Choice of Law
by Jeff Gaba
part 1
Marco, the richest man in the solar system, was as happy as an obsessive compulsive gazillionaire could be. He, his 29 wives and 96 children lived in relative splendor on Mars. He enjoyed a great deal of money, a great deal of power, a great deal of sex and a stranglehold over the economies of Earth and Luna through his extensive mining rights on the inner asteroids. Both Earth and Luna relied on the rare earth materials now exclusively found on the asteroids to manufacture the energy infrastructure they needed.
Marco’s “perfect” world was disrupted, however, when his designated First Wife, Gabriella, died following a catastrophic engine failure during liftoff from the Olympia Mons station. The fatal accident ended both her shopping trip to Earth and her life. Marco, an otherwise reviled figure, actually received a wave of sympathy for his loss.
Marco was mourning her death when his secretary announced that Mr. Tulkinghorn, a long-time advisor, was waiting to see him. “What does he want?” was Marco’s response.
“He says it has something to do with your wife’s will,” she replied.
“Oh hell,” said Marco, “OK, send him in.”
“Tulky,” said Marco in greeting, “a lawyer is the last thing I want to see now. Actually, a lawyer is the last thing I ever want to see. What do you want?”
“Well, sir,” said Tulkinghorn, “I have been reviewing your late wife’s estate, and there are some issues we need to discuss. As you know, she owned the controlling interest in the Vesta Mining Group that you gave her after your marriage. Vesta holds your mining rights and, therefore, virtually all of your wealth and power stem from control of that interest.”
“So,” Marco replied, “everything she owned comes to me on her death. That’s the law. Our Pre-Nuptial Agreement specifies that everything she owned at her death is distributed according to Martian law. And Martian law says that all of a wife’s property goes to her husband. I should know; I wrote both the Pre-Nup and the law. We discussed this at great length, Tulky. On your advice, I gave her the mining rights so that nobody can get anything if I’m sued. ‘Judgment Proof,’ you said. But those rights are mine, and I intend to keep them mine.”
“Yes, sir, I understand,” said the lawyer. “But I’m afraid you have misstated both Martian law and your Pre-Nuptial Agreement.”
“Get to the point,” Marco interjected.
“Well, first,” the lawyer continued, “Martian marital law does not provide that all of a wife’s assets go to her spouse, only the assets acquired during the marriage. Property acquired before the marriage is distributed by the terms of her will.”
“Don’t bother me with this nonsense. She acquired all of her corporate interests after we married. I don’t care where the rest of her stuff goes.”
“Yes, sir. But you are also not quite correct about the terms of your Pre-Nup. It does not state that it will be subject to Martian law. It states that it will be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction where the marriage occurred.”
“More nonsense, Tulkinghorn.” Marco said with irritation. “What difference does that make? We were married on Mars.”
“Do you actually remember your wedding to First Wife?” Tulkinghorn asked. “Perhaps you have forgotten given how many wives you have.”
“Now you’re starting to piss me off,” said Marco. “We eloped, as I recall. She and I went to a Justice of the Peace at the Arcadia Planitia station. And that’s on Mars, the last time I checked.”
“That’s also not quite correct, sir. As I understand the story, you and she and the Justice of the Peace got pretty drunk and, at the last minute, you decided to get married on Phobos. It was, I believe, the first marriage on a Martian moon.”
“Damn, you’re right,” said Marco. “I can’t believe I forgot that, but I was pretty wasted at that wedding. Interesting wedding night with Phobos’ gravity,” Marcos chuckled. “But again, so what; Phobos is part of Mars.”
“Perhaps,” said Tulkinghorn.
* * *
Jules Griffin arrived for his scheduled meeting with a lawyer at an imposing building in the Centro of Buenos Aires. He exited the elevator into a lobby where an impossibly beautiful young woman asked whom he wished to see.
“Señor Vholes,” Jules replied. “He is expecting me.”
“Just one moment,” the beauty said as she talked into her headset. “Someone will be here in a moment to escort you to his office.”
Vholes rose in greeting as Jules entered his office. “Thank you for coming to meet with me, Señor Griffin. And I want to express my sympathy for the loss of your mother.”
“Thank you, sir,” Jules answered. “But I have no idea why I am here. My lawyer urged me to accept your request for a meeting. Is this about my mother?”
“Indeed,” he said. “I would like to discuss your inheritance. If, of course, you are willing.”
Jules laughed. “Willing? Yes, I’m willing. My mother may have been married to the richest man in the solar system, but he arranged things so that I would receive nothing when she died. That bastard broke up my mother’s marriage to my father, and it killed him. Yes, I am willing. Willing to screw my ‘step-dad’ like he screwed my family.”
