Post by Destecado on Jan 3, 2005 16:39:44 GMT -5
We need to remember that the Golden Age of Technology is what the society of the 40k Universe calls that era. When someone refers to the golden Age of Greece or of the Roman Empire, it is in reference to the height that that specific civilization achieved…it does not mean that it was a time when all lived in peace and harmony or under one single government. It’s almost like someone reminiscing about the good old days. If you actually examine what life was like back then, the good old days would not always be as good as the person remembers them.
Any of the posts on this thread seem to point to a belief of the existence of a galaxy spanning government or society during the Golden Age of Technology. Based on the fractious nature and the number of worlds we are talking about, I find this assumption to be very wrong. I think we should look at it in a completely different manner. The Golden Age of Technology finally gave humanity the opportunity to differentiate into as many groups and societies as it wished.
Human societies have always vied for self identity and control over a “homeland”. The Kurds and Palestinians are the best examples that come to mind. The problem up to the point of the Golden Age of Technology was that we were trapped in a single solar system. Previous to that humanity had been trapped on a single planet. War and conflict that could destroy the entire human race were a very real concern. Even when humanity was spread throughout the solar system, the distance was not far enough to rule out the possibility of a system wide war.
Interstellar War is not only expensive, it is also a logistical nightmare. Until an organization such as the Imperium came into existence, war on this scale would have been a rare occurrence. This is not to say that war would not exist on a given planet. Another reason why I don’t see there being a single government overseeing the entire galaxy is the fractious nature of the world currently and probably of the world at the time of the initial Diaspora from earth.
The initial phases of Diaspora from earth (before the Golden Age) were probably carried out by governments, religious organizations, ethnic groups or large corporations...since these are probably the only groups that could foot the bill for such colonization. So why would this colonization have occurred? Below are a list of the most important factors I see which would lead to extra solar colonization.
RESOURCES
It is estimated that within the next 100 years, the world will run out of easily accessible hydrocarbons (oil). Many of our industries rely on hydrocarbons to make the products that we use on a daily basis. This will either require switching to alternative fuels and materials or finding other sources of these substances.
The initial wave of exploration and exploitation of resources would have taken place in the solar system. Mars was colonized...perhaps even mercury (on the night side) could be colonized. The asteroid belt and gas giants could also be mined for resources.
With the extraction of resources also comes the issue of money and ownership. The Saudis and other oil rich companies have become rich by the good fortune of having oil found under their land. So the extraction of resources is not as important in some cases as having ownership of title to the land where the resources are found.
Part of the original Diaspora might have been done by corporations through money from speculators, who would reap a heft return on their investment if resources were located. The way I see it, Mars might have been settled by one large corporation or a conglomerate made up of several corporations.
With the flight of Space Ship One, it is not hard to imagine private enterprise trumping governmental agencies when it comes to space exploration...especially if there is profit to be had. These corporations may have laid claim to the entire planet of Mars. (Heck, if you’re the only ones that can get there, whose going to stop you).
There would also be no legal precedent for saying that the company could not claim the planet. Who would even have considered writing property law or land claims for something of that nature? This would mean that the company would own all mineral rights and resource rights to the planet.
If the case held up, then you might see other ventures to set up residences or other habitation in places like the Jovian moons or asteroid belt in order to clam rights to given resources. When the ability to reach other planetary systems became available...or when the solar system was completely "owned" by private firms or countries, which colonized to secure resources for their citizens, you would begin to see extra solar colonization.
OVERPOPULATION / FORCED EMIGRATION
Technology would probably have made great strides in health care. This would probably mean that individuals lived longer on the average. Even with birth rates unchanged, the population would thus increase. One way to decrease overpopulation and secure other worlds for your “country” would be to offer incentives to emigrate to a new world. This could take the form of a moratorium on taxes for the first 5-10 years of colonization. It could also be cash incentives (contracted colonists), birth allowance (over population might lead to restriction on who could have children) or a slew of other incentives.
Such colonization could also be an attempt to remove “undesirables” from the populace…similar to how Australia originally started off as a Penal colony. If the Earth entered another ice age…which it eventually will, much of the population may have moved off planet to avoid the harsh conditions this brought about.
Another type of force emigration might be fore illness. In the future, there will probably be diseases worse than AIDs. This need not be a sexually transmitted disease. It could be any of one or many highly infectious diseases that would spread like wildfire in the overcrowded population. Quarantine of those afflicted might include forced relocation to another planet or orbital habitat…sort of like a leper colony of the future.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM & OTHER LIBERTIES
If you consider the Puritans coming to America to escape religious persecution and make a new life or society as they saw fit or look at the formation of Israel after WWII, it is not hard to imagine, given the ability to do so, that religious organizations might seek to colonize a world of their very own.
You also have other groups that feel that their liberties are being trespassed upon. Consider if you will, the existence of state militias and survivalist groups within the United States. These are rugged individuals that a life on a rugged new world without the restrictions of of current society might appeal to.
Privacy as we know it would probably not exist in the future. There are some great scenes in the movie Minority Report where passengers are disembarking from a train or walking down the street and scanners read their retinas and hock products that would appeal to their specific buying preferences. This is probably only the tip of the iceberg. If cloning exists, then identity theft that plagues our modern world might be taken to even a more horrifying extreme.
There might be a large segment of society that might yearn for the chance to live in a more simplified world, where the constant barrage of technology is muted. New technological advances can improve life, but they can also cause a host of new problems.
