------------------------------ Bundle: 570 Archive-Message-Number: 7150 Subject: 71:4/7121 Regency vs. RC From: [-- REDACTED --] (Jeff Zeitlin) Date: Fri, 1 Apr 94 21:27:00 -0500 Subject: 71:4/7121 Regency vs. RC T::>Jeff Zaitlin: That's "Zeitlin", but don't worry; I get that kind of thing all the time... ::> The Regency will also have the same kind of high-tech center, ::> because the center did not lose the technology in the first ::> place. However, the Regency will have access to the Jumpstart ::> caches, which will allow a more even development of the ::> technological and industrial base - or, the Regency can do ::> nothing, and allow the reintegrated areas to develop on their ::> own. In either case, the Regency is likely to have less of a ::> ghettoization problem, as they have no need to scavenge high ::> technology, and their expansion is not driven by a need to import ::> from an external market. High tech centers will develop, but not ::> in such a way that they will be driven to focus on serving the ::> needs of an already extant high-tech area. T::>What amazes me is the fact that the Regency isn't already expanding ::>into Deneb and Corridor at a furious rate (or indeed, into Verge ::>via the Jump-5 route across the Great Rift). Either the Regency ::>still fears Zhodani betrayal or a war with the Aslan colonies while ::>its' efforts are concentrated on rebuilding its trailing worlds or ::>it still believes there to be a strong threat from the Virus. No, it seems to be a little more complicated than that. It seems that there was one ship that got through the cordon, and as a result, the planet of Gram suffered. Badly. The fallout from that was that the _public_ perception (though not necessarily at the highest levels of government) was that it was too dangerous, from a Virus standpoint. Also remember that they have to guard the entire Vargr border. Expansion into Corridor lengthens that border, and it may not be feasible to maintain "adequate" border controls. The J5 Route across the Rift leads from the Aslan Spinward Colonies to what used to be the main body of the Hierate. It's not Norris's to exploit. The Spinward Aslan may very well look to Norris with much respect, and be inclined to follow his advice, but they do not subordinate themselves to him, any more than the Zhodani do. T::> But ::>since the Virus (except for a few pockets here and there) has ::>largely disappeared there is nothing to stop it. And with the ::>Regency's industrial base largely intact it should be able to ::>expand very rapidly. Frankly, in a contest between the Regency ::>and the RC I don't see how the RC could win. They are just too ::>small. Which means that GDW must be planning on keeping the ::>Regency within its' existing boundaries for some time to come (to ::>give the RC time to catch up). I don't personally find this credible. Different attitudes, different responses to a situation. There are people that did not find it credible that the US had no interest in incorporating foreign countries into a US-controlled (as opposed to merely dominated) empire. Nevertheless, the US never used this model, whereas it was the typical Soviet/Russian model. Nobody thought that the Terran upstarts could beat the long-established Vilani empire, either. Yet the Rule of Man happened anyway. T::>Jeff Zaitlin: ::> 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? T::>What about the K'kree? They've always been (pardon the pun) the ::>dark horses of the Traveller universe. Could they make a bid ::>for increased living room (bigger, brighter pastures await you ::>in the ruins of the former Third Imperium). But mabye they just ::>live too far away... Unlikely. They wouldn't have had any defenses against Virus, except distance. And the Hivers were just as far, for the most part. The Hivers got bit, and only their sophisticated knowledge of computers saved them. Relations between the Hive Federation and the Two Thousand Worlds were not so good that the Hivers would have gone out of their way to help the 2KW. Thus, the 2KW suffered the same fate as the Aslan Hierate, the Solomani Confederation, and the Third Imperium. T::>Jeff Zaitlin: ::> At this point in time, we must assume that the answer to all of ::> these questions is "no" and that both the Regency and the RC will ::> develop in their own way, until they meet. That meeting is ::> likely to occur due to both states attempting to integrate or ::> build forward bases on the same planet. With such a fundamental ::> difference in outlook, we can expect to see armed conflicts, as ::> the Regency tries to prevent undue interference in the internal ::> affairs of a client or member state, while the RC is trying to ::> mold the state into what they feel is an "appropriate" shape for ::> membership. Add to this mixture the Guild, which will try to ::> keep both interstellar states out of the picture, and I think ::> we're