From our Kordoss correspondent

It is beyond a doubt that the Kordoss government has been looking into replacing the Space Elevator, as affordable bulk transport of goods into orbit is a necessity for Kordoss to function as a colony. Recently, some of these offers have been leaked to the media. We can not disclose specific details about these offers, but we are able to share the general gist with our readers.

These offers spoke of the immense cost of (re)building the space elevator, especially so far away from the Solar System. And as there is no-one that can pay these costs out-of-pocket, interested parties seek to recuperate their losses over a long time, generally by charging a percentage of the value of all goods transferred.

Currently, Kordoss is being kept alive by a fleet of shuttles transporting goods necessary for the survival of this colony down from the bulk freighters in orbit, down to the planet. Unfortunately, the amount of material that can be taken back to orbit to be exported pales in comparison to our usual output.

Many have speculated that any deal around a space elevator could hold our entire economy in a stranglehold. There would be very little stopping the owners of the space elevator from increasing their prices, if there is no competition. But any attempts to have more than one elevator at a time have been met with scorn, as all the offers positively require them to be the only one building a space elevator, listing such reasons as required return on large investment.

The Miners’ Union, led by E. Chandra, the assistant of the late Janey Hoffa, calls for a government controlled space elevator, with long term, fixed, reasonable costs. This to ensure the financial well-being of the colony. The Miners’ Union has significantly risen in influence ever since the day of the calamity, with great influence amongst the population of Kordossdddd and thus effectively functioning as a governmental body here, but its financial means are negligible. Hence, their call for the government to take up this responsibility sounds somewhat hollow, as there seem to be no financial means to start such a project at this time.

So, will we be seeing a new space elevator within a reasonable amount of time, and what will the costs of transportation be on this new elevator, once it is build?

This reporter and, I’m sure, pretty much everyone here on Kordoss, would very much like to find out, if not dreading the answers we’ll get.