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Bundle: 568
Archive-Message-Number: 7136
Date: Fri, 1 Apr 94 12:39:03 -0500
From: Derek Wildstar [-- REDACTED --]
Subject: TNE:What Does the Future Hold?

[-- REDACTED --] (Jeff Zeitlin) writes:
>   Does the RC know that the Regency and the other Spinward states 
>   exist?  Do the Hivers?  Does the Regency know about the survival 
>   of the Hive Federation?  About the RC?
> 
>   At this point in time, we must assume that the answer to all of 
>   these questions is "no" [...]

I'm not so sure about that.  Let's take a quick look at what each major
group knows about the rest of the universe:

o Does the RC know that the Regency and the other Spinward states exist?

No; they're not aware of the Regency (or rather, have almost certainly
assumed that all of known space looks more or less like the area around the
Reformation Coalition does).  They have no evidence or indication to assume
otherwise, so they're almost certainly working off of the premise that the
largest "opposition" that they are going to encounter is the Guild and/or
other Pocket Empires.  Given their Hiver technical assistance, the RC should
be a match for any pocket empire they encounter.

o Do the Hivers?

The Hivers probably have a clue.  They know the most about the former Third
Imperium - the "History Club" that toured the region during the end of the
Rebellion for example.  They are certainly aware that the Domain of Deneb
existed (relatively) untouched by the Rebellion.  They can assign a
probabiliy (and I'd guess a high one) to the chance that the Domain still
exists in some form.  Furthermore, since the Hivers managed to muddle
through the Virus without suffering complete collapse, either the Hivers
are so ethnocentric that they believe no other race could have done it, or
the hivers consider it probable that other races or regions could have
survived in a condition similar to the Hive Federation.

o Does the Regency know about the survival of the Hive Federation?

Because of the Regency's closed border policy, they probably know very
little about what the universe at large looks like.  However, they will have
to concede the possibility of other regions taking measures similar to the
ones that they have taken, and surviving with a similar situation.

Presumably, there is currently an ongoing debate in the Regency over the
probability of such other surviving areas, and whether it would be better to
expend some of the Regency's resources to attempt to contact other regions,
or remain behind the Regency's secure borders until other areas attempt to
contact the Regency.

o About the RC?

Not at all.  The Reformation Coalition is a pocket empire (perhaps even a
typical one, except that it is recieving Hiver technical assistance).
There's no way the Regency could know about it at this point.


[-- REDACTED --]
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                                                     Science-Fiction Adventure
                                                     In the Far Future


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