“Excellent,” said Vholes, smiling. “There are aspects of your inheritance that I think it is important for us to discuss. I represent a consortium of extremely powerful people, and we are willing to handle your case and ensure you inherit what is rightfully yours. In exchange, we ask only that you make certain reasonable business arrangements in managing your inherited ownership interests.”
“I have already had this conversation with my lawyer, and I understand that virtually everything my mother owns goes to Marco,’ said Jules. “Is she wrong?”
“Perhaps,” said Vholes.
* * *
The Chief Executive of Earth stared into the video screen at his counterpart from Luna. “I hold you responsible for this mess, Kaine. You and your cronies had to grant Marco mining rights. Once you acted, I couldn’t hold off the greedy bastards on Earth.”
“Don’t blame me, Elmo. We both made a fortune when we granted him the rights. But forget the blame. What do we do now? So far, Marco has kept the minerals flowing, but prices are going up and we are increasingly at his mercy. And Marco is not known for being merciful. We have no authority to revoke his rights, and the only solution I can see to break his control is an invasion of Mars. I think we need to start preparing plans. Discreetly, of course.”
“I agree,” Elmo said, “but, damn, an illegal invasion will disrupt markets and destabilize the fragile interplanetary situation. It will also cost a fortune. But it may come to that.”
“There is something else we need to discuss. You heard about the death of his First Wife,” Kaine said. “I’m starting to hear some rumors about problems with the inheritance.”
“I’m getting the same information as well,” said Elmo. “It’s possible the inheritance may affect his control of the mining rights. Are you suggesting we can use her death to undercut Marco’s monopoly?
“Perhaps,” said Kaine.
* * *
What Marco had hoped would be a pro forma probate hearing confirming his ownership of his wife’s property did not go as he hoped. The public’s interest in Marco insured that the courtroom was packed with spectators and reporters from all over the solar system. But just before the hearing was to start, a group of soberly dressed men and women, including Vholes, pushed their way through the crowd and walked to the front of the courtroom.
Vholes advanced toward the judge and said, “Your honor, we represent the deceased’s only child.” The audience, in response, began to talk loudly until the judge called for order.
Tulkinghorn jumped to his feet and addressed the judge. “Your honor, these people have not filed an order of appearance, and their presence is totally unnecessary. Both Martian law and the Pre-Nuptial Agreement signed by the deceased are absolutely clear. All property acquired by the deceased after her marriage passes to her surviving spouse.
“Unless these surprise arrivals intend to dispute the date of acquisition of the deceased’s property, an issue that is simply not in dispute, this hearing is pro forma. We request that your honor enter an order designating the surviving spouse as the legal owner of all property listed with this court. It is the Martian way.”
“Your honor,” Vholes answered, “the deceased’s only child, Mr. Jules Griffin, is a potential heir and is certainly an interested party. As such, he has an absolute right to representation at this hearing.
“And with deference to my learned colleague, nothing about this proceeding is clear-cut. In fact, this proceeding raises complex and novel questions of interplanetary jurisdiction.
“Mr. Tulkinghorn has argued that the disposition of the deceased’s assets is governed by Martian law. The terms of the parties’ Pre-Nuptial Agreement expressly states, however, that it is governed by the law of the jurisdiction in which they were married. In this case, Phobos.
“We are prepared to submit lengthy briefs explaining that, under the Interplanetary Treaty on the Rights of Sovereign Bodies, Phobos is considered an object in interplanetary space. As such, it is not under the jurisdiction of Mars, and it is governed by Interplanetary Law as determined by the ICJ, the Interplanetary Court of Justice.
“And with respect, while your honor may be an expert on Martian probate law, you may not be familiar with the complex issues raised by this matter. I say this only because no one is. These are novel issues that must be resolved pursuant to the Treaty. We believe that the only proper forum to resolve the important issues in this case is the ICJ. We move that your honor adjourn this hearing, review our briefs, and then transfer this proceeding to the Interplanetary Court.”
At that point, the crowd began yelling, laughing and booing; clearly both friends and enemies of Marco were in attendance. The many reporters surged towards the lawyers in the front to try to get some statement.
The judge, who had expected a simple, uncomplicated and, most importantly, uncontroversial hearing, looked at the crowd in horror. She was near retirement, and the last thing she wanted was to address an interplanetary controversy involving the richest man in the solar system. But Marco was not only the richest man in the solar system, he was also the most powerful person on Mars. Marco could certainly make sure that she didn’t get her pension.
“Quiet! I want quiet in this court, and I want everyone to return to their seats. The court will review all briefs filed and, for the moment, will adjourn this proceeding.” With that, the judge stood and left the room.
