The Martian is in the same universe as On the Edge of Eureka. A a city has been built in Schiaparelli (where Mark travelled to, and Acidalia Planitia (where the Hab was) is not only Dalia's name, but a center for agriculture. And what do Cressida and David do for a living? Farm potatoes!
There's also a crater named Lewis Crater, a place Mark named after his commander Melissa Lewis in the book.
And the author is a massive fan of The Martian anyway (she even has her own conspiracy theories.)
Eleutheria will eventually develop into Coruscant from Star Wars. The massive planet-covering cities already resemble one another, and the Eleutherians could be humans before they developed space travel advanced enough to contact other aliens outside the Mira.
The Mira could be early Twi'leks.
The disease that Kate and Taylor deal with in Enlightenment is what caused the pandemic that lead to the rise of Eleutheria.
This has been confirmed.
Eleutheria was started in a situation like Columbia or Rapture in Bioshock: by the rich and elite. If it were founded by and for elite scientists and thinkers, and for them exclusively, it would explain the massive scientific progress that hasn't yet spread to Mars or any of the other planets- because they're keeping it a secret. It would also explain why their society puts so much emphasis on programming and values knowledge over human lives, treating caste Ciencia as expendable lab rats in the same way "Infec Sec" was treated.
The author is a member of The Illuminati. Both books On the Edge of Eureka and Enlightenment focus heavily on themes of a so-called "superior" group of beings ruling over the "normals" without their knowledge- the Ciphers influencing people via programming their DNA, and the Academy kids doing research on the public and with their children without their consent. The first book is called "Enlightenment," and Illuminati translates to "the enlightened ones" in Latin- the language used gratuitously in On the Edge of Eureka.
Also, there's an Enlightenment chapter called "Luminous Beings."
In the future, the "Enlightened Ones" or "Great Elders-" strongly implied to have been Kate, Taylor and Anna- are referred to with the suffix Luminosa.
However, it's important to note that the author portrays all instances of people acting "biologically superior" as extremely negative. The characters who do believe that are almost always villains.