These are a couple of possibilities. I’m sure that there are many more that I have not touched upon, but I hope this shows that emigration to the stars and colonization of planets may not have been as orderly as has previously been discussed. With regards to the STC, it may be that they are made by a specific company or organization (like the International Red Cross). The concept behind the STC is after all, to give colonist a running start when they hit the ground. The STC can after all be seen as a kind of humanitarian aid.
Any of the posts on this thread seem to point to a belief of the existence of a galaxy spanning government or society during the Golden Age of Technology. Based on the fractious nature and the number of worlds we are talking about, I find this assumption to be very wrong. I think we should look at it in a completely different manner. The Golden Age of Technology finally gave humanity the opportunity to differentiate into as many groups and societies as it wished.
Human societies have always vied for self identity and control over a “homeland”. The Kurds and Palestinians are the best examples that come to mind. The problem up to the point of the Golden Age of Technology was that we were trapped in a single solar system. Previous to that humanity had been trapped on a single planet. War and conflict that could destroy the entire human race were a very real concern. Even when humanity was spread throughout the solar system, the distance was not far enough to rule out the possibility of a system wide war.
Interstellar War is not only expensive, it is also a logistical nightmare. Until an organization such as the Imperium came into existence, war on this scale would have been a rare occurrence. This is not to say that war would not exist on a given planet. Another reason why I don’t see there being a single government overseeing the entire galaxy is the fractious nature of the world currently and probably of the world at the time of the initial Diaspora from earth.
The initial phases of Diaspora from earth (before the Golden Age) were probably carried out by governments, religious organizations, ethnic groups or large corporations...since these are probably the only groups that could foot the bill for such colonization. So why would this colonization have occurred? Below are a list of the most important factors I see which would lead to extra solar colonization.
RESOURCES
It is estimated that within the next 100 years, the world will run out of easily accessible hydrocarbons (oil). Many of our industries rely on hydrocarbons to make the products that we use on a daily basis. This will either require switching to alternative fuels and materials or finding other sources of these substances.
The initial wave of exploration and exploitation of resources would have taken place in the solar system. Mars was colonized...perhaps even mercury (on the night side) could be colonized. The asteroid belt and gas giants could also be mined for resources.
With the extraction of resources also comes the issue of money and ownership. The Saudis and other oil rich companies have become rich by the good fortune of having oil found under their land. So the extraction of resources is not as important in some cases as having ownership of title to the land where the resources are found.
Part of the original Diaspora might have been done by corporations through money from speculators, who would reap a heft return on their investment if resources were located. The way I see it, Mars might have been settled by one large corporation or a conglomerate made up of several corporations.
With the flight of Space Ship One, it is not hard to imagine private enterprise trumping governmental agencies when it comes to space exploration...especially if there is profit to be had. These corporations may have laid claim to the entire planet of Mars. (Heck, if you’re the only ones that can get there, whose going to stop you).
There would also be no legal precedent for saying that the company could not claim the planet. Who would even have considered writing property law or land claims for something of that nature? This would mean that the company would own all mineral rights and resource rights to the planet.
If the case held up, then you might see other ventures to set up residences or other habitation in places like the Jovian moons or asteroid belt in order to clam rights to given resources. When the ability to reach other planetary systems became available...or when the solar system was completely "owned" by private firms or countries, which colonized to secure resources for their citizens, you would begin to see extra solar colonization.
OVERPOPULATION / FORCED EMIGRATION
Technology would probably have made great strides in health care. This would probably mean that individuals lived longer on the average. Even with birth rates unchanged, the population would thus increase. One way to decrease overpopulation and secure other worlds for your “country” would be to offer incentives to emigrate to a new world. This could take the form of a moratorium on taxes for the first 5-10 years of colonization. It could also be cash incentives (contracted colonists), birth allowance (over population might lead to restriction on who could have children) or a slew of other incentives.
Such colonization could also be an attempt to remove “undesirables” from the populace…similar to how Australia originally started off as a Penal colony. If the Earth entered another ice age…which it eventually will, much of the population may have moved off planet to avoid the harsh conditions this brought about.
Another type of force emigration might be fore illness. In the future, there will probably be diseases worse than AIDs. This need not be a sexually transmitted disease. It could be any of one or many highly infectious diseases that would spread like wildfire in the overcrowded population. Quarantine of those afflicted might include forced relocation to another planet or orbital habitat…sort of like a leper colony of the future.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM & OTHER LIBERTIES
If you consider the Puritans coming to America to escape religious persecution and make a new life or society as they saw fit or look at the formation of Israel after WWII, it is not hard to imagine, given the ability to do so, that religious organizations might seek to colonize a world of their very own.
You also have other groups that feel that their liberties are being trespassed upon. Consider if you will, the existence of state militias and survivalist groups within the United States. These are rugged individuals that a life on a rugged new world without the restrictions of of current society might appeal to.
Privacy as we know it would probably not exist in the future. There are some great scenes in the movie Minority Report where passengers are disembarking from a train or walking down the street and scanners read their retinas and hock products that would appeal to their specific buying preferences. This is probably only the tip of the iceberg. If cloning exists, then identity theft that plagues our modern world might be taken to even a more horrifying extreme.
There might be a large segment of society that might yearn for the chance to live in a more simplified world, where the constant barrage of technology is muted. New technological advances can improve life, but they can also cause a host of new problems.
These are a couple of possibilities. I’m sure that there are many more that I have not touched upon, but I hope this shows that emigration to the stars and colonization of planets may not have been as orderly as has previously been discussed. With regards to the STC, it may be that they are made by a specific company or organization (like the International Red Cross). The concept behind the STC is after all, to give colonist a running start when they hit the ground. The STC can after all be seen as a kind of humanitarian aid.