The War of Earthly Aggression/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: Interstellar colonies declare a war of independence on their mother planet.

  • Straight: After increasing tension over Earth's repressive authority, a growing colony on Mars declares independence from Earth. In response, Earth sends an army to Mars to reclaim the colony, triggering a war.
  • Exaggerated: Mars and the other planets of the Intergalactic Earth Empire declare war on Earth as a result of Earth's policies towards Mars.
  • Justified: Earth is governed by a repressive and corrupt regime that the interstellar colonists sought to escape. The authorities on Earth fear the result of an independent human colony on both their home population and other colonies they may have, and seek to quash the rebellion.
    • Earth isn't oppressing the colonies, but the colony bigwigs are using the fanatics who sincerely believe they're being oppressed to increase their own power at any cost.
  • Inverted: A repressive military force from a human colony established on Mars invades Earth, prompting Earth to form a resistance movement against the occupiers.
    • Earth fights for independence from the Human Federation, whose capital has been established on Mars.
  • Subverted: Tensions between Earth and Mars appear to be about to trigger a war, but cooler heads prevail; a peace settlement acceptable to both parties is negotiated, ending the crisis.
  • Double Subverted: Although a peace settlement is negotiated to prevent war, one or none of the parties involved are pleased with the results; the treaty breaks down, and war is declared.
  • Parodied: The Mars colony makes a big show of declaring independence. The Earth authorities had forgotten they were there.
    • The Earth authorities don't particularly care about the Mars colony's independence, but the Mars colony becomes so obnoxious about provoking a response from Earth that Earth eventually ends up sending the smallest and most ineffective token response they can think of just to shut them up.
  • Deconstructed: Although the rebels are quick to frame the conflict in terms of 'freedom' and 'independence', the true motivating factors are the self-interest of the leaders of the colony and their desire for power over their fellow citizens rather than being puppets of their existing overlords; countless people die to effect a minor change of the status quo.
  • Reconstructed: Although the rebels are themselves not entirely noble and pure in motivation or conduct, there are genuine grievances that exist between Earth and Mars that need to be addressed one way or another.
  • Zig Zagged: Tensions between Earth and Mars nearly reach a breaking point, but then the two planets hold a peace conference... which is sabotaged when the delegates are assassinated. However, the government of Mars disavows any connection to the assassins and offers to help Earth's government in tracking them down. It turns out that the whole thing was orchestrated by Earth as an excuse to garrison more troops on the planet, which does not make the local populace happy...
  • Averted: The Mars colony remains attached to Earth.
    • The nature of space travel and the distance between planets means that the Mars colonists are essentially cut off from Earth to begin with; there's no 'war of independence' because the authorities on Earth and Mars accept that both are to all intents and purposes independent from each other to start with. Any political ties between Earth and Mars are largely symbolic from the start.
    • The Earth authorities are democratic, not authoritarian; the question of Mars' independence is settled through a referendum rather than a violent revolt.
  • Enforced:The writer wants to do a science fiction version of the American War of Independence or a similar historical revolutionary / civil war conflict.
  • Lampshaded: "Five hundred years ago, the people of America faced the same choice the people of Mars now do. They fought for their freedom and prevailed. We shall also."
  • Invoked: Although Earth and Mars aren't really on the best of terms, the citizens of Mars largely don't care as long as Earth doesn't rule with too heavy a hand. Therefore, an extremist faction on Mars takes it upon itself to provoke Earth into taking extreme measures, banking on the belief that this will trigger a popular uprising.
  • Defied: The Earth is aware that some of its policies are unpopular on Mars and changes them to avert a general revolt.
  • Discussed: The leaders of the Martian revolution debate amongst themselves exactly what it would take for the Earth to recognize their independence.
  • Conversed: A science fiction reader remarks that in stories of interstellar conflict, Earth always seems to be a repressive authority bullying it's valiant colonies.

We are tired of the oppression, time to start The War of Earthly Aggression


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