2500

Central among the conflicts during the approaching half point of the millennium was what was to be later known as the "intellectual wars." The pervasive mindset for the past 500 hundred years was a doomsday inevitability. It was accepted that, despite the prosperity of the Earth, due to mass volume energy, there was to be in fact a grand collapse; a colossal melt down. Now it seemed a fading cultural misnomer. Susan Polgan, a famous Anthropologist wrote, "Human beings will become bored of peace and happiness."

To make the counter argument, that the world would be conflict free, was to suppose that wealthy parents would automatically rear emotionally healthy offspring. Thus the intellectual wars began. Most notably, it started with space athletes. We'd observed a genetic component that allowed some individuals to live longer and deteriorate less quickly in space. This was a quiet subject, often written off because it was a sports issue. In hind sight, it was an issue of fear and avoidance.

By now, around 2440, High End had become an umbrella of public and private agencies. Public domains included data preservation, humanist philosophies, and space/time research. Private domains included entertainment, travel, raw space materials, and discoveries. The argument was born out of a simple engineering debate. When building livable environments in space, how much effort should be placed on supporting the traditional human body. Conservatives argued that promoting individuals based upon a genetic component was eugenics; would change what it meant to be human. The other side listed cost relevance as a side point, although it was clearly the primary reasoning. Their political platform was a historical argument; that collectively, human beings would not displace their humanity for progressive agendas. They pointed to the fact that newspapers and books were still around.

In this case, "might makes right" won the battle. Therefore, more effort was placed on selective hiring based upon the genetic component. To build gravitational supports, was simply less efficient within the "timelines." Many were pissed.

By 2480, High End's consortium of offspring had come together to build a small fleet of rock cutters. These space ships were built with two revolutionary tools, high speed capabilities, allowing them to get to the asteroid belt within weeks, and a "claw and cut" system, allowing them to pick out asteroids and cut them for materials. An orbit was selected at the midpoint between Earth and Mars. By 2500 the main body of the Port between Earth and Mars was complete. Back on Earth, the intellectual wars had ignited into a full scale intellectual brawl.