going to see the (N+1)th Interstellar Wars/Pacification ::> Wars/Wars of Integration/Coalition Wars/Regency Wars/Guild Wars. T::>This depends very much on any future political change within the ::>Regency. It has already moved towards a more democratic system. ::>It's connection to the Third Imperium will taint it in the eyes ::>of most RCers but then, we can't all be perfect. The RCer may ::>consider the Imperium to have been immoral in some of its' ::>practices but I don't think that they place it at the same level ::>as your average TED (basically what the Imps would have called a ::>barbarian with nukes). The Imperium, whatever its' faults, was ::>civilised. Well, yes and no. I think it depends more on the _cultural_ attitudes than the _political_ ones. And the two cultures are very definitely at odds. I don't see such drastic changes in _either_ so as to be able to avoid these confrontations, and it's not good for source material development, either. I don't believe it's a question of "_Will_ the wars happen"; I believe that it's a question of "_When_" and "_Where_" they will happen. T::>I'm not sure from reading Path of Tears to what extent the RC ::>tries to force a One True Way on the worlds it integrates. The ::>Federalist faction seems to believe in promoting diversity of ::>cultures/political systems within the Coalition while the ::>Feudal Technocrats seem to want to squeeze everyone they re-contact ::>into their mould. At the moment there is no clear indication which ::>faction will come to dominate the Coalition. The RC is definitely ::>opposed to any government/society which routinely tortures, murders, ::>enslaves and otherwise oppresses its' citizens on a daily basis or ::>which regards outsiders as 'the enemy' or technology as 'evil'. I ::>think that a lot of the people in the Regency would also agree ::>with that. It still leaves a lot of room for different kinds of ::>government. I think that the RCers think that the attitude of ::>the Third Imperium towards its' member worlds was 'so long as ::>you pay your taxes, we don't care what you do to your people' or ::>'he may be a bastard, but he's our bastard'. This kind of laissez- ::>faire, amoral attitude is definitely out the window. Consider what happened with technological development here on Terra. Whatever nation/empire, throughout history, was currently on top, spread its culture throughout the "known world". First the Greeks, then the Romans, then the Italians and French, then the Spanish and Portuguese, then the English and Germans, then the Soviets and Americans. With technological dominance and higher education comes cultural dominance as well. It's not a question of _forcing_ the cultures into the RC or Regency mold; if that's what I said or implied, please forgive me. What I was thinking was that the dominated cultures would be "exsimilated" into the dominant culture, much the way American culture is now pretty much global. Yes, there will always be some elements of prior cultures, and some of those aspects will be absorbed into the dominant culture, but by-and-large, the "lesser" cultures change to conform to the dominant. T::>As far as the Guild is concerned, while it has high ambitions to ::>dominate interstellar space I think that it lacks the organisational ::>structure to do so, and that faced with an opponent like the Regency ::>it will quickly be removed as a power. I think that it poses more of ::>a threat to the RC because the RC doesn't have the kind of resources ::>at its' disposal that the Regency has, and is spread much more thinly. ::>I expect the RC to dispose of the Guild in the next 10 years (unless ::>the Guild changes its' structure and becomes much more like a ::>government). One comment. The United States was beaten in Viet Nam by what was essentially a guerilla army of "regular irregulars." T::>The next big plot development we can expect to see concerns the ::>Black Curtain. Path of Tears mentions the "Vampire Highway" that ::>leads into the Core of the former Imperium (straight to the centre ::>of Lucan's territory). Obviously the Virus has been busily at work ::>there for the last 70 years building...something. No doubt that ::>something will be unleashed on an unsuspecting Universe in the near ::>future. I would expect the RC and the Regency to put aside their ::>differences and fight this common enemy (anyone remember Fred ::>Saberhagen's Berserkers?). You assume that both will perceive it as an enemy. All we know right now is that the feeder leads corewards, and any planet that starts to develop is sacked before it gets too far. We thought that the RC would be all bad, too, when all we knew about them was that they were called "Star Vikings"... ========================================================================== Jeff Zeitlin [-- REDACTED --] - --- ~ QMPro 1.52 ~ If it isn't borken, don't fix it. ------------------------------