It was the biggest event that had happened since the moon landing in 1969. Mars has officially been colonized as a  place people can live. This will revolutionize factories for the better. Mars started out as barren craters of red sand and more dust filled land that anyone could ever imagine. The plan was to start building small factories and then start to build housing soon afterward because the factories would take much more time to build then homes. If you are wondering, we are not going to start moving the whole US population to mars. We will make it so if there is overpopulation on planet Earth, then we can free up valuable resources and have enough supplies and materials so that everyone can be comfortable. Making the machines is the most tedious part of the process. It is also the hardest part of the move and that is why it will be done first. We are starting with a clean slate. With a new planet, there was a new government. So, the government of Mars decided to start with plans that came from the United States and approved by the redocracy. After initial building, plans from the rest of the world would be considered. Starting off with nothing was great for the factory owners Rousseau and Montesquieu. They ran the most successful industry in America and wanted to take the industry worldwide and to other planets. For them, Mars was a fresh start to boost business and have their company known around the solar system. Transporting the materials was also a big issue. Transportation would be the biggest challenge because the technology was still in production on how to fly all of the materials from Earth into space without having any plan ending with technical issues. Both peers were eager to start the process of making the plans for the factory but had always been stubborn when it came to how to build it and what would be best for the company. Each was too proud to admit they were wrong and wanted their ideas to trump the other one.

“Building on Mars is definitely a challenge, with all the uneven terrain and all the available land that the possibilities are endless for what we can do with the factory” Said, Montesquieu.

“This could be the starting of a new chapter for the company,” Said Rousseau “Even though we have a successful company here on earth we have to make sure that the plans will be the perfect fit so that there is no problem when it opens”.

Both men already had a  successful chain of cutting-edge textile factories on earth. They wanted to rebrand the company as they set off into the solar system with Mars as the first step. Because of the noxious gasses on Mars, there is little oxygen, which makes breathing difficult almost to the point of being life-threatening. Rousseau came up with the idea to rebrand their company on Mars by growing trees. They would make a special soil formula that would help the trees survive in Mars climate and even have trees that could grow faster. This was the first idea that both of them could agree on and that would take their business to the next level.

“This is the best way to start the new company,” said Montesquieu “Getting our ideas together is the starting block. Integrating the plans to the vision will ensure that everything will work together.”

“Also, knowing what trees and soil formulas we want to use and knowing how these formulas will help with what little oxygen is already here,” Said Rousseau “Using children to plant the seeds as the conveyor belts are in motion is another idea”.

The plan was finally set.  After the building exterior was finished they would start to make conveyor belts that would move the soil to stations where the kids would plant the seed and give them water before they are transported to a room that was facing towards the sun where the plants would grow. With the new soil formula that they made, the trees would only take 2 months to grow. Because they were putting them in sets of 15 they would have enough to start planting very soon after arrival on Mars.  After getting the plans finalized by the engineer, he expected that this would take about 5 years to build. So the wait began.

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The day had arrived: opening day. Montesquieu and Rousseau were bursting with excitement. This project took 5 years to conceive, design, plan and execute and it was finally done. A large celebration was planned for opening the first factory that was to be built on the red planet. The President, as well as US government officials, made the long journey for the grand opening. There wouldn't be enough people to make it a massive event but news reporter and journalist were there to record the action and broadcast it back to earth so that everyone could see what was happening. After they cut the grand opening ribbon, Rousseau and Montesquieu wanted to take a select few VIPs inside the factory for an up-close look on how the factory would be run and explaining how this factory will help colonize Mars. This was also the first time anyone other than the construction crew had seen the inside of the factory in person. There had been lots of pictures but because they had to run their other business on Earth, they had no time to see all the details. Inside the factory, it was everything that they had envisioned and more. All the stations were clear so that no one would get confused on where to go. All the prepping and the planting of the tree seeds was done and the trees were ready to get planted. Everything was going fantastic.

“These are the planting stations” explained Rousseau “ This is where conveyor belts will move the soil to different stations so that the kids can plant and water the seeds”

“From there we will put them in storage to grow so that they will be ready to plant within 2 months” Said Montesquieu” From there we will transport the trees to specific locations on Mars where they will be tagged so we know how many we have planted and where to place more so they don't get put  too close together.”

“Why don't we turn on the machine to show everyone how it works,” said Rousseau

“Wonderful idea,” said, Montesquieu, as he walked over to the power switch. As Montesquieu flipped the switch smoke started to form and everyone looked at him in terror.

“Everything is okay. There must be a bad circuit breaker. Everyone remain calm,” said Rousseau “Montesquieu, shut it down.”

It was too late, a fire had spread through the motherboard and the factory began to fill with more smoke. The emergency lights switched on, the alarms began to wail and everyone rushed to the exits. Everyone made it safely out of the building. The condition that the factory, however, was quite another matter. Montesquieu and Rousseau looked on in disbelief as they watched their building catch on fire, burn and collapse into pieces. When the news reporter left that day shocked at what had just occurred. The papers were flooded with articles the next day that read “First Factory on Mars Blown to Pieces”.  Montesquieu and Rousseau were mortified at what had happened but were confused as to the cause. All the plans were meticulous and flawless, having been checked by the brightest engineers to make sure that it would be electrically and supportively stable.

“The wires were inspected by professionals. I cannot imagine what may have gone wrong,” said Montesquieu “We wouldn't have opened if it wasn't a safe environment and yet out factory was nothing more than more dust on an already dusty planet. ”

“Did anyone change the plans I wonder, maybe trying to ruin our success with the new factory?” Said Rousseau

“Please tell me that you didn't try to change the mainframe,” said Montesquieu “It was fine the way it was and there was nothing wrong with it”

“If I made modifications they were made because your power consumption assumptions were not making sense with the big picture of how we wanted the factory to be powered ” Said Rousseau “Did you change the plans?”

They both stood in silence not knowing what to say because for whatever reason they were both being blamed for what happened to the factory. Their egos were simply too big. They wanted their ideas to be the center of attention and that had been happening since they started the company.

“We let our egos get in the way again,” said Montesquieu, “ I thought that we had moved past that bit of egotism, but I guess not”

In the end, the theme is hauntingly familiar. Two gigantic egos tend to cancel each other out rather than building upon each other. What greatness could have been expected will never be realized. It is reminiscent of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. The great idea could not be left alone. The changes to the plan are what caused the effort to fail. Overall great minds believe that ideas can always be improved upon. However, in the end, Aesop was brilliantly insightful when he recognized more than two thousand five hundred years ago that “Ideas Are Good, But Execution Is Better!.