Calidore  10-26-2020
15:22 UT
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I am pleased to announce the release of my latest paper, titled “An Atlas of Piper’s Galaxy”.
Over
the past 17 months, I have tried to do a thorough job of research and
analysis, and believe that I have found a way to resolve almost all of
Beam’s discrepancies as to ship speeds and distances. This has led to
some conclusions, and maps, which I think fans of H. Beam Piper’s work
will find interesting. The color-coded star charts, more than thirty in
number, cover the entire length of the Terro-Human Future History, from
the Terran Federation to the Fifth Galactic Empire.
The
atlas is available in pdf format, in two parts. These can be accessed
from John Carr’s Hostigos website (www.hostigos.com), under Free
Downloads; and also on the H. Beam Piper Memorial website
(www.h-beampiper.com) under piper's galaxy. A third part, currently in
progress, will contain several appendices to the atlas, as well as the
endnotes.
I would like to express my grateful appreciation to
John F. Carr and his webmaster Mark Richardson for providing the ways
and means to share this paper with Piperdom at large.
John
"He
entered the big oval room, lighted from overhead by the great star-map
in the ceiling, and crossed to his desk, with the viewscreens and
reading screens and communications screens around it..." (Galactic
Emperor Paul XXII, in "Ministry of Disturbance")
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Deleted by author 10-27-2020 00:55
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David "PiperFan" Johnson 10-12-2020
02:00 UT
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~
From the Archives: "Terran Federation Expansion"
Here's another post from the PIPER-L archives, from May 2001. This may be John Anderson's first post to the old PIPER-L.
As
we've come to expect from him here (and from his work in ~The Rise of
the Terran Federation~), John had some rather extensive and detailed
thoughts about the development of the early Terran Federation.
---
Subject: TF Expansion
From: John Anderson
Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 12:01:33 -0400
TF Expansion
1. Introduction
This
was originally written in response to Mike McGuirk’s ‘Why Fenris?’
posting. Hopefully my fellow list-members won’t mind a (very) late entry
in the discussion. The only answer I saw as to why a seemingly
profitless (and definitely inhospitable) planet like Fenris was
colonized was by William Taylor. ‘Greed and stupidity. You have the
rights to swampland in Florida, you advertise the sunshine and don’t
mention the hurricanes and gators.’ Human nature being what it is, such a
deceptive—or even outright fraudulent—practice would indeed seem
likely, and probably accounts for the settlement of some worlds. This is
made more feasible by the long interstellar travel times during the TF,
allowing one to get away with it. ‘You murder your grandmother, or rob a
bank…and if you make an off-planet getaway, you’re reasonably safe. Of
course, there’s such a thing as extradition, but who bothers? Distances
are too great, and communication is too slow’ (4DP/LSP, pg. 196). Also,
when Hugo Ingermann flees Zarathustra with 250,000 sols of illicit
sunstones, ‘you know how slow interstellar communication is…He’ll get to
some planet like Xipototec or Fenris or Ithavoll [or] Lugaluru and dig
in there, and nobody’ll ever find him.’ (FaOP, pg. 214) The only
criminals the TF makes a persistent effort to find are those who commit
crimes far more serious than fraud, like Anton Gerrit the enslaver, and
it takes Bish Ware 15 years to catch him. But assuming some worlds like
Fenris are colonized in such a manner, they are likely exceptions to the
rule, since the TF ultimately consisted of ‘almost five hundred
planets’ (CC, pg. 242). A larger cause should be looked for in the
driving force of planetary settlement, which probably includes the
following. This shows one (though not the only) important aspect of the
overall process, and possibly another reason why Fenris was colonized.
2. Limited Land in Greece
Piper
compares the colonization of Mars and Venus to ‘when the Greek
city-states were throwing out colonies across the Aegean’ (Empire, pg.
55). By extension, the TF’s interstellar expansion parallels the Greek
colonization of the greater Mediterranean/Black Sea region. A major
factor in Greek expansion was too many people in relation to the amount
of arable land. Greece is mainly mountainous (as is Asia Minor), and
‘The lack of cultivable land and its inevitable consequences—debt,
slavery, and famine—were one of the causes of the great migratory
movement which lasted for two centuries.’ (The Harper Atlas of World
History, pg. 42)
3. Terran Mismanagement
This factor
seemingly applies to Terra as well. Verkan Vall, speaking of our Fourth
Level Europo-American timeline, says, ‘Those people, because of
deforestation, bad agricultural methods and general mismanagement, are
eroding away their arable soil at an alarming rate. At the same time,
they are breeding like rabbits. In other words, each generation has less
and less food to divide among more and more people…A series of all-out
atomic wars is just what that sector needs, to bring their population
down to their world’s carrying capacity’ (Paratime, pg. 145). Even if
Paratime and the THFH are separate series, the same idea seems to apply
in the latter one. Vall apparently lives in a 1965-equivalent time;
after this in the THFH we have WWIII, WWIV, and the Mars-Venus Revolt.