Tulkinghorn was yelling, “Your honor, your honor,” as the judge exited. Vholes and his group stood smiling. The rest of the crowd, including the reporters, were jumping to their feet and yelling.
It took the probate judge only a matter of hours before she issued an order suspending the probate hearing pending resolution of all appropriate issues by the Interplanetary Court of Justice.
* * *
“What the hell happened?” Marco later yelled at Tulkinghorn. “What am I paying you for?”
“I warned you!” Tulkinghorn snapped back. “I have already done some digging, and the lawyer, Vholes, is being paid by a consortium of actual and would-be asteroid mining interests. Collectively, they are almost as rich as you, and I’m sure that they’re prepared to pay as much as you are to fight this thing.
“I am also getting some indications that Earth is involved and backing their claims. At this point, I don’t know about Luna. But they’ll both be involved; you, better than anyone, know the importance of the Asteroids to them.”
“What about Gabriella’s kid? What’s his role? How can I get to the little piece of shit.”
“Gabriella’s son, Jules, appears to be a pawn in the consortium’s game. They are using him to get control of your mining interests. But you’re right; the Consortium’s challenge is based on representing him. I don’t know if you can buy ‘the kid’ off; I hear he hates you. But that would be a hell of a bidding war between you and the Consortium.”
“Who said anything about ‘buying him off,’” Marco said. “I assume if he’s not around anymore, his claim goes away as well.”
“Marco,” Tulkinghorn said, “I’m obliged, as your lawyer, to tell you that murder is against the law even on Mars and even if you are the murderer. And if it’s known that you killed him, I can guarantee you that you will not get any of Gabriella’s interests.”
“Thanks for the tip,” Marco said. “Now get out and do whatever legal stuff you do.”
The first attempt on Jules’ life occurred when he was flying to a spaceport on Earth to leave for the ICJ hearing. Incredibly, two of the three engines on the Boeing airliner failed in flight. This was not the first time that an engine had failed on this type of plane, but losing two engines simultaneously was unprecedented. Unprecedented, but not inconceivable. It was due only to the pilots’ remarkable flying that they managed to make a controlled landing and that Jules was able to walk away unharmed.
Although the plane crash had an air of plausible deniability, none of the leaders of the Consortium had any doubt that Marco was behind it. And they responded. When Marco was working at his home in Elysium Planitia, he suddenly began to gasp and fell to the floor. The robot servants immediately came to his aid, and it turned out that one of the of air amplifiers at the home had failed. Although the failure of the air amplifier had an air of plausible deniability, Marco had no doubt that the Consortium was behind it.
The first “Gabriella War,” as it came to be known, quickly ensued. Both sides made various attempts on Marco’s and Jules’ lives. Both Marco and Jules were quickly spirited to safe houses to wait out the war, and each side also soon realized that the only way to end the war was through a ruling by the ICJ.
Although both sides made attempts to influence the Justices who served on the ICJ, their efforts were unsuccessful. There were seven members of the ICJ; three appointed by Earth and two each appointed by Mars and Luna.
Marco was furious that the composition of the ICJ was stacked against him and even more furious that he had less influence on the Martian Justices than he thought. Both the Earth and Moon governments were also disappointed in their efforts to influence the Justices.
Marco was left in a situation that he hated: despite his wealth and power, his success was left to the merits of his argument and the decisions of seven people he couldn’t control.
* * *
Vholes walked to the lectern in front of the bench and surveyed the seven Justices sitting above him. “Your honors, and may it please the Court, my name is Jonathan Vholes, and I represent the Petitioner in this case, Mr. Jules Griffin. We are asking this Court to address two novel issues of Interplanetary Law.
“First, what is the jurisdictional status of Phobos, a body in orbit around Mars? Second, if, as we argue, Phobos is subject to Interplanetary Law, what is the proper disposition of the assets of Gabriella Griffin, the late wife of the Respondent, who was married on Phobos?
“I would like to focus my argument on the first issue. Let me summarize our main points.”
“That won’t be necessary,” interrupted Justice Black. “We are fully familiar with your briefs. But tell me, Mr. Vholes, does the Treaty at issue expressly address the jurisdictional status of moons orbiting a sovereign body like Earth or Mars?”
“Thank you, Your Honor. Well, although the Treaty expressly recognizes the sovereignty of Luna, it does not otherwise address the specific issue of jurisdiction over any other planet’s moons. It does, however, establish a specific vertical limit of the jurisdictional reach of Earth’s national governments.
“Under the terms of the Treaty, no Earth country may, except in certain specified circumstances, assert jurisdictional control over areas more than 100 kilometers above sea level. This is the Karman Line that has historically separated the limits of Earth and Space.
Copyright © 2026 by Jeff Gaba
