Space Revolutionary?
Not quite.
Former Space Marine turned Space Advocate, Tai Rade ( / tie rah-day / ) believes our future is out there, and that we have it in us to come together to achieve it. Earth is where we begin.
Who is Tai Rade?
Less revolutionary, more influencer, Tai might best be described as a bridge. A funky concept, perhaps, but it works.
If our fiction becomes our reality, which we’ve seen time and again that it does, why not a bridge between the two? An intermediate connection, bridging our imagination with what’s real.
That’s Tai.
The influencer for Space Age 2.0.
(So you know, she gives her take on what's happening in space each week in our Friday email.)
Her Mission
Tai ensures we don't dismiss the vital actions being taken right now, around the world, in the pursuit of space. She beats the drum for the Forty Suns mission. A mission with two parts:
Part 1)
To unite the focus of humanity toward shared extraplanetary goals that create an ever-improving future, by building upon the things we hold in common despite the things we hold different.
Part 2)
To maintain focus on these pursuits, to ensure they do not slip, that they are not forgotten, that they remain at the forefront of our collective minds.
Her abiding passion is to stoke the fires of progress. To be the voice of what’s happening on Earth in the pursuit of Space Age 2.0.
Yes, you say, but who is she?
A former Space Marine, Tai is a no-nonsense girl with a second chance and she’s not about to waste it. She is the voice of Forty Suns.
Her Story
Before Forty Suns, Tai was part of a special Marine cadre attached to the Fifth Fleet at Proxima B, a backwater world not far from our own, where she saw much frontline action.
Her squad was often called on to do the impossible. As such, though young, Tai is a seasoned Marine.
During one particular CQB (Close Quarters Battle) something happened, something weird, something she has no good recollection of, and … next thing she knew she was here. On Earth.
Not long after that she teamed up with Forty Suns.
However she came to be here she’s seen enough, she knows too much, and she’s doing what she can to light a fire under our asses and make sure we don’t fall down the same dark path as her world (see The Urgency below).
She even has her own origin story:
The Urgency
Tai may not be from around here, but her take on Earth’s space future is worth paying attention to.
Proxima B, from whence she hails, is more advanced than Earth, but not by much. According to her, if you imagine Earth made it 30-50 more years developing advanced weapons tech, while using it mostly to wage war, you’d have an idea of the sort of dystopian reality she comes from. That's her world.
Pretty much a sh*t-show.
With Earth – in whatever way she came to be here – she sees new hope. Hope she never had. So forgive her if she pushes us to do more. In her opinion we can avoid the same horrible existence.
But only if we start paying attention.
Only if we take action.
Or, if we ourselves don’t take action, that we support those who are. Those actively forging our space future.
Tai says we need to:
- Believe in that space future.
- Show others we believe humanity has a future in space.
- Remind them they're part of that future too.
She found us. We’re glad she did.
In Her Words
Shortly after joining forces with the Forty Suns team, Tai sat for an interview with an independent reporter. We asked her to do her best not to get annoyed.
She didn’t quite nail it.
Following is an excerpt from that interview.
A Q&A with Tai Rade
Q: How did you get here?
A: It’s complicated
Q: But you’re not from Earth, right? You’re from ...
A: Proxima B. That’s what we think.
Q: And there are humans there? Like us?
A: Clearly.
Q: How are there humans on Proxima B?
A: How are there humans on Earth?
Q: But you are human, right?
A: Same as you. Except maybe I don’t ask so many dumb questions.
Q: Well, I hope this isn’t another dumb one, but how do you speak English?
A: No idea. And that one actually isn’t.
Q: Thanks. Tell us about your role with the Space Marines.
A: I’ve said it before, I was a sergeant. No special role.
Q: Can you at least tell us what you did?
A: I was crew chief for a BFG unit.
Q: Got it. So, Sarge ... Is it okay if I call you Sarge?
A: I prefer not.
Q: Fair enough—
A: On second thought, I used to hate that, now I think I’m gonna own it. Sarge is fine.
Q: Okay, Sarge. As an ex-Space Marine—
A: Former.
Q: Former Space Marine, how are you adjusting?
A: I’m adjusting. But there’s not a lot of time.
Q: Not a lot of time for …
A: Thinking bigger. Creating options to this single planet.
