Re: Some FT background stuff (guidelines for writers)

>> tunnelling, particle spin reversion and things like that. I would say
that
>> translight comms was actually a requirement of any large interstellar
>> society - could the US manage it's fleets without radio?
>>
>
>Today, no. But in the age of sail, huge empires managed without
instantaneous
>communications. There are plenty of scifi stories written along these
lines.

What it amounts to in concrete terms is that the central government must
grant a *lot* more power to its commanders (and governors) in the field,
giving them much more leeway to conduct or refuse to conduct actions,
set
policies, enforce laws, etc. At a tactical level, it wouldn't affect the
game, but it would have a drastic effect on the political structure of
the
game background, and would help to define scenario ideas. Personally, I
kind of like the lack of FTL communications, a la Traveller. Makes
holding
systems important just for the sake of communications links, supply and
information conduits, and the like.

Plus, gives that good, old-fashioned 'High Colonial' feel to the game.
:)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Jim 'Jiji' Foster / jfoster@kansas.net / Jiji @ AnimeMUCK / TIP #28

"That's the way we all begin," said Tom Platt. "The boys they make
believe
all the time till they've cheated 'emselves into bein' men, an' so till
they die--pretendin' and pretendin'."
    Rudyard Kipling, _Captains Courageous_