Colonization

Point 1:
How expensive is space travel? We have to look to canon history for
clues.
That will give us a basis point. I will be looking at canon myself this
weekend to see what we can or cannot infer from it. 

Point 2: 
Space travel has to be very cheap to be viable for population relocation
in
all but the very civilized countries. Why? Because a 0.0002 cent shot
from a
blaster is just as effective at dealing with one overpopulee as is
shipping
him to West BF. It's awful, but as human life overruns this planet, I
rather
suspect we'll see the decline in the value of a single life, and some
places
it is already worth less than squat. Now, the NAC may end up shipping
off
its overpopulation (conscience and all that... its okay to dump them on
Boiling Hades III where they might survive...for a while anyway... than
it
is to just zap them) but there are places where one can easily imagine
the
state saying "Hmmm.... one quick zap with a laser, and we've got some
fertilizer for the biomass fields...". 

Point 3: 
Historical colonization ventures have had to overcome transportation
issues
and supply issues BUT never on the scale of space. Why? They were always
in
an atmosphere they could breathe and there was always at least some
local
food and game they could eat - big steps really. And the gravity was
bearable. If the Tuffleyverse has class M planets galore, then this
isn't an
issue. If most colonies have hostile grav or atmosphere and maybe food
we
can't eat... hooo boy is that a bigger challenge. A good justification
(in
reverse) for the fact most of our minis seem to fight on such class M
worlds. They are prizes to capture and they are the most economically
viable
places to locate colonies. 

Point 4:
Chris said a mile of land and no gov't regulations and he'd relocate. I
won't criticise, but if people then pointed out he might have a hard
time
getting some essential (not optional) supplies, he might be prey to new
virii and bacterii and predators on this yet to be explored world, his
kids
might get a poor education, good medical treatment was a long way away,
etc.... then he might think twice. Or most people would. Pioneers are a
special breed. Sometimes (as someone else illustrated) they go because
no
matter how crappy life is on East BF, it'll be better than life where
they
are now. But if that is not true, then it takes a special breed of
person
who want to 'hack a life out of the wilds' to be a Pioneer. I don't
think we
have as much of that spirit in our world as we once did. 

Point 5:
Aussies (and especially the Tasmanian sub-breed) are all a wee bit
insane
(who is it in the Tuffleyverse that claims all otherwise unclaimed dust
balls?). A goodly number of them would make excellent colonists (the
right
mix of insanity, drive, and gumption). But even then, the colonization
efforts would have to be underwritten by organizations, institutions,
governments, the rich, the military, or some such well resourced source.
Even a future colony (assuming a decent economic viability) is a non
trivial
effort. Pioneers will go if they have a good offer at the other end (the
Pull) and a decent amount of supply (the Push). Forced Migrants will go
because they are sent (often I'd expect at gunpoint or the equivalent
(the
Push) and because their life just has the smallest chance of sucking
less
out away from earth, since they're probably mostly from poor lower
classes
or criminal castes (the Pull). 

Point 6:
This whole discussion probably rightly belongs on the pedia list. And
there
are the occaisional posts going to it that anyone interested in this
discussion doesn't want to miss. Maybe we should move it there (since
that
is more the mandate of the pedia list) and leave the main list for
discussion of MT missiles, DS2 new rules, and such. Just a thought. 

Thomas Barclay
Software Specialist 
Defence Systems
xwave solutions
www.xwavesolutions.com
v: (613) 831 2018 x 3008

Alea iacta et pessimo resulto factura est.
 
Ave, Caesar! Te morituiri salutimas!