Visit Mars, The 51st State Trucker Hat

Look Out! Thar's Hot Rod Lincolnians and their Official Pace Dog and they're tailgatin'. There coming from all over the galaxy. They've booked it to get here and their booking hotel and motel rooms, RV and trailer park spaces, and bunking with their relative-itties. This is the biggest show in town, in the world, in the solar system, in this quadrant, in this dimention. This is big. The Mars500 starting gun will be fired at noon on the first day of the convention sending 22 high speed starships of an equal number of different sizes and shapes. Each ship will be raced around the six planet circuit by teams comprised of an even greater number of sizes and shapes. Their images are to be withheld until the Earth's governing containment vessels decide it to be "safe" and not at all threatening to their re-election campaigns and give the OK to release them. The race will culminate with the presentation of the MarsCup to the winning starship race team in the winners' circle in Cydonia Square in Marsopolis, in the Cydonia region of Mars. RockZeed-Martian is the favourite again this year although ten teams have been making significant gains in the past few years on their furry technological edge. Also noteable to this years race is the entry of a new comer to the MarsCup Series. Known in over a thousand galaxies for the event which brought them to our little neck of the starwoods, this hitherto unknown race of star racers burst upon the scene like a rat out of Democ. Not so so much are they tight lipped about their intentions, quite the contrary it's hard to get them to just shut up at times. Some of the things they say are just downright mean spirited, but it is also becoming apparent to almost everyone who has an encounter with them that their statements are in exact opposition to the truth, to their actions, and to their professed intentions. Some officials high up in the Galactic Security Agencies have testified on the record that the reason for the arrival of this "so called" race team may not have anything to do with racing at all but rather it is simply a story woven to give cover for the real reason they travelled as far and as fast in so little space-time as they did. An investigation was launched even before they arrived in the Sol System. The technology which brought them here no longer exists as it became star temperature soon after it came to a complete stop near Mars last July and then was quickly evacuated. No explanation has been forthcoming from any scientists as to how an object could turn into a star and yet be so cold at the same time. Luckily for all of the Martians living on base at Olympus Mons the star shown only for 1.5 (Earth) seconds and there should be few to no ill health effects. This new comer team has entered their one surviving shuttle craft in the race. Other than witnessing their arrival in their mother ship the team has not demonstrated any racing abilities or even practiced for that matter. It seems the first contact they made with anyone when they stepped onto the planets surface was with an atourney and the exhibit of speed in getting here was all that could be required of them to allow them entry into the race. Upon careful reading of the official race rules and regulations the MarsCup Series Governing Board was unable to prevent the new comers from entering their shuttle and in the pole position, no less. "We don't know if they even know how to turn." a Plutonian racing official was overheard saying. "I mean look at it, the trail they left behind them in getting here is straighter than physics as it is known allows. I have never seen a line that straight and so long that you cannot see the other end of it, not even with our best scopes." A few teams were considering skipping this particular race as they commanded comfortable enough points leads that sitting out this one race would not knock them entirely out for the season but no decisions are as yet final. It is the unknown nature of this "Team" that is causing all of the apprehension. More when we come back on the 19.5 AM 3D+SpaceTime TV-Radio Show. LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL Copyright (C) 2010 Marti J. Hughes