Reds

Rusters · Rusties

The lowest Color, red-haired mining slaves who dig helium-3 in the deep tunnels of Mars.

Story so far

The Reds are the bottommost Color of the Society, red-haired and red-eyed diggers who mine helium-3 in the underground colonies of Mars like Lykos. Told they are noble pioneers preparing the planet for terraforming, they are in truth slaves, starved on quotas and hanged for defiance, kept in line by Grays and by the dangled prize of the Laurel. Despite the Society's cruelty they are a people of song, dance, family, and drink, clustered in clan townships.

Eo names them slaves where Darrow still half-believes the pioneer myth.

Appearance

Rust-red hair and rust-red eyes; pale skin from a life underground; a red Sigil of a circle with an arrow and cross-hatching on the backs of the hands. Women wear layered reds.

Role

The enslaved mining underclass of Mars; Darrow and Eo's people.

Relationships

Darrow — A Red Helldiver, the finest driller of his clan.

Society — Their masters, who cast their slavery as heroic sacrifice.

Grays — The garrison troops who police and hang them.

Sources — 1 recorded facts, by chapter

Chapter 1

The lowest Color, red-haired mining slaves who dig helium-3 in the deep tunnels of Mars.