terrain vehicle of homemade manufacture (approved and properly tested, of course) and embarks on a journey of several thousand of kilometers. This event, broadcast every year on Earth, is appreciated for its adventurous nature, its covering genuinely unexplored spaces, but also because it is a pinnacle of motorsport, where the vehicles must be perfect to adapt to the terrain, have huge endurance and also provide security in the harsh Martian environment.
Other sports, such as climbing, have also experienced a gain in popularity. Indeed the low gravity on Mars has made it possible to exceed the limits of the discipline, and the climbs of the walls of Valles Marineris are impressive.
Regular sports activity on Mars exceeds even the well known dedication to fitness of Australians. Mars, despite all the architecture, is not Earth, and the human body is not perfectly adapted to it. Whether it's in a gym, through team sports or individual sports, and particularly through walking at every opportunity, Martians exercise continuously. A few years ago a special edition of the Olympic Games was held in Arkadia and was an interplanetary success, with a whole new set of possibilities setting new records in practically every field. A strong contrast to the regular Olympics where progress is now practically non existent, or measured in milliseconds. The dance disciplines, especially aerial dance, have experienced a significant boom and the possibilities given by the low gravity have allowed the creation of ballets of incredible intensity, which have propelled some Martian choreographers to status of interplanetary stars.
Ranjan stands and raises his hand excitedly; he wants to open up the competition to the other districts. Freina, moderator for the evening, asks him to sit down while asking the assembly to vote. She suggests that we adjourn till the next competition, so that everyone has time to think about it. The 63 people present vote by show of hands. They will keep the competition closed to "outside" for this year. This Thursday is a district meeting and it's not only nice things that the exchanges are about. The formality of the debates, however, usually leads to constructive decisions. Such as a moratorium, decided following the announcement of the construction of the Arkadia tower, which seems questioned at the time when I write these lines, or the creation of a link direct between botany and decorative gardens following the problems of cultivable area in the Vankuist district. Each week, a theme thus preoccupies an assembly and this week it is the competition of bas-reliefs for 6 facades of the district. A meeting to discuss an artistic competition… Don’t they have better things to do? It was after this meeting that I became interested in the subject of Art on Mars. What place does it have in a seemingly hyper-utilitarian universe? I then realize, a posteriori, the number of exhibited works that I have come across in my walks and the full scale concerts seemingly improvised in public spaces . Unlike Earth, artistic expression is not separated from social and professional life, and it's quite confusing. Schools give the arts a preponderant place, and they show up in CVs and elsewhere. I have the impression, however, that some aspects of this escapes me, like a word missing in a sentence. Adhémar, present at the famous meeting and capturing the wide-eyed interrogation of my puzzled face, explains. On Mars, inventiveness is a question of survival, nothing more, nothing less. To encourage this, Foundation grants the individual the possibility of finding their own mode of expression from an early age. And at all stages of his life, a person on Mars will be able to enhance his existence by traveling in his deep "self" thanks to this medium, in particular. A way of cultivating one's true identity in the service of the whole, “one” first for the “multitude” then. Beyond the words, I feel a deep impact from his speech, a shock wave that resonate in me. For Adhémar all this seems obvious, but for me, it is a quest. By working on oneself, by mixing this loose and mysterious material, one may create by capillarity an acceptable living-togetherness. I find myself doubting the success of this turn of mind on the scale of a city, while having the proof before my eyes that people on Mars seem to know who they are much more than I know myself.
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