In other words, ‘a series of all-out atomic wars’; the M-V Revolt
possibly involves nukes as do the previous two world wars. These bring
down the population somewhat, but this doesn’t solve the problem, as the
conflicts unfortunately also destroy most of Terra’s arable land.
4. Population Pressure
After
the Northern Hemisphere is destroyed, population pressure is probably
the driving force behind the colonization of Antarctica, the
‘reclamation projects’ (Fed, pg. 213) in the Northern Hemisphere, early
interplanetary expansion, and the settling of new worlds after
hyperdrive is developed. Lothar Ffayle says, ‘You want us to build up
population pressure like Terra in the First Century?’ Trask replies,
‘With three and a half billion people spread out on twelve planets? They
had that many on Terra alone.’ (SV, pg. 10) Also, ‘the curse of
overpopulation hadn’t put its mark on the Freyan mind as it had on the
Terran.’ (Fed, pg. 276) Consider that the much larger northern
continents, with their vast croplands in the temperate zones, have been
laid waste. This means about 70% of Terra’s land surface has been
destroyed. Only the relatively small landmasses of South America,
southern Africa, and Australia/New Zealand—as well as ice-covered
Antarctica—are left. Of these, New Zealand has a small amount of arable
land due to its small size, Antarctica has none at all, and South
Africa/Australia have only limited amounts because of nearby deserts
(Kalahari, Outback). While South America is larger and its croplands are
more extensive, it still has nowhere near the area and agricultural
capacity that the North did. Moreover, the Amazon rainforest covers a
wide area of the continent, but this in fact might be cleared because of
the great need for more farmland, due to survivors from the Atomic Wars
fleeing south.
5. Refugees
Though some refugees from
the ruined Northern Hemisphere would go to the planetary colonies, most
probably go to the Southern Hemisphere, as General Lanningham did (UU,
pg. 169). South America being the largest surviving continent would
probably mean it attracts the most people. This would support the
clearing of the Amazon basin, but this presumed multitude of immigrants
would still exacerbate the problem. There is just not enough land to go
around, even with the colonies on Luna, Mars, and Venus. Luna obviously
has no arable land; in addition, it requires the construction of ‘burrow
cities’ (4DP/LSP, pg. 31). Mars is habitable, but has to undergo the
‘First Terraforming’ (Em, pg. 54), and Venus sounds like a humid,
tropical planet. It would seem to take some time to make the latter two
fully habitable, while Luna might require ‘hydroponic farms’ (4DP/LSP,
pg. 33) in the burrow cities, as Fenris does. Therefore, in addition to
its influence on Antarctic colonization and Northern reclamation,
population pressure could also be a major factor behind the continuous
expansion of the TF for many centuries; possibly new habitable planets
are not discovered fast enough to keep pace with population growth. The
case of Zarathustra might support this.
As soon as its
classification is changed from Class-III to Class- IV, the Zarathustrans
expect a flood of immigrants ‘from all over the Federation, scrambling
to get rich overnight’ (LF, pg 172). This is a ‘land rush’ (FS, pg. 34),
apparently similar to a ‘gold rush’; land seems to be in short supply
and extremely valuable. Another parallel is the settlement of the
American West. As soon as an area was opened to white settlers, a flood
of immigrants poured in; one motive force was population pressure in the
eastern US and (especially) Europe. This could help explain why a
marginally habitable planet like Fenris, and presumably other
‘questionable’ worlds like it, was colonized. These would include the
‘Mercury Twilight Zone and Titan’ (4DP/LSP, pg. 31) in the
pre-Interstellar period.
