Re: Reasons for colonizing

On Wed, 10 May 2000 15:20:58 +0900 Edward Lipsett
<translation@intercomltd.com> writes:
>Making a colony to harvest/mine/manufacture something is the most 
>common
>reason in SF, followed closely perhaps by fleeing something else to
>establish the "Promised Land." In general terms, Mankind spreading out
>in search of new land is another (generally downplayed) reason. 
>

I find the fleeing to find your own personal heaven and/or hell is the
most logical (?) reason for stellar expansion.	Ditto the huddled masses
swarming at the old homestead planet.  In my own version of Starguard It
is why the humans predominately left Terra.  The Ralnai (lizards) suffer
from an under population problem but their culture glorifies extremely
'power over others' (Kaw-Kokk) and drives their imperialism, the Dreenoi
(HUNGRY Bugs) go to find another place to ravish, and Amcrys (think of
it
as diLithium in Star Trek) is cause for all space-faring races to go
somewhere.  Note, this is the world of John McEwan's Starguard with my
own little perversions, I mean changes, applied.  But it is an
internally
consistent (as much as SF can be IC) system.  

>In David Drake's "Redliners" the driving force behind colonization is 
>an
>intersteller war. The Terran government is aggressively pushing new
>colonies without regard for whether or not it is profitable; they want
>to spread Mankind out more. Entire apartment buildings are selected
>(apparently at random), and the tenants just shuffled off to a new
>planet to sink or swim.

Somewhat like the Bureau of Relocation?  Where did I read that?  West of
Honor??

>Assuming they swam, they would certainly be interested in building up
>internal trade/production and external trade, both. 
>

And maybe not, in Starguard the Amerons (Calvinist religious emigrants
humans from S. Africa) didn't want trade but the misfortune of
discovering Amcrys on their planet brought the universe to their door
(and kicked it in!)

>=====
>Edward Lipsett
>Intercom, Ltd.
>Fukuoka, Japan
>translation@intercomltd.com
>Fax: +81-92-712-9220

Good comments.

Gracias.
Glenn Wilson, Triple Threat Wargamer - (since 1959 loses equally well in
SF/Fantasy/Historical Games.)  Prefers Starguard Science Fiction,
Fantasy
Dwarf, 1500-1700 North America Skirmishes.

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