The first images spread across the globe within hours:
A platform of cargo rising into orbit on a ribbon of light, framed against the Earth's curve.
An orbital ring station shimmering in the dawn sun, gleaming with solar wings.
A mining drone vaporizing a small asteroid, funneling its plasma into collectors like molten rivers in the void.
The headlines were endless:"The Ladder to the Stars Is Real.""Price-Stark Alliance: Humanity Goes Interstellar.""NASA Obsolete?"
The reactions were immediate, and varied.
United States:The Pentagon went into panic mode. Generals barked orders in situation rooms, intelligence analysts scrambled to assess the threat, and senators demanded hearings. "A private citizen cannot be allowed to control the largest orbital platform ever constructed," one senator raged. "This is an act of unilateral militarization."
The President, calmer but no less concerned, ordered: "We reach out. Partnership first. Control later."
Russia: Moscow's leadership watched the feeds with stone faces. The Minister of Defense whispered: "If he can send ore down… he can send warheads down." The Kremlin debated sanctions, espionage, or outright sabotage but their scientists were already calculating how much they could buy instead of steal.
China: The Central Committee declared an emergency summit of their own. They saw opportunity: decades of state-driven space programs had just been leapfrogged. "Partnership is the only option," their chief engineer admitted reluctantly. "We cannot match them. Not yet."
Europe: The EU called for calm, emphasizing "shared human destiny." Their negotiators immediately drafted partnership treaties, offering scientific collaborations.
Wakanda: King T'Challa sat in the council chamber, arms folded, as holograms displayed the elevator and station. Shuri was practically bouncing."This is incredible! The efficiency, the engineering, the material sciences! If he's using nanotube ribbons, we could…""Shuri," T'Challa cut in, "this man has just redrawn the balance of power on Earth. Even Wakanda must tread carefully. But yes there is opportunity here."
Two days later, the Press Conference.
The world watched as Tony Stark and Alex Price stood side by side on a sleek stage in New York, with Vision quietly hovering at the edge.
Behind them, massive screens displayed live feeds:
The space elevator rising from its ocean anchor to the stars.
Orbital drones carving apart an asteroid, chunks of ore funnelled into smelters.
A barren red plain on Mars, where autonomous rovers began laying groundwork for outposts.
Tony, in his usual flair, opened: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and whoever hacked the stream from their mom's basement welcome to the future. You're looking at humanity's first real steps into the stars. No rockets, no billion-dollar explosions, just… an elevator ride and some fancy lasers."
The crowd laughed. The world leaders watching did not.
Alex stepped forward, voice calm, measured, powerful: "The orbital station you see above Earth is only the beginning. With the elevator complete, asteroid mining operations are underway. Mars is next. The resources we've already collected exceed the combined annual mineral output of the top five nations on Earth. Titanium, platinum, iridium, vanadium metals once considered rare are now abundant.
I will not hoard them. I will sell refined materials and alloys to governments, corporations, and institutions worldwide. At fair market rates. This is not just my project it is humanity's project."
Reporters erupted with questions. Tony raised a hand, grinning. "And before you ask no, we're not building a Death Star. Yet."
Within hours, a World Summit was demanded. The UN Security Council called it an "extraordinary emergency session," while leaders worldwide scrambled to secure seats.
The official agenda:
Terms of Trade: How would Alex and Stark sell the minerals? Who got priority?
Security Concerns: Could the orbital station become a weapon?
Environmental & Economic Impacts: How would limitless space resources disrupt industries, currencies, and economies?
Territorial Rights: Who owns Mars? Who owns the asteroids?
Even Wakanda requested a delegation. Quietly, Shuri whispered to T'Challa : "If we combine vibranium with those alloys, the possibilities are endless…"
The king only nodded. "And dangerous."
Tony leaned against the balcony in Alex's penthouse, sipping scotch as the invitations poured in." Well, buddy, you've done it. You've made every government in the world want to either kiss your hand or cut your throat. Probably both."
Alex adjusted a holo-display of the summit schedule. "Good. Let them come. They need me now."
Vision looked out at the city skyline. "Need can quickly turn to fear. And fear, to hostility."
Tony chuckled darkly. "Yeah, well, that's politics. At least we've got the high ground. Literally."
Alex allowed himself the faintest smile. "And I intend to keep it."
The world had demanded a summit. But it was clear to everyone watching :The balance of power no longer rested with nations. It rested in orbit.