This novel is for young people of all ages.Welcome to Vesta, a hard fiction story full of humor. A fun read. An engaging tale set during mankind's colonization of the solar system, sprinkled with nuggets of life's experience. None of the ideas are impossible, but many are new. It is written with a certain pragmatic optimism that only surviving the future can bring. Vesta is about standing upon the foundations set in the past, the struggle to survive today, and the quest to grow into the future.Vesta contains a message: Given guidance, opportunity and responsibility, people thirteen years old can successfully become adults. Many of the ancient culture allowed this, and today's society is doing our youth a disservice by not allowing competent individuals becoming adults with full rights at that age. In addition, a road map as it were, is included, suggesting a path that today's people could take to strengthen mankind's chance of future existence. By colonizing the solar system, humanity and life itself is given additional assurance of not only survivability, but for the opportunity to achieve our potential. Although nothing in life is guaranteed, if we work hard, and work together, we have a chance, which gives Reason for Hope. Hardworking pragmatic optimists like their chance.Our story begins on Vesta, some thousands of years into the future. It has taken longer than expected to settle the Solar System, but life in the asteroid belt is in full swing. It appears that many dreams of the past have been realized: Earth's economy and environment are stable, and it is a time of prosperity. The population of the Belt Federation is almost twenty times that of earth, expanding rapidly with almost unlimited space and free energy. The Belt is a magical place to grow up, there are wonders everywhere! Artificial intelligence is no longer artificial, and the Races of Man are splendid indeed! There are Mechmen, genetically modified Spacemen, Hivemen, eMen, and Borgmen, all living within the society of the Belt. Do you want feathers, blue fur or a tail? Done! Do you want instant access and memory augmentation? Universal traits! A new Religion of Hope is raising its head! Old Religions are remade. Do you want harmony and a strong society? Join a hive! Do you want independence and individual responsibility? Be a Cowboy in your own ship/habitat in the outer reaches! Dress as you please and have anyone, or no one, as your friend. There is Freedom in the Universe!It is also a time of dark secrets and creases. The Races of Man do not naturally trust each other, and suspicions are an undercurrent. There is a federation Space Navy on patrol, and cops and robbers back home. Unconfirmed sightings of ghost ships are the stuff of legend. Concentrations of strange Mechs lurk in the orbits of the Gas Giants. Hidden in the Kuiper are stories of dark dealings, pirates and slavery away from the light of the sun, and the Cowboys are too independent to care. There is Freedom in the Universe!This is a story of a few young people, Jon and W0ody, Cat and the Blue Brothers, KaiLin and Abs: Coming of Age on Vesta.