6. Less Land = Fewer Animals
The
shortage of arable land would mean less fodder for livestock, as what
grain was available would first go toward supporting the human
population. This would result in fewer meat animals. In addition to
hydroponics, Fenris also has a ‘carniculture plant’ (4DP/LSP, pg. 33);
the limited croplands may also have been a driving force behind the
development of carniculture products. Synthetic substitutes for meat
would help alleviate the problem, and its use on hyperships would be a
more practical habit than keeping a bunch of animals (plus their feed)
on board. This practice would then parallel the old ‘salt beef’ and
‘salt pork’ ship-board rations of the Age of Sail, but like their
historic parallel, they are no match for the real thing. Trask takes
some of the ‘heavy-bodied unicorns’ of Khepera to Tanith, which ‘might
prove to be one of the most valuable pieces of loot’ (SV, pg. 80). This
is because ‘Every Viking ship had its own carniculture vats, but men
tired of carniculture meat, and fresh meat was always in demand.’ (ibid,
pg. 102) Though mainly caused by the loss of Northern Hemispheric
pastureland, the shortage of horses may also be explained by the limited
amounts of grain for fodder. ‘Almost everybody thought horses were as
extinct as dinosaurs.’ (4DP/LSP, pg. 2)
7. Reclamation Projects
Although
the Brazilian rain forest may be cut down for farmland, the similar
flora of Indonesia is not available for immediate clearing and planting,
as it was presumably involved in the Atomic Wars. In ‘The Answer’,
‘there were the Australians, picking themselves up bargains in
real-estate in the East Indies at gunpoint’ (WoHBP, pg. 175), and it
also mentions ‘the Boers, trekking north again’ (ibid). Though probably
contaminated due to fallout, both regions (Indonesia and Central Africa)
may thus be among the first areas to have reclamation projects. This
could also include Portugal, as the Brazilians begin ‘looking eastward’
(ibid) toward their erstwhile colonial founder, which might leave the
reclaiming of the Caribbean and Central America to be initiated by
Venezuela and Colombia. The later campaigns against the ‘Eurasian
barbarians of North Terra’ (Fed, pg. 213) seem to indicate these early
efforts were successful, and extended northward. This quote is from
‘When in the Course’, and Freya is presumably settled at least half a
millenium before the TF begins breaking up. Northern Terra may therefore
be largely reclaimed by the late Federation period. But when it is
bombed back into the Old Stone Age during the Interstellar Wars, the
result is worse than the earlier Atomic Wars. These at least left the
Southern Hemisphere intact, to preserve civilization and reclaim the
North, while the later conflict doesn’t leave enough people and
technology to rebuild Terra. And with the end of the TF and the onset of
the Interstellar Wars, no other world is able to spare the resources
for such an effort. Assuming Terra is incorporated in the 1st Galactic
Empire, it remains barbarous for at least another half-millenium.
8. Carrying Capacity
Though
the idea is (probably) proven incorrect with our current population of 6
billion, in Piper’s time the carrying capacity of the Earth was
apparently believed to be much smaller. Beam’s limit could be supplied
by Marduk, which ‘had a population of almost two billion’ (SV, pg. 155),
and is a fully-civilized planet at the time. This figure is supported
by Trask, who says, ‘If there were two billion people on Gram—which I
hope there will be—Gram would have cities like this too.’ (ibid) The
above quote giving Terra 3.5 billion people in the 1st Century AE means
the planet is running at 175% of carrying capacity, which supports
population pressure being a driving force in interplanetary and stellar
expansion. First Level Paratime Terra (Paraterra?) also
might—indirectly—support this. The planet ‘was completely exhausted
twelve thousand years ago’ (LKoO, pg. 246), when it ‘had a world
population of half a billion, and it was all they could do to keep
alive. After we began paratime transposition, our population climbed to
ten billion, and there it stayed’ (Para, pg. 63). Of these, about ‘a
billion and a half are on Home Time Line at any one time; the rest are
scattered all over Fifth Level, and…all over Fourth, Third, and Second.’
(LKoO, pg. 246) A half billion is far below carrying capacity, which
might seem about right on an exhausted Terra. But the 1.5 billion of the
rebounded population of Home Time Line are not just on Paraterra, since
there are ‘Just enough of us to enjoy our planet and the other planets
of the system to the fullest; enough of everything for everybody that
nobody needs fight anybody for anything.’ (Para, pg. 63, emphasis added)
Thus, ‘Paramars’ and ‘Paravenus’ are also inhabited; the ‘billion and a
half’ are spread out over the 3 worlds at least, and some may even be
on Luna, Mercury Twilight Zone, and Titan, as in the THFH. The 1.5
billion total would then seem to make sense as Mars was exhausted before
Terra was colonized, and Terra was exhausted before transposition was
discovered. I don’t know whether Venus was colonized before or after
they began paratiming; if after, it might not have been exhausted,
possibly making it the breadbasket of Home Time Line.
--John A. Anderson
‘Well, don’t do any fighting with planet busters at twenty paces.’ (FS, pg. 30)
--Leslie Coombs
-----
John's original message is available here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20080310041435...-l&T=0&F=&S=&P=3703
Cheers,
David
--
The
first extrasolar planets, as they had been discovered, had been named
from Norse mythology--Odin and Baldur and Thor, Uller and Freya, Bifrost
and Asgard and Niflheim. When the Norse names ran out, the discoverers
had turned to other mythologies, Celtic and Egyptian and Hindu and
Assyrian, and by the middle of the Seventh Century they were naming
planets for almost anything." -- H. Beam Piper, "Graveyard of Dreams"
~
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David "PiperFan" Johnson 10-02-2020
02:44 UT
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~
Hello Truefindings. Please send me a message using the contact form:
http://www.zarthani.net/contact_zarthani.htm
Cheers,
David
--
"It's
all pretty hush-hush, but this term Terran Federation is a tentative
name for a proposed organization to take the place of the U.N. if that
organization breaks up." - Major Cutler (H. Beam Piper), "The Edge of
the Knife"
~
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