Re: Sa'Vasku Colours

G'day Alan,

 >There would be a more practical reason: it seems from current
knowledge that
 >Life transforms planets at least as much as planets transform life.

Very true, which is why I doubt we're just going to pass up planets
because 
they've got life, especially if that life has made it a nice place for
us 
to live.

 >Given that a different set of life-forms would have different amino 
acids, different
 >sets of proteins etc it may be the case that Terran life may not be 
compatible:
 >if the two mix, one has Got to Go, if only from massive allergic
reactions,
 >or clogging up of biochemical reactions with unrecognised and
undegradeable
 >proteins that block receptors.
 >Most Biochemistry is just a cross between playing with children's 
building blocks
 >and a real-time version of 3-D tetris where the blocks can change
their 
shapes
 >in limited ways anyway. (sorry Beth :-) ) Add a whole new set of
blocks 
in the
 >game and things may not work too well.

Also very true and this would be the cases I meant by "you need your
shots" 
or "throw up that wall and never come back", but there is also a strong 
possibility that we may be playing different games and that it doesn't 
matter if I've got round poles and you've got square blocks because
we're 
not playing together (OK maybe a different issue in the long term, but
in 
the short we could get away with it and I'm afraid to say that's the 
timescale we usually work on).

 >Don't do a wholescale Xenocide, and you may find that lithophillic
 >(Rock-dwelling) bacteria and things that lurk in out of the way places
like
 >Black Smokers may well come back and bite you in the nth generation.

But you're not going to know that for sure, so if you've got a nice
little 
planet with close to the right level of O2 and life (for arguments sake)

that is spot on 100% compatible with no more adverse reactions than we
see 
here on Earth are you really going to turn up your nose at it based on
the 
chance there's something hiding in the dark - especially when (a) its 
equally likely something similar is waiting to bite you back on Earth 
anyway and (b) its only gonna cost megabucks to colonise here, but
zillions 
of megabucks to terraform and then colonise the planet next door? Just 
can't see the people with the money and say so passing it up.

Besides as you pointed out its the Tuffleyverse right, so even though 
there's no good guys many of the less than good guys are going to avoid 
truly brutal solutions and we've got good evidence that Kra'Vak and
humans 
at least can both utilise the same atmospheric conditions (bareheaded
figs 
of both are available - hey you armour/weapon guys use the figs as 
justification.... ;P) and we've got to be fighting over something we
both 
want, thus planets with compatible life/conditions must exist and be
used 
by both of us....(how's that for a truly twisted attempt at a logical 
argument) ;)

I'll retire to my corner now... have fun ;)

Beth

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Elizabeth Fulton
c/o CSIRO Division of Marine Research
GPO Box 1538
HOBART
TASMANIA 7001
AUSTRALIA
Phone (03) 6232 5018 International +61 3 6232 5018
Fax 03 6232 5053 International +61 3 6232 5053

email: beth.fulton@marine.csiro.au