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.
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.
Assuming they swam, they would certainly be interested in building up
internal trade/production and external trade, both.
On Wed, 10 May 2000 15:20:58 +0900 Edward Lipsett
> <translation@intercomltd.com> writes:
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
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
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!)
> =====
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.