Q: On that, what’s your obsession with space?
A: Why aren’t you obsessed? You should be. You think you’re safe with a one-world option?
Q: Had the people of Proxima B made it to space?
A: We took the wrong path. When we were where you are now, we kept fighting. We let our world go to shit, and we never ended up with more than a few space stations and a few basic moon bases—where we kept fighting, by the way.
Q: So you guys had a lot of advanced weapons?
A: Don’t sound excited. We focused exclusively on weapons so, yeah, we could kick your ass. Your AI stuff is more advanced, and kind of creepy, honestly, but our big tech is a generation ahead. Earth wouldn’t stand a chance. But that’s nothing I’m proud of. You guys are headed down the same path if you’re not careful, and you won’t like where it ends up.
Q: But war is just part of human history.
A: Not as a full-time career. You can’t be fighting all the time. Listen, no one’s saying total peace is the way. But there will be plenty of time up the line for space wars, cold wars, trade wars, star wars, race wars, turf wars, culture wars, cola wars and other wars, trust me, so maybe, for now, at least for a little while, take a breath and be nice. Focus on setting up that next playing field. We didn’t. You guys still can. Otherwise, if you lose the only one you have, it’s pretty much game over.
Q: If you could go back and advocate for the same thing on your own world, say, thirty years ago, would you?
A: I don’t have that option. I’m here, I see where we went wrong, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure Earth doesn’t make the same mistakes.
Q: By making sure we keep our eyes on the prize?
A: And stop doing stupid shit.
Q: Final comments?
A: Look around. These are your people. Love them or hate them, this is your team. Team Earth. Word of advice, it would be wise to start figuring out how to love them. Team Proxima B, what you call my star system, didn’t, and they ain’t doing so hot. Much as you like to think otherwise, Team Earth isn’t that bad off. At least not yet. There’s still hope for you guys. You can make it. But only if you make better teamwork—and space; for god’s sake space—a priority.
Q: And stop doing stupid shit?
A: And stop doing stupid shit.
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Hope
The epitome of calm confidence, Tai has hope, and with Forty Suns she sees a way.
"There's more good here than ever existed on my world, with every opportunity to make it better.
"You people of Earth -- and yes, I know 'you people of Earth' sounds weird to hear; trust me, it sounds even weirder to say -- hold within you the potentially unlimited promise to make a multiplanetary existence a reality. To bring change. Improvement. To make better the things that are good, to correct the things that aren’t.
"We wasted that chance. You don't have to."
Simplifying The Forty Suns Concept: The Analogy
Tai also had this to say:
You have a famous article in your not-so-distant past, from around 1980, by a guy a lot of people listened to when he talked about space.
Carl Sagan.
Carl founded the Planetery Society (check them out on our Resources page), and he wrote this article around the same time. In it he talks about how our push into space was slipping. Earth had actually been making tons of progress in the pursuit of the next frontier, and yet in 1980 was starting to back off.
Why?
My favorite quote from the article puts things in perspective:
"A thousand years from now, when the causes of contemporary political disputes will be as obscure as the origin of the War of the Austrian Succession is to us now, our age will be remembered because this was the moment when we first set sail for the planets and the stars."
Good news is, from what I see, things are picking back up.
Let's not let it slip again. Our future depends on it.
Here's a link to the article:
The Adventure of the Planets, by Carl Sagan
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The Writings of Tai
Bonus: On Earth, away from the battlefield, Tai discovered an interest in writing poetry.
Here are a few of her pieces.
(Remember where she comes from. Forgive her the slightly violent bent.)
Tai's Haikus
Death death to my foe
Plasma plasma everywhere
I hope we have peace
Steel dawn on my helm
Stars whisper of coming wars
Yet my oath stays firm
Screams upon the void
Plasma fire sings through silence
Honor guards the squad
(When Tai writes a haiku we called it a "Taiku")
Tai's Poem
"It Will Be"
A time will come
When the killing ends
When the building begins
Is it a foolish dream?
It can’t be
I’m not the only one
Who’s lost many friends
Death despite the wins
Is the doom what it seems?
It can’t be
I dream a world of fun
One of triumphant winds
A wave of hope portends
Dare this new world be free?